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May 3, 2021

42nd Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2021-May-03 (PDF)

L256 - Mon 3 May 2021 / Lun 3 mai 2021

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Monday 3 May 2021 Lundi 3 mai 2021

Private Members’ Public Business

Ground current

Members’ Statements

Employment standards

Workplace safety

Poet Laureate of Ontario

Indus Community Services

Environmental initiatives

Greenbelt

Anti-Asian racism

COVID-19 response

First responders

COVID-19 immunization

Question Period

Long-term care

Long-term care

COVID-19 response

COVID-19 immunization

Employment standards

Long-term care

COVID-19 immunization

Long-term care

Child protection

COVID-19 immunization

Government accountability

COVID-19 immunization

COVID-19 response

Education funding

Indigenous health care

Reports by Committees

Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight

Introduction of Bills

Inherent Right to Safe Drinking Water Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 sur le droit inhérent à de l’eau potable saine

Petitions

COVID-19 response

Orders of the Day

Advancing Oversight and Planning in Ontario’s Health System Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 visant à faire progresser la surveillance et la planification dans le cadre du système de santé de l’Ontario

The House met at 0900.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Let us pray.

Prayers.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I wish to acknowledge this territory as a traditional gathering place for many Indigenous nations, most recently the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

This being the first sitting Monday of the month, we’re going to hear the Canadian national anthem, followed by the royal anthem. Consistent with public health advice, I would ask you not to sing.

Playing of the national anthem/Écoute de l’hymne national.

Playing of the royal anthem/Écoute de l’hymne royal.

Private Members’ Public Business

Ground current

Mr. Rick Nicholls: I stand up and want to say that I move that, in the opinion of this House, the government of Ontario should create a working group to examine the issue of ground current and to provide recommendations about developing best practices in order to protect people and livestock from stray current.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Mr. Nicholls has moved private members’ notice of motion number 158. Pursuant to standing order 101, the member has 12 minutes for his presentation.

Mr. Rick Nicholls: Back when I was in the official opposition, prior to 2018, I was the critic for community safety. Back then, I took my role very seriously, as I do now, as public safety has always been a major concern of mine. That is why I’m introducing this motion to the Legislature with the hopes that it passes and that meaningful results will come forward from the working groups that are anticipated to be formed.

Before I begin, I would like to recognize a few of the major driving forces that have led me to the introduction of this motion: Lee Montgomery from my area of Chatham-Kent, Dr. Magda Havas and Mr. Frank Clegg. They are experts in this field.

Lee Montgomery is a former award-winning dairy farmer who lives just north of my riding of Chatham-Kent–Leamington. He has been relentless in his pursuit of resolving this issue for over 35 years, when he lost his entire dairy herd due to ground current pollution and, sadly, he lost the love of his life, his wife, Donna. To this day, he believes her death can be attributed to the same problem that killed his prized dairy cattle.

Dr. Magda Havas is a world-recognized expert on the topic of EMF radiation and ground current/stray voltage. She does research on the biological effects of electromagnetic pollution and on the beneficial effects of electrotherapies. She has provided expert testimony in Canada, the US, the UK, South Africa and the Philippines on the health effects of power lines, occupational magnetic field exposure and, of course, radiofrequency radiation.

I also want to recognize Mr. Frank Clegg. Frank has spent 40 years in the technology industry and most recently was the president of Microsoft Canada. After extensive research and discussions with experts from Harvard, Yale, Columbia, McGill and the University of Toronto, he co-founded Canadians for Safe Technology in 2012.

Speaker, I am recommending that an established working group consist of independent experts, one or two farmers who have experienced ground current problems, independent contractors, utility employees who are in a position to do testing and remediation, as well as those who have greater authority in decision-making.

The purpose of this working group would be to learn how to monitor ground current based on the most recent scientific research and to teach others how to properly conduct ground current testing, learn which equipment to use, how to discover sources of ground current, and how to remediate or fix the problem, including sanctioning workshops on how to conduct ground current monitoring.

You might ask, why am I bringing this motion forward? Well, I believe it is important to protect the health and livelihood of those especially in our farming communities throughout Ontario. Ground current causes livestock to experience health issues such as mastitis, food rot, open sores that won’t heal even with antibiotics, sudden death, and even miscarriages. This results in a huge financial loss to our farmers.

In the past, some of the supporting organizations include the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Beef Farmers of Ontario, Holstein Ontario, the city of Kawartha Lakes, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, and even the county of Dufferin, which, by the way, represents eight municipalities.

Of note, there is scientific evidence that the wrong metrics are being used to determine if there are stray current problems on farms. That is why I believe a panel of experts are needed to develop a consistent manner in which to measure ground current and develop solid best practices to be taught to others. The current practices need to be improved upon.

After all, Thomas Edison, the father of electricity, did studies back in the 1800s that mandated return currents be returned on the wire and never through the ground because of the negative impact on living creatures.

I’m sure that if he were alive today, Mr. Edison would have said, “When you mess up, you fess up and then you fix it.” In my opinion, the party making that error must in fact fix it at their expense.

To support my argument of Edison’s statement, I would like to present the current situation right here in rural Ontario. This is where the topic of ground current, or stray voltage, comes in. Our power infrastructure works by taking power to the customers but also allowing the excess electricity to return to the source or dissipate it back to the earth. This is known as grounding. For big hydro towers, a grounding wire can be run all the way back to the power plant, but this costs a lot of money.

So the power companies use a simpler method, by having a wire connect straight to the earth, which, in most cases, happens every few towers. This is not good. When I say “towers,” I also can attribute it to the power poles out in rural Ontario, where you may see, after so many different power poles, a line running down the pole—protected, but it’s then attached to a grounding rod, and that live wire is connected to the grounding rod, and that dissipates throughout the ground.

A beef farmer in my riding once told me that he lives in fear of the unknown, ground current pollution. You can’t see it, you can’t hear it, you can’t smell it, but animals and humans sense it.

If this motion and if all the studies and teachings are done—the farmers in our province need legislative support to act as a means of health and safety enforcement.

Let me define what ground current is, for those of you who may not be aware of what it is. According to the OFA, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, stray current or uncontrolled electricity is a constant underground current that runs through the soil and is detectable on barn floors or through metal feeders or stabling structures. It is electricity that delivers unwanted electrical currents that can cause serious harm to livestock.

A common phrase heard in reference to electrical safety goes something like this: “It’s not the voltage that kills; it’s the current.” You see, the principle that current kills is essentially correct. It is the electric current that burns tissue, freezes muscles and fibrillates hearts. However, electric current doesn’t just occur on its own. There must be voltage available to motivate the current to flow through a victim. While there are examples that high current can kill quickly, exposures to low levels of current flowing along the ground have the same effect, but much more slowly.

Cattle on farms have been dying from the effects of stray current and voltage for at least the past 40 years—probably more. Indeed, thousands of cattle have been adversely affected. Dairy cows are extremely sensitive to electricity. Generally, they will start to notice currents flowing through their bodies and subsequently produce less milk each day, as well as suffer additional health problems, such as mastitis, an infection of the udders. At higher levels, they die. In some of these cases, dairy farmers sell off their remaining cows and start planting crops on the land.

One of them, based near Woodstock, claims he has lost more than 100 cows and over $1 million due to utility-based stray voltage issues that have been confirmed by electrical engineers.

In a recent investigation, a farmer spent more than $100,000 to hire five different electricians over four years to solve a stray voltage problem. He found that his cows were reluctant to drink at watering troughs or enter automated milking machines, and his milk production was reduced by 40%. You see, when a cow goes to get a drink and they get a tingle, they don’t like that. The body tells them that there’s something wrong. In our bodies, if something is wrong and we’re not feeling well, perhaps our white blood cell count increases. As a result, that does, in fact, affect the milk production of cows.

Utilities should examine electrical distribution designs. SaskPower appears to be the first in Canada to require a four-wire drop for new residential and agricultural customers, which is a step in the right direction. Further, SaskPower recommends the installation of a bond wire between agricultural buildings to establish an equipotential plane, with the neutral bonded only to the ground at the transformer or weather head to prevent the ground or bond wire from carrying any current.

In California, meanwhile, special electrical utility high-voltage systems designed for farming areas have yielded what we call the “happy cow” designation.

Recommendations for fixing such problems will cost money, raising issues of politics, shareholder returns and legal liability. But what is the cost to society when farms are shut down?

Let me summarize something right now: Do we have a problem with ground current? The answer to that is absolutely, yes. Some of those reasons include:

—power quality is deteriorating;

—the load is increasing;

—antiquated utility infrastructure needs upgrading;

—utility practice: primary neutrals with multiple connections are attached to the ground.

What are the consequences, then, of objectionable ground current? As mentioned previously, dairy cattle experience lower milk production, milk quality issues, mastitis, swollen joints, foot rot, reproductive problems, and behaviour—we call that “dancing cows.” I’ve seen it; I’ve been on farms. I can attest to the testing that has taken place on these farms. When they all of a sudden increase the current flow as a test, you can see the cows—the current goes up maybe a hindquarter, through their body and down. They try to break that.

We call that the “dancing cow syndrome.” People also experience electrosensitivity, reproductive problems, depression, stress, and even cancer. And many farmers experience huge financial hardships, with some leading to bankruptcies.

Speaker, as a way to honour my friend Mr. Lee Montgomery, I hereby do declare, unofficially, that I want to call this private member’s motion the “Lee Montgomery motion.”

I will have more to say with regard to stray current in just a few moments, but I will now turn the floor over to those who also want to participate in this debate on stray current.

The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Lisa Gretzky): Further debate?

Mr. Peter Tabuns: I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this issue, and I thank the member for bringing it forward.

It’s funny; if you stay here long enough, issues recycle. I think, in my first year here, in 2006, it was MPP Maria Van Bommel from Sarnia-Lambton who brought forward a private member’s bill to address the question of stray current. As all of you in the chamber will know, I’m a downtown Toronto kind of guy, so I had never heard of stray current in cattle as an issue. Who knew? MPP Van Bommel was gracious enough to spend a little time with me explaining what the problem was. Frankly, she must have left her notes for the member, because I’ve pretty much heard all of that before—and it’s important for people to know.

Why would we, in fact, not correct a problem that leads to financial loss and, clearly, to discomfort, pain and disease on the part of farm stock? Why would we not take it on? I think it makes sense for a working group to be established.

This is not a criticism of the member, but I would have appreciated it if there had been more talk about timelines etc. However, I know motions are relatively constrained. You don’t get to do everything in a motion; you get to set the broadest of outlines. But he’s right; this is something that those of us who think Ontario needs a strong economy should be addressing. We have agricultural production as a major part of our economy—dairy production, livestock—and when it’s being undermined by something that is technologically correctable, then we should be figuring out how we correct it and how we move forward.

This past weekend, when I was told that I would be discussing this item, I actually checked out the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, which has a page or two on its website about stray current explaining, as the member has, what the source of the problem is, what the consequences are—and far more limited than his commentary, noted that there were, effectively, two sources of stray current on most farms. One was on the farmer side of the meter, where bad wiring in a barn or in a home led to stray current—and then the other side of the meter, the utility side of the meter, where you had to have correction by utility, and a farmer wouldn’t have ability to actually engage in that correction.

I was very interested to hear that Saskatchewan has proactively regulated this matter, put in place measures so that this issue is substantially reduced. I was also interested that California has done this. I find it interesting that the “happy cow” language is used—I think it’s fair enough. If I was getting electric shocks when I was walking around, I would not be a happy legislator, and if I was getting no electric shocks I would be a much happier legislator. So I appreciate both the term and the action on the part of those legislative bodies.

I found it interesting—and I look forward to his comments when we go further—talking about the wrong metrics being used. I guess I need a more in-depth exploration of what the problem is with the metrics we have now and what metrics are actually necessary for us to understand and come to grips with this problem. I found interesting his comment that we’re just dumping this power into the ground.

If he in his work and the work of the group looks at a way of taking that excess power and recycling it so that we can use it—I don’t know even if physics allow that—I think that would be fabulous, to the extent that you can reduce demand for electricity and maximize our utilization of every kilowatt hour that’s produced. I think that would be a real bonus.

And I hope that, in terms of looking at the experts on this working group, obviously, you’re looking at people who will understand how current moves through the ground. You’re talking about farmers. You’re talking about people who work with livestock. But I would be interested in power planners and energy analysts being part of this so that we can see how we could actually maximize use of the now currently dumped electrical power that winds up in the ground causing the problems that we are facing.

I don’t know if the member has a sense of how quickly, how soon, this matter could go through if the motion was passed. I think it would be a very useful thing for this to get through the Legislature, go through committee, be passed, and I would hope that the government would set up this working group very quickly. In fact, after 15 years of this idea simply recycling through the Legislature, it makes sense to at this point actually take the steps necessary to address the problem, deal with the issues that farmers are dealing with and, frankly, make this a richer, better place.

Thank you very much to the member.

The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Lisa Gretzky): Further debate?

Mr. Stephen Crawford: It’s an honour to rise in the Legislature today in support of the motion presented by my colleague the member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington. Similar to the member from Toronto–Danforth, being in a suburban riding outside Toronto with no farms, I wasn’t particularly educated or informed on this topic, but having read about it and learned about it, I realize how important this motion is.

Speaker, this motion asks the government to create a working group to examine the issue of ground current and to provide recommendations about developing best practices in order to protect people and livestock from stray current.

As I mentioned, coming from a suburban riding, I had to look deeper into this topic, not growing up on a farm or not living on a farm.

Stray voltage is generally understood to be low-level electric shock that can produce a sensation or annoyance to farm animals. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has defined stray voltage as a voltage resulting from the normal delivery or use of electricity that may be present between two conductive surfaces that can be simultaneously contacted by members of the general public or their animals.

Speaker, it is two objects with different voltage potential that the animal or person body completes an electrical circuit, allowing the current to flow between the two objects. A neutral wire that is inadequate—or if there is a weak or failed connection, the electrical current arriving on the hot wire must return to the source in some manner, which means it will try to go through any or all objects that will conduct electricity.

It is simple: In the normal course of delivering electricity, there will be a stray current. These voltages are undesirable, and yet it is prevalent for them to occur on farms. There are households within rural areas of Halton, as well, that can experience this problem. Any farm that operates in Ontario can have stray voltage problems.

Why now? Why should the government create a working group at this particular time? Again, the member opposite did allude to this being mentioned in the Legislature for over a decade. Coming from a rural area, this is not something I receive emails or phone calls on. I haven’t had any people contact me on this particular issue, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an issue that affects the farming communities in our province. Looking into stray currents—it is a problem, because it does obviously harm livestock and people.

Speaker, almost any animal can easily feel anything at 0.5 volts or higher.

This is a problem Ontarians are facing, and I applaud the member for taking their concerns to heart and working towards solutions.

A stray voltage can bring problems for farmers. Animals that are affected by the current exhibit problems. These can include being jumpy when they’re being milked, not producing as much milk, and being less inclined to drink.

In a 2007 discussion paper that Ontario did, dairy cows are the most at risk of stray voltage. This is because they are large animals, the facilities are wetter than on other farms, and there are more opportunities for exposure.

Speaker, it is dangerous for farm workers, as well. Metal conducts electricity, and stray voltage can run through a ladder, a faucet or any other material that may cause harm. Some farmers may even carry a dry rag around so they can shut off their shower faucet without getting a mild shock. Imagine that. People in Toronto and in our suburban ridings never even think to have to do that to prevent getting a shock—walking around with something like that. So, clearly, this is on the minds of a lot of people in our rural communities.

Even though this is an invisible problem, there are still a few mitigation techniques. For instance, a farmer can look for loose connections or defective wire connections. Working on farms, the elements get inside a barn and can also cause a problem. For instance, heat, wind and rain can cause the insulation on wires to peel off. Improper grounding, equipment problems and systems imbalances are potential sources.

Looking for stray currents is important. We are dealing with the health and safety of farmers and their livestock. The problems facing livestock are real, and any that exhibit the signs I have mentioned could be because of a stray current, and not because of the animal alone.

As I conclude my time, I would like to say that I will happily support this motion by the member, and I hope every other member will be able to stand in support.

Just to reiterate a few of the key issues and common effects of stray voltage: There are often mild behavioural reactions, such as eye-blinking, involuntary muscle contractions, and twitching and discomfort and pain causing intense behavioural reactions. The indirect effects of these behaviours can be considered depending on the location, level of stray voltage and other factors. But at the end of the day, this is clearly an issue in our rural communities, in the farms of our province that produce our food, our milk.

I think that the member bringing this to the forefront here today is doing a good thing to serve that community, to make this province safer for farmers and livestock. I’ll support this motion.

The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Lisa Gretzky): Further debate?

Mr. Michael Mantha: It’s always a pleasure and a privilege to rise in my seat on behalf of the good people of Algoma–Manitoulin.

I want to commend the member for being persistent on bringing this motion forward this morning. He has brought it up in the past. Again, this is not a criticism against the member. This would have been great legislation to see come forward from this government, knowing that this is an issue that has been ongoing for many, many years.

I reached out to a colleague of mine, the member from Timiskaming–Cochrane, who has been very outspoken and has spoken numerous times about this piece of legislation, or the need for this, and who has first-hand experience of what transpired and how his constituents were affected by this.

Ron and Helen Cowan from Earlton started their farming career in 1992. At first, they were successful with their herd. However, it didn’t take too long—by 1997, about five years into their operation—when they became plagued with problems and low production. They tried a variety of steps to enhance the health of their herd. They tried new options. But by 2002, they had no choice; they had to let go of their herd and their quota. They did some preliminary investigation, and they actually took their issue to court, because of the stray voltage. The unfortunate

part is, they weren’t able to demonstrate to the courts that the loss was significant and that it was related to the stray voltage. However, the courts did identify certain things that the utility provider could have done differently—which was raise greater awareness, and that the inequities of the tingling of voltage were inadequate, and also the information that was being relayed back to the community members in regard to the potential for this harm could have been a lot better than your random pamphlet that was being received in the mail. So here we have a family whose entire livelihood was completely devastated by this.

The OFA has been very been outspoken on this issue. I think they best explain with their overview, and I want to read it word for word. It says, “Uncontrolled electricity is a constant underground current that runs through the soil and is detectable on barn floors, through metal feeders or stabling structures, delivering unwanted electrical currents that can cause serious harm to livestock.

“In rural Ontario, electricity that uses the ground as its return path back to its source (rather than the primary neutral) is a concern, causing unintended and often unpredictable consequences. If left undetected, uncontrolled electricity, sometimes referred to as stray voltage, can result in serious issues for farmers and has plagued rural livestock farms for” at least the past five decades.

“OFA has been working in partnership with Hydro One to address and resolve ground current challenges impacting Ontario farm businesses since 2013. In 2016, the farm rapid response team was developed by Hydro One in partnership with OFA to deal with issues including stray voltage, ground current and power quality. The purpose of the partnership is to help identify, assess, and mitigate on-farm electrical issues.

“The farm rapid response team is the outcome of the uncontrolled electricity working group, made up of livestock and electricity stakeholders including Hydro One and OFA. Hydro One’s collaboration with OFA and their commitment to this serious issue are important steps to resolving these issues that can cause serious problems on Ontario farms.”

Again, this is not a new issue. It is an issue that has been brought forward to this Legislature, as the member from Toronto–Danforth brought up in his comments. It has come from previous members of the Conservative Party.

Again, I want to stress the fact that this is not a stone-throwing—to the member, good on you for being persistent—but I’ve always been one to ask the question: If it’s a good idea, what’s happening that we’re not letting it come through? Where is the resistance coming from? Why aren’t we seeing this come through as a government bill instead of as a motion or as a private member’s bill?

As an MPP from the official opposition, I bring ideas forward to this House on behalf of the good people of my riding of Algoma–Manitoulin or on behalf of the general population of Ontario, but I expect resistance from the government at certain times—because we’re not always in line with our policies and ideas that we’re bringing forward. However, coming from within the party where the previous three pieces of legislation have come from this government—again, whatever the member needs in order to light a fire within the cabinet in order to bring this legislation up, let’s do that.

We’re obviously seeing individuals—as I stated, this family from Earlton, who were completely devastated.

We see what the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s position is on this.

This is a long-overdue issue. Let’s deal with it.

The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Lisa Gretzky): Further debate?

Mr. Lorne Coe: I’m pleased this morning to have an opportunity to speak to this motion brought forward by the member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington for a couple of reasons.

To begin, I have a riding—Whitby—and in the north part of my riding is Myrtle Station. It is the home of a lot of dairy and livestock farms. Through my work with the farm owners and with the region of Durham’s agricultural advisory committee, I’ve learned that stray current is a serious concern that can have negative effects on animal health as well as the residents on the farm. I’ve had the opportunity over the years that I’ve represented the riding of Whitby to visit many of these facilities. As I walk through these facilities with the owners, there are obvious examples of what we speak of here in this Legislature this morning.

Speaker, added to that, research has shown that exposure to higher levels of stray current affects the behaviour and performance of livestock animals, which, in turn, has detrimental effects on the economic viability of farm operations. This is particularly important for an area like Whitby, in the north part of my riding, but it’s also important to the region of Durham’s agribusiness operations because, in turn, they are key pillars of the region of Durham’s economic development plan.

They contribute to what the region would like to see for its economy—particularly a strong, resilient local economy—whether it be the town of Whitby or whether it be some of the more distant northern municipalities like Brock, where this issue is also prevalent. Despite a number of measures proposed to reduce or eliminate stray current from livestock and dairy facilities, many of the farm operations continue to struggle with this problem and its effects.

Having said that, many of the farmers in my riding are encouraged by the development of this motion by MPP Nicholls as it recognizes the ongoing—and yes, some members have spoken about the origin of this motion. Yes, it does go back 15 years. But this has been an ongoing challenge for many livestock and dairy farmers. Whether it’s in the town of Whitby or other parts of the region of Durham, they’re experiencing it as a result of this stray ground current.

So they’re very pleased with the content of the motion, particularly the aspect of creating a working group to examine the issue of ground current and, added to that, providing recommendations about developing best practices in order to protect people and livestock from stray current. They’re pleased with that particular approach because it’s inclusive and it’s all-encompassing. As some of the members here today have rightly point out, there are many agricultural associations that have identified this as an issue, but they want to be part of the solution.

And the very fabric of this motion does provide this opportunity for agricultural associations, but it’s also all-encompassing for other farming communities who want to participate and provide their voices in developing best practices in order to protect people and families.

Clearly, practical measures should be and must be implemented to address the problem of stray current, including timelines and processes to resolve this particular issue going forward. I believe that the motion, as it’s struck, is going to allow for those voices to be heard, whether it’s the Durham region agricultural advisory group or other advisory groups across this province.

Speaker, other jurisdictions around North America have recognized this problem and have taken steps to address it, as they should. Together—and I stress “together,” because we succeed together when we take the time to consult, take the time to hear voices, take the time to develop best practices in order to protect the families here in Ontario—I look forward to a made-in-Ontario solution, securing family farming businesses while saving the lives of livestock and ensuring a sustainable future for the farming sector, whether it be in the region of Durham or other parts of Ontario.

The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Lisa Gretzky): Back to the member for Chatham-Kent–Leamington.

Mr. Rick Nicholls: I want to reiterate the fact that if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. The purpose of these working groups is to in fact allow fresh eyes to look at how we can correctly and more accurately measure ground current pollution, which will save a lot of farmers from financial stress and distress, as well as their livestock.

It affects not just dairy cattle; it also affects beef cattle and other four-legged animals, and even two-legged animals. I visited a chicken farm back in the Chatham area several years ago—because, in fact, I introduced my bill back in 2016. It passed second reading, but the government of the day, the Liberals, refused to bring this bill into committee, where it could be further examined.

I would like to thank the member from Danforth, the member from Oakville, the member from Algoma–Manitoulin and, of course, the member from Whitby for their contributions to the debate today.

Again, knowing what we know—and I’m working closely with the Ministry of Energy. I brought this motion forward to create working groups, in accordance with the Ministry of Energy and local distribution companies, to clearly pinpoint the hot spots and solve the problem of stray current and stray voltage and ground currents.

I was part of a team, part of a group many years ago, back in opposition, and the party of the day—well, not the party of the day; that would be the Liberals. Hydro One created what they called rapid response teams, but nothing really developed out of that—so we need to take this step even further.

Again, Speaker, I want to thank everyone for the opportunity of bringing this motion forward. We don’t know the long-term effects, but from what I’ve seen so far, it can’t be good. I’m happy and thankful for all of those who have worked with me to help bring this situation to light. There are solutions out there. Let’s find them. Let’s make what we’re doing now even better.

Thank you so much, Speaker, for the time to present my motion to the Ontario Legislature. I appreciate it.

The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Lisa Gretzky): The time provided for private members’ public business has expired.

Mr. Nicholls has moved private members’ notice of motion number 158. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? That is carried.

Motion agreed to.

The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Lisa Gretzky): Orders of the day? I recognize the Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction.

Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria: No further business.

The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Lisa Gretzky): There being no further business, this House stands recessed until 10:15.

The House recessed from 0944 to 1015.

Members’ Statements

Employment standards

Mr. Jeff Burch: Next week is Nursing Week in Ontario.

COVID-19 has shown the vital role that nurses play in every aspect of health, but front-line health care workers are reaching out to my office in droves, and many are at their breaking point. Our nurses are working tirelessly, often with minimal support. In Niagara, our ICU capacity is at 108%, and our level 3 ICU, the highest level, is at 164%.

Despite this unprecedented strain on our health care system, this government has yet again refused to support nurses in their work. Front-line health care workers report that when exposed to COVID-19 in the line of duty, they are sent home without pay. While the Premier was able to take 12 paid days for his isolation, the health care workers on our front lines are left with nothing.

I’ve raised the issue of unpaid isolation numerous times with this government and the minister. The Niagara Health System stepped up when this government wouldn’t and provided isolation pay while this government dragged its feet. That program expired on March 31, and nurses are once again left carrying the financial burden and added stress.

How is it possible that in our current situation, this government would place additional stress and anxiety on the backs of the workers who are already carrying us through this crisis? Nurses and health care workers have been fighting on the front lines; they should not lose one cent of their income when exposed to a virus this government has failed to contain.

Shame on this government for their lack of support for our nurses and front-line health care heroes when they need us most.

Workplace safety

Ms. Jane McKenna: Across North America this week, occupational health and safety is in the spotlight as employers, workers and safety organizations focus on the importance of preventing injury and illness in the workplace, at home and in the community. This week has been observed in Canada, the United States and Mexico since 1997.

For decades, Ontario and Canada have led the way in improving workplace health and safety.

Most recently, the Auditor General’s 2019 annual report found that Ontario has the lowest lost-time injury rates of any province for the past 10 years. But we can do better.

That’s why I’m proud that tomorrow, for the first time ever, we recognize Occupational Safety and Health Day in Ontario. Every year, on the first Tuesday in May, this day will help promote health and safety by highlighting the roles and responsibilities of employers, supervisors and workers to support and nurture a health and safety culture every day in every workplace.

To mark this inaugural event, I’m hosting a Zoom event together with the League of Champions and health and safety experts from across Ontario at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow. To register, please visit janemckennampp.ca/safetyandhealth. I hope you can join us.

Poet Laureate of Ontario

Mr. Percy Hatfield: Speaker, my thanks to you for chairing the panel that selected Ontario’s first Poet Laureate to honour the memory of Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip. Scarborough’s 29-year-old Randell Adjei will be an officer of the Legislature for a two-year term.

I thought it might be appropriate this morning for a bit of poetry; I’ve called it “Randell”:

He’s hip, oh so hip—our new friend Randell

His poetry is spoken word—he does so well

Not Tragically Hip—but oh, oh so hip!

He’s Ontario’s first Poet Laureate—

And Gord Downie

Would be oh so proud

As Randell always attracts an appreciative crowd

The Laureate position was named in Gord’s memory

Here—in our provincial parliamentary

In doing so we honour Gord’s legacy

And Randell brings the same intensity.

Not Tragically Hip—but magically hip, yes, oh so magically hip

His spoken word, his poetry

Creates the possibility

To educate—and motivate

For all us—to appreciate

A new, modern passionate and literate

Poet Laureate.

In memory of Gord Downie and there’s no debate.

His lyrics—it’s been a long time running

A long time in coming—but it’s been worth the wait.

Indus Community Services

Mr. Deepak Anand: Mr. Speaker, I would like to spotlight an incredible organization from my riding of Mississauga–Malton, serving the community for 35 years, with seven locations in Brampton, Mississauga and Oakville, and 140 staff who provide excellent, culturally appropriate services to newcomers, families, women and seniors. Indus Community Services is a true community partner. During the pandemic, Indus hosted over 5,000 virtual adult day service sessions and helped over 150 people file their taxes through their free clinics.

As part of our government’s $12.5-million investment strategy for high-priority communities, Indus has provided 36,000 people with information on testing and distributed over 12,000 PPE kits. They also created a website, apnahealth.org, which provides information about COVID-19 resources in Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Bengali and Punjabi.

I want to thank 24 community health ambassadors for going door to door in my riding, talking to the people and providing them with the information and the resources they need.

A decade ago, I served on Indus’s community board, and I’m proud to have played a small

part in their journey.

I would like to thank Mohini Sareen Chander-ji for a lifetime of volunteering, and I congratulate past ED Kitty Chadda and current ED Gurpreet Malhotra and their dedicated team for their tireless service and taking Indus to these heights. With this message, I want to say thank you for your services during this tough time.

Environmental initiatives

Ms. Sandy Shaw: It’s always an honour to rise on behalf of the good people of Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas. For the last year and a half, our residents—and, in fact, everyone in Ontario—have endured so much during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it has been an inspiration to witness the resilience, the creativity and the innovation in our community.

But with spring just around the corner, I’m delighted to highlight some wonderful green initiatives in my riding.

The Hamilton Seed Library is an initiative of the local Hamilton gardening community and is maintained by Green Venture. It’s a hub for folks to borrow, share and donate seeds at no cost.

Another great program or gardening project is the Grow a Row program. This program was a response to the COVID-19 crisis and is a way for local gardeners to help fight food insecurity. The gardeners commit to planting an extra row of produce in their home gardens to donate to local food banks. Both Neighbour to Neighbour and the Hamilton community fridges have been recipients of this and have been able to offer locally grown fresh produce to folks in Hamilton.

We also have the pollinator project, which is a partnership of the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club and Environment Hamilton. They’re helping gardeners to create spaces for at-risk pollinators.

I’m happy to say that my office is also excited to play a role in growing pollinator gardens. We have pollinator-friendly native wildflower seeds available for individuals and community groups who are interested in community greening projects.

I want to give a big thank you to all of our local gardeners and to all of our community groups who are not only growing gardens but are also helping to grow resilient communities.

Greenbelt

Ms. Kathleen O. Wynne: Ontario’s greenbelt is a source of pride to me and to the vast majority of the people of Ontario, not because of any partisanship or politics. Polling numbers show that nine out of 10 Ontarians support the greenbelt, and that 86% of Ontarians agree that the greenbelt is one of the most important contributions of our generation to the future of Ontario. It is

an act of stewardship of land, water, trees and wildlife for future generations.

In my tenure as Premier, we received literally hundreds of requests to open up the greenbelt to make adjustments for development. Only in a handful of cases did we respond. We believe that the greenbelt should never be shrunk, but should only be expanded—which we did, and continued to plan further expansions.

In Ontario, we have a government currently that has turned back the clock on environmental protection. The Ford government has decided that ministerial zoning orders which override local decision-making will be the rule rather than the infrequent exception.

They revisited our government’s decision to cancel the building of Highway 413, and are now pushing to build this unnecessary highway against the wishes of local communities and environmental good sense.

And now the government has appointed the least environmentally responsible former environment minister in Ontario’s history to chair the Greenbelt Council. Norm Sterling oversaw the tragedy at Walkerton. He voted against the Greenbelt Act, and he argued for a decrease in the size of the greenbelt in his debate of that bill.

The Ford government claims that it supports the greenbelt, but there’s absolutely nothing in its actions that supports that claim.

Anti-Asian racism

Mr. Aris Babikian: In the last few weeks, we have heard of and witnessed increased acts of racism against our Asian neighbours and friends. The anti-Asian bigotry, hatred and prejudice are alien to our society. They contradict Canadian values and traditions. The perpetrators of these crimes do not represent the Canadian and Ontarian people.

My riding of Scarborough–Agincourt is a diverse society that enriches our daily lives, and I am proud of it. Over 50% of the residents are of Asian descent. I have heard from so many of them and listened to their anxieties. I have even participated in two press conferences organized by various community organizations to sensitize the public about these heinous incidents and condemn them. Furthermore, they launched a coalition to stand on guard and eliminate such acts.

Regrettably, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this phenomenon, especially against the Chinese community.

I am pleased to say that various community organizations, regardless of their background, elected officials, notable Canadians and the public at large are standing up in support of our Asian community and slamming such behaviour against our peaceful and law-abiding citizens.

Mr. Speaker, it is our duty to condemn these deeds by a tiny minority and to educate future generations about the catastrophic results of prejudice, xenophobia and hatred in our society.

COVID-19 response

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Why does the Premier want to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic? I can’t figure that out, and neither can anyone else in this province.

Last week, the Premier brought in a half measure on paid sick days after more than a year of pressure from doctors, nurses, public health advisers and many others. They told him what was needed to stop transmission of the disease in workplaces, to bring it under control, and he still won’t do what’s needed to actually bring the pandemic under control.

Last week, the Premier brought in a partial version of what the science table had called for: a ramped-up focus on virus hot spots. Instead of providing the vaccines necessary for the hottest outbreak zones for the amount of time needed to actually win, he gave us much less than we needed.

Speaker, this is not the first time he has ignored the science and prolonged the pandemic. In February, scientists told him that if he opened things up, we would have many more cases and many more deaths, prolonging the pandemic, and he went ahead and he prolonged the pandemic—more deaths, more misery, more frustration for a public that has had its fill.

It’s time for the Premier to stop stalling, stop with half measures, and actually do what we need to do to end the pandemic and let people get on with their lives.

First responders

Mr. Stephen Crawford: It’s an honour to rise in the Legislature this morning.

This past year has been unlike any that we can ever look back to in history, and it has been truly hard on everyone in my riding of Oakville and throughout the province of Ontario. But it is our first responders, who continue to be on the front line of duty, who have experienced the brunt of this pandemic.

This past weekend, on Saturday, May 1, it was First Responders Day, and we all took a moment to thank these hard-working men and women for their incredible work and sacrifices.

Despite the extreme challenges and difficulties this pandemic has presented, we continue to rely on them every day, and we can count on our first responders to be there when we need them most.

Oakville and Halton are fortunate to have great leadership from the Halton Regional Police, under the leadership of Chief Steve Tanner; Halton paramedics, under the leadership of Greg Sage; and the Oakville firefighters, under the leadership and direction of Chief Paul Boissonneault, who support our community.

Whether our first responders wear a police, an EMS or a fire uniform, they put others before themselves every day on the job. Not only does my community count on them for our safety, our health and, importantly, our pandemic response, but they support our community with charity events and educational opportunities.

I am extremely grateful for the accomplishments and sacrifices of our local first responders and first responders throughout Ontario.

COVID-19 immunization

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: On Friday, I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Mississauga Hospital in my riding of Mississauga–Lakeshore. I want to thank the hard-working staff and volunteers at Trillium Health Partners who ensured the process was as smooth and seamless as possible.

I also want to thank Dr. Banwatt of CarePoint Health for working with me to set up a vaccine clinic for essential workers at Sure Good Foods.

Workplace and community pop-up clinics began last week at Maple Leaf Foods and Maple Lodge Farms and will continue this week at Amazon Canada.

Last week was World Immunization Week, and we hit some important milestones in Peel. As of Friday, over 531,000 doses have been administered in Peel. We hit 70% coverage for populations over 60 and 40% for all other adults.

In the past few weeks, the number of doses delivered to Peel has been among the highest in the province on a per capita basis. Of the 786,000 doses the province expected to receive this week alone, about 151,000—almost 20%—will be allocated to Peel for the hot spot communities that need them most.

Most adults in Peel will be eligible to book an appointment beginning this week.

This is the best way to protect you, your loved ones and our front-line health workers, so I urge everyone to take this vaccine as soon as possible.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for London West has informed me that she has a point of order she wishes to raise.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I rise on a point of order to seek unanimous consent to bring forward a motion to pass Bill 239, the official opposition’s paid sick days bill, so we can follow the science table’s advice to protect Ontario workers from COVID-19 and make sure no one has to make the difficult choice between staying home if they are sick and paying the bills.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The member for London West is seeking unanimous consent to bring forward a motion to pass Bill 239. Agreed? I heard a no.

Question Period

Long-term care

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question this morning is for the Minister of Long-Term Care.

We’ve now had three reports on the government’s failure in long-term care. Of course, the first was the Canadian Armed Forces report from last year. Last week, we had the Auditor General’s report. And on Friday of last week, we received the long-term-care commission’s report—a report that was really devastating, quite horrifying and painful to read, in terms of some of the things that people shared with the commission about what was happening in long-term care. The failure of the government was clear. The report says, “Alarm bells should have been ringing loudly in Ontario” and “There was no plan to protect residents in long-term care.”

Speaker, it was the minister’s job to protect seniors in long-term care. She failed. Will she do the right thing and resign?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: I want to, first of all, commend the commission for their important and insightful work—as well as the work done by the Auditor General—to really go back and understand what brought us to the pandemic today and what we can do, moving forward, with the guidance.

They were very clear—both the Auditor General and the commission report—about the many years of neglect of this sector, leading up to the sorry state that our government found the long-term-care sector in.

We were working very hard from the very beginning to make sure that the staffing crisis that predated the pandemic was addressed—the capacity issues, the 38,000 people on a wait-list. All of these things needed to be addressed. Quite frankly, that’s why I came into politics—to fix a system so badly neglected by previous governments. Our government is doing the work.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: There’s no denying that cuts and neglect by the Harris government, the McGuinty, Wynne, Del Duca governments—nobody is denying that that was the case. There’s no argument there.

But the report clearly shows that this Ford government was making cuts that cost lives. They literally got rid of the comprehensive inspections back in 2018. In 2019, they were cutting long-term care and public health.

It was this minister’s responsibility to protect our seniors in long-term care. She failed at that job. Will she now step down from her job?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: As I said, the commission has provided very important insight into the many years of neglect. As a family doctor, this is devastating to me—to want to be able to help, to have measures taken that simply did not accomplish the necessary prevention that was required. The commission talks about additional measures that we can take to address this. This is foundational.

This was also a collaborative approach, with many, many groups involved: Public Health Ontario; Ontario Health; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development; our local health integration networks—and the list goes on and on. Thousands of people have been working around the clock to address the crises related to the COVID-19 pandemic—and this is happening around the world.

Our government is the first government in the history of this province to make the investments necessary to overcome the previous years of neglect. We will continue to do this. We will move forward with long-term care. We will continue to do the work until this sector is shored up the way it should have been done—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. The final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, the minister doesn’t want to take responsibility for what the commission describes as this government’s failure, and so I’m going to remind her of something they said: that there were no excuses for the deaths that occurred in the second wave. “The summer of 2020 was the time to prepare for the second wave.... With the lessons learned from the first wave and a summer to fortify long-term care, it was reasonable to anticipate that the second wave would be less punishing than first. That was not the case.”

The commission showed there was no staffing plan put in place by this government; there was no infection prevention and control plan—no funding for extra resources in that regard. Homes were left to self-assess their ability to deal with COVID-19.

That was this minister’s job. It was her job to protect seniors in long-term care. She failed. Will she do the right thing and resign now?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Despite those remarks by the member opposite—they are simply unfounded.

Our government has continued—

Ms. Andrea Horwath: It’s in the commission report.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: It’s absolutely unfounded, what you have just said.

Our government has continued to work with our sector. The survey was one of many, many measures taken.

We learned lessons in the first wave—an unknown virus, not known to the world; global shortages of many, many things; and working around the clock to address the problems in this sector.

The remarks by the member opposite are absolutely unfounded. The commission points over and over again to the long-standing systemic issues.

We worked to shore up the staffing in the sector, hiring 8,600 and more staff into the sector, with our pandemic pay.

And the survey informed the fall preparedness plan. Each of our long-term-care homes was receiving the support that our government collectively was organizing.

So when she talks about the things that—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you very much. The next question.

Long-term care

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is also for the Minister of Long-Term Care. I did, however, send her over the direct quote from the commission that outlines the issues I just raised in my last question.

This question is about the ongoing failure of this minister and this government in long-term care.

It’s very, very clear that staffing remains a huge problem in this sector. We know that the staffing levels are in fact lower than they were in the first wave of COVID-19, but still this government is not supporting the folks who work in the sector. In fact, what the government has done is to basically call into question their ability to get this sector dealt with. They have not yet put in place what the commission says they should do immediately: increasing the wages of staff permanently; making sure those jobs are full-time jobs, permanent jobs; making sure people have the staffing necessary in long-term care to receive four hours of hands-on care now, not in 2025.

Nobody believes that this minister will make those changes, that she’ll bring those changes to Ontario. Will she resign now?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Those remarks are stunningly ignorant, and I say that, Speaker—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’m going to caution the minister on her language and ask her to conclude her response.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thank you.

If you want to have adequate staffing in long-term care, if you want to have the necessary support for residents, you need to actually train the staff, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. To get to four hours of care, you need people who want to work in long-term care, who are trained to work in long-term care. That’s exactly what we’ve done. We hired over 8,600 in long-term care at the end of the first wave, into the second wave. Those measures were taken. We have 8,200 in the pipeline—6,000 new and 2,200 already. We have another 8,000 coming through the district school boards and private career colleges.

We’re using the public college system to train. We will have 10,000 within a year. That is far more than any previous government ever did. We are fixing this problem.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Leader of the Opposition will come to order, and the Leader of the Opposition can ask her supplementary question.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Thank you very much, Speaker.

The commission was also clear about the profit motive in long-term care. I’m going to quote again from the commission’s report:

“It is difficult to see how one can build a culture of excellence in care when care is only a means to profit....

“Now is the time to revisit the business of long-term care.”

The Ford government should have been cracking down on long-term care. They should have been pulling licences. They should have been taking over those for-profit homes, But they didn’t do any of that. Instead, they stopped the inspections and then removed any legal liability from the private, for-profit long-term-care sector. They did exactly the opposite of what they should have been doing.

How can this minister, who has relentlessly stood up for and approved of the for-profit model in long-term care, have the trust of the people of Ontario that they will do the right thing and get rid of the profit motive? Nobody believes they will. Will she resign?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: I think the magnitude of this problem has been building for many, many years. That’s clear from the Auditor General. It’s clear from the commission’s report. We are taking action on this. The commission is very, very clear that it’s about being mission-driven. It doesn’t matter whether it’s for-profit, not-for-profit or municipal; it’s about the mission.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Opposition, come to order.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: If you bother to read the report, it is about being mission-driven.

Our government is on a mission to repair long-term care, which has been so badly neglected over many, many years, as demonstrated in the Auditor General’s report, in the commission for long-term-care report. It is very, very clear. And it is our government that is looking at new ways of understanding how we can separate the operations from the construction. It is this Conservative government that is repairing and rebuilding long-term care, despite the narrative being pushed out—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The House will come to order.

Leader of the Opposition, final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, some of the stories in that commission report from family members and staff were nothing short of horrifying—and I do want to thank those folks who retraumatized themselves by sharing their stories. Here’s one: “Of all the pictures I have of my mother over the years ... the one that’s burned into my mind forever is her lying there in a wet diaper without even a blanket to cover her, with her arm up, stretched in the air, begging for water and asking God why he had forsaken her.”

Speaker, this can never happen again.

It was this minister’s job to protect seniors in long-term care, and she utterly failed. Will she do the right thing now and resign, step down from that post? She certainly has not done her job.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: As I’ve said many times, I take responsibility. I took responsibility for this before I even got to politics—understanding and researching long-term care for almost 14 years to understand what we can do—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): I’ve repeatedly asked for order. I will have no choice but to move to warnings if members continue to ignore my requests for order. That will apply to all members.

Minister of Long-Term Care, please conclude your response.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: The key component to addressing this problem, as we are doing, is the action of taking responsibility. That’s exactly what we are doing.

I went through this with my own family members. It is devastating—certainly, another level being with the pandemic. I can only try to understand what families, residents and staff have gone through. But I understand the neglect of the long-term-care sector and what it has meant for so many people, including my own family.

That’s why we are repairing a broken system, with unprecedented, historic measures—not only plans for staffing capacity, IPAC—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. The next question.

COVID-19 response

Ms. Sara Singh: My question is to the Deputy Premier.

The COVID-19 crisis in Brampton continues to spiral out of control. Eight of our neighbourhoods now have positivity rates of over 20%. That’s more than double the provincial average. For example, in communities in the postal code L6Y, at Chinguacousy and Steeles, we see a shocking positivity rate of 24%. In the postal code L6S, at Williams Parkway and Bramalea Road, we see positivity rates of 20% and upwards.

Speaker, Brampton needs help. We are a city full of essential workers who keep this province moving. But the Conservatives still refuse to step up and help. Our workers don’t have enough paid sick days. They don’t have access to vaccines. Our hospitals are overwhelmed.

Experts have been clear: The inequity in this government’s response has meant that Peel has not received its fair share and we have been left behind.

How much longer is the Deputy Premier going to let our city burn before she finally gets off the sidelines and does something to help the crisis in our—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Health.

Hon. Christine Elliott: I would say to the member opposite—through you, Mr. Speaker—that what you’re suggesting is simply not the case.

We recognize that Peel—and Brampton contained with Peel—is a hot spot area, as is Toronto and, to some extent, York. We made the decision, following the recommendations of our medical experts last week—because we are receiving considerably larger quantities of the Pfizer vaccine—to dedicate 50% of the vaccines coming in over the next two weeks to those hot spot areas. There are 114 across Ontario, but Peel definitely has a number of them.

As a matter of fact, we are going to be, during the month of May alone, allocating 432,960 doses to Peel region, which will make Peel the public health unit with the second-highest doses per capita in the province. That comes simply after Toronto.

So there is a vast number of vaccines being delivered to Peel, recognizing it’s one of the hot spots, recognizing that Brampton within Peel is a hot spot area.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The supplementary question.

Ms. Sara Singh: While the Conservatives continue to ignore Brampton, our community is now taking it upon themselves to do the Premier’s job. The #SavePeel movement is made up of front-line workers, teachers, community organizations, health care workers and everyone in between, all working together to try to convince this government to finally step up and get us the support we need.

My question again, Speaker, through you to the Deputy Premier: When is this government going to finally step up with the supports we need to save Peel? That means real paid sick days, prioritizing vaccinations to our communities, and giving us the supports we need to keep our families and essential workers safe.

Hon. Christine Elliott: The number of vaccines being allocated to Brampton and Peel region, as I indicated earlier, is the second-highest in the province.

We also have over 150 pharmacies in Peel, seven of which are going to be running 24/7, and six of those 24/7 pharmacies are in Brampton.

We also have four hospitals offering the vaccines, and hot spot pop-ups administering vaccines.

We’ve had workplace clinics at Maple Leaf Foods, Maple Lodge Farms, Amazon, and also at the BAPS complex and 40 primary care sites in Peel region.

We have the quantities of vaccines coming in, and we also have countless places for people to receive those vaccines.

We encourage everyone over 18 who is now able to receive a vaccine in a hot spot area to please apply and have your vaccine done as quickly as possible.

COVID-19 immunization

Mr. Aris Babikian: My question is for the Minister of Health, through you, Speaker.

My riding of Scarborough–Agincourt, like all of Scarborough, has been hard hit by COVID-19.

We know that vaccines are the way out of this pandemic, but until now, we haven’t had the supply to make a difference in Ontario’s hot spots.

Can the minister tell this House what we are doing to target our hot spot communities like Scarborough?

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you very much to the member for Scarborough–Agincourt for that very important question.

Due to a stable and reliable increase in vaccine supply this week, we are expanding our booking eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination appointments across the province. As of this morning at 8 a.m., individuals who are 18 and over in 2021 and who live in one of the hot spot communities will be able to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at a mass immunization clinic through the provincial online booking system or directly through public health units that use their own booking system.

I’m very pleased to advise that as of this morning, since 8 a.m., over 73,500 appointments have been booked. This is great news for the people of Ontario and great news for the people who are living in the hot spot areas.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary.

Mr. Aris Babikian: Thank you, Minister, for your response.

It is critical for the people in my riding to get these vaccines into arms as quickly as possible.

Can the minister please tell this House what we are doing to support high-risk Ontarians now that we finally have the supply to expand our vaccine prioritization?

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you again for the question.

Speaker, beginning Thursday, May 6, at 8 a.m., more groups throughout the province will be eligible to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment through the provincial online booking system and call centre or directly through the public health units that use their own booking system. These groups include individuals turning 50 and over in 2021, individuals with high-risk health conditions, people who cannot work from home who fall under group 1, including remaining elementary and secondary school workers, and First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals—in addition to the other channels previously available to book their appointments.

We continue to increase the speed and scale of our vaccination program as we receive these significant new supplies from the federal government.

Employment standards

Ms. Peggy Sattler: My question is to the Deputy Premier.

Experts say this government’s eleventh-hour capitulation on paid sick days was too little, too late to have an impact on reducing the spread. In a pandemic that requires 14 days to self-isolate, three paid days won’t keep workers home when they are sick. Once the three days are used up, workers who test positive or have to quarantine must go without pay and wait until the following week to apply for the federal program, then wait some more until the benefit arrives.

If this government cared about workers, they would have made sure that workers could stay home when they have COVID-19 without risking their own financial security. That means covering 14 paid days of infectious disease emergency leave. Why did the government not do this?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development.

Hon. Monte McNaughton: I first want to begin by thanking the member opposite, her party, as well as the opposition parties for supporting our legislation last week to bring in 23 paid sick days for workers in Ontario. Mr. Speaker, I’m proud to say that we were able to pass that legislation because of the support of all members in this House, and in record time.

Mr. Speaker, the health and safety of all workers remains our government’s top priority. That’s why the very first action we took as a government was to bring in job-protected leave. If any worker has to stay home because of COVID-19, they can’t be fired for that. We also eliminated the need for sick notes. And we introduced, last week, our paid leave plan to ensure that workers across the province have 23 paid sick days.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: Given the frustration that thousands of Ontario small businesses are experiencing with the small business grant program, there is not a lot of employer confidence that they will be reimbursed quickly by the WSIB for the three paid sick days.

For years, WSIB has faced chronic understaffing problems. A massive new workload will be required to administer the new program, which means hiring and training sufficient staff. Injured workers are already waiting far too long for claims to be resolved.

Will this government commit to providing adequate staffing and training resources for workers at the WSIB to administer the new program so that struggling small businesses aren’t stretched even further and injured workers aren’t forced to wait even longer?

Hon. Monte McNaughton: Well, Mr. Speaker, again I thank the member opposite and her party as well as the independents for supporting our legislation so we could get that piece of legislation through the Legislature quickly last week.

One of the reasons why our plan is balanced is the fact that small businesses and employers are going to get reimbursed. We’ve seen a number of private members’ bills come forward at Queen’s Park over the last couple of weeks that were going to put 100% of the costs on small businesses, which would have forced thousands of small businesses into bankruptcy and would have ensured that workers would not have had a job to go back to when we get through COVID-19. Our plan ensures that workers get paid quickly and small businesses and employers get reimbursed quickly, as well.

Long-term care

Mr. John Fraser: My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care.

On Friday, the independent long-term-care commission released their final report. Amongst other things, it highlighted a lack of a sense of urgency. It went on to say that the province’s response was slow and reactive. “Critical decisions came too late.... Days make a difference. Delay is deadly.”

There are 85 recommendations made by the commission. There are specific provisions around accountability and enforcement. It said that repeated findings of non-compliance must be met with consequences of increasing severity, including mandatory management orders and the transfer of licences.

Speaker, through you, will the minister be adopting the recommendations of the commission with regard to accountability and enforcement?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: Thanks to the member opposite for that important question.

Clearly, the neglect of the long-term-care sector had been—for many years. The commission on long-term care is very clear about that.

Looking at how we can make sure that our staff are supported in long-term care and that they can, in turn, support residents in long-term care requires not only transparency, good communication and enforcement, but it also requires the spending that is required to shore up the staffing, as our government is doing—$115 million to create 8,200 more PSWs for long-term care through the public college system and another 8,000 through the district school boards and private career colleges. This is going to amount to 10,000 more staff for long-term care. This is unprecedented in the history of long-term care—to address these staffing challenges and also the capacity.

So, absolutely, transparency is key, as well as accountability. It must be also through supportive measures that allow the workers to do their jobs.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Mr. John Fraser: I didn’t think I heard a yes there.

I do want to remind the minister that we did take way longer to staff up between the first and second wave than other provinces, like Quebec, very clearly.

You had the tools before this pandemic. Bill 160, Strengthening Quality and Accountability for Patients Act, passed in December 2017. The bill creates greater standards in long-term-care homes and enforces greater penalties for home operators who do not adhere to these standards. It outlined new rules on the treatment of residents and raised the bar on accountability and inspections. The bill received royal assent, but you never enacted it. You decided against increased accountability and inspections. You decided against stronger penalties for home operators. You decided against increased care standards and protecting our most vulnerable.

Speaker, through you, I have a simple question. Bill 160 is there. It’s ready to go. The long-term-care provisions—will the minister enact them?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: First of all, I’d like to clarify some of the comments made by the member opposite.

Our government was able to hire 8,600 more people into long-term care between the first wave and the second wave, through the pandemic pay. We were shoring up long-term care as we were dealing with not only the pre-existing crises of staffing, but the pandemic.

We understand the importance of transparency.

The member opposite likes to use Quebec as an example. They did not hire PSWs. They were trained in a matter of weeks.

We were creating a reserve support workforce for seniors. We were creating many supports for our long-term-care homes as we went, and I think that that’s important to clarify.

Transparency and accountability are key.

Our government will consider the recommendations by the commission, and we will definitely make sure that we take their recommendations to heart. They are very insightful.

Once again, I want to thank the commission for doing this important work and for being transparent about it and for getting it done on time.

COVID-19 immunization

Mr. Aris Babikian: My question is for the Solicitor General.

In my riding and across Scarborough, I hear from many constituents, like child care workers who cannot work from home. They are anxious to get their vaccines so they can continue to provide high-quality care to our children.

Can the minister please tell this House what we are doing to support—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order. The government House leader will come to order. The member for Ottawa South will come to order. The member for Don Valley West will come to order.

Response, the Solicitor General.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: It’s a really important question—and frankly, a new pathway this coming week—so thank you to the member from Scarborough–Agincourt for raising it.

As the Minister of Health said, starting this Thursday, May 6, at 8 a.m., even more Ontarians who cannot work from home will be eligible to book their vaccine appointments. Those include:

—remaining elementary and secondary school workers, including educators, custodial, bus drivers and administrative staff;

—remaining workers responding to critical events, including police, fire, special constables, children’s aid society workers, emergency management and critical infrastructure restoration workers;

—remaining individuals working in licensed child care settings, including all licensees, employees and students in educational places who interact directly with children in licensed child care centres and in authorized recreation and skill-building programs; licensed home child care and in-home service providers; and employees of home care child agencies; and

—foster care agenda workers, including customary care providers.

Speaker, we’ve vaccinated five million Ontario adults—and we will continue to do that as our supply increases.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary.

Mr. Aris Babikian: Thank you to the minister for that answer.

I know many of my constituents are excited to finally be able to book their vaccine appointment. There is finally a light at the end of the tunnel for Scarborough–Agincourt.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to child care workers, there are many more essential workers in Scarborough.

Can the minister tell this House if there are any additional groups that will be able to start booking this Thursday?

Hon. Sylvia Jones: There are, and I’m very pleased to share.

As I said, five million Ontario adults have already received their first dose, and starting on Thursday we have an additional group who are eligible to book online:

—food manufacturing and distribution workers;

—agriculture and farm workers;

—funeral, crematorium and cemetery workers;

—enforcement, inspection and compliance roles, including bylaw enforcement, building inspectors, food inspectors, animal welfare inspectors, border inspection officers, labour inspectors and WSIB field workers.

We said from the very beginning, when we made our provincial framework, that individuals who could not work from home would get access to the vaccine as soon as we had sufficient supply. I am thrilled to be able to share with the House today that that happens on Thursday.

Long-term care

Ms. Andrea Horwath: I have another question for the Minister of Long-Term Care.

Speaker, I’ve quoted a story from a resident. Here are a couple from PSWs in long-term care from the commission report: “Couldn’t get to a resident fast enough that was asking for some water. So here I am, still struggling with the thought of [i]s she thirsty still on her journey? Because I couldn’t get the water to her fast enough. By the time I’m going for the water, someone else is calling or calling out.”

Another quote: “How many PSWs, how many health care workers have to give up their lives because we can’t get it together? I don’t think we have to be—we shouldn’t have to die in order to do our jobs. So there has to be a workable, workable isolation plan.”

People were crying out for this minister to do her job. It was her job to protect residents in long-term care and protect long-term care from COVID-19. She failed at that job. Will she do the right thing and resign today?

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: It is devastating to listen to the stories and to understand what happened. I think that is the very reason why I’m here in politics today—to address these long-standing issues. Why nobody else was doing it before this, I do not know.

My resignation would not replace a single ward bed. It would not create a single vaccine for someone. It would not stop a single new variant from emerging.

But what I can do, and what our government has been doing, is repairing and rebuilding and advancing long-term care, ever since we became government. We will continue to do that. We are shoring up the long-neglected staffing. We are building capacity. We are accelerating builds. We are using new methods of construction. We are understanding the needs of families and residents, unlike any previous government before us. We are committed to doing—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, the stories that are outlined—the horrifying, devastating stories in the commission’s report—aren’t new. The same stories were being told to the government by the Canadian Armed Forces and, as the commission said, instead of spending the summer shoring up long-term care, this minister chose not to do so. This government didn’t want to spend the money.

Here is another family member’s story: “The bottom line is that dealing with my mom during the pandemic ... is that we saved our mother’s life, and she likely would have died from neglect. She lost over 20 pounds in a matter of weeks and was nearing death by starvation because we were locked out and unable to help her while staff were off recovering from COVID.”

This minister’s job was to protect that woman and everybody else in long-term care from COVID-19. She failed at that job. Will she do the right thing and step down? She does not belong as the Minister of Long-Term Care. She failed utterly.

Hon. Merrilee Fullerton: In fact, if you go back and read the testimony of the commission of long-term care, you will see Dr. McGeer talk about the magnitude of the second wave and the inadequacies that had been left for many, many years in long-term care. The second wave magnitude was so great that it could not be overcome. That level of community spread in wave 2 was very significant.

So we are here now, as a government, committed to long-term care—to the rebuilding, and the repair, and advancing it. That is very clear from the historic investments, almost $10 billion to shore up the staffing; our commitment to four hours of direct care per resident; the capacity issues; the dollars that have been spent for IPAC; and working with all the different entities responsible for the health care system—Ontario Health, Public Health Ontario, our medical officers of health and multiple ministries—making sure that every stone is turned to repair and rebuild long-term care. That is our mission.

That is what we were doing before COVID-19, that is what we were doing during COVID-19 and—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you very much. Next question.

Child protection

Mrs. Belinda C. Karahalios: My question is for the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

On Friday, April 23, local publication Peterborough This Week reported that on Sunday, April 18, two OPP officers approached a group of eight parents at a park with 11 of their children. The officers were demanding from parents their names and dates of birth, and then went on to threaten the parents to let them know that, in these types of situations, they are liaising with the children’s aid society. He didn’t explain what the situation was, as the parents were not breaking any rules. The Peterborough county OPP’s community safety and media officer defended the move, stating that the OPP may liaise with children’s aid if social distancing or mask wearing is not done by parents.

Does this government believe that it is the job of the OPP to spy on parents in parks with their children, collect their information, and go running to children’s aid if, in their opinion, the appropriate mask wearing or social distancing is not occurring?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply on behalf of the government, the Solicitor General.

Hon. Sylvia Jones: Clearly, I am not going to be able to talk about individual instances that may or may not have occurred. The proper investigation should be left to the OPP and/or the jurisdiction in which the alleged incident occurred.

What I can tell you is that we all need to understand and appreciate that there is currently a stay-at-home order in place. There are a number of facilities, including a number of provincial assets, that have been closed to discourage people from gathering together so that we continue to stay safe and keep people physically distanced from each other—and if they cannot, then wear masks. All of these pieces together ensure that we can, as much as possible, limit the transmission of COVID-19 and the variants of concern. We will continue to do that to protect our friends and neighbours.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question?

Mrs. Belinda C. Karahalios: Speaker, it appears that the government has lost the plot. I’d like to remind this government that it is parents—not the OPP, not the minister, and not the Premier—who are the primary educators and caregivers of their children.

In the same news report, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services said that it has not provided specific guidance to children’s aid to report parents who are not complying with current stay-at-home orders. But that’s not good enough.

What I want to know is, since the news report, has this government instructed children’s aid and the OPP to back off when it comes to how parents are parenting their children on things like mask wearing and social distancing?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The government House leader.

Hon. Paul Calandra: I think the government has been very clear right from the onset that the best way to protect parents and children is to abide by the regulations that have been put forward by our medical officer of health in the province of Ontario.

I think we are in agreement—myself, the government and the member opposite—that parents are, of course, best placed to keep their children safe.

At the same time, it is the government’s responsibility to help and provide assistance to ensure that parents know everything they must know in order to help keep their children safe.

I think we all have the exact same goal: keeping our children safe, keeping the province safe. We’ll continue on that path.

COVID-19 immunization

Mr. Aris Babikian: Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Health.

Despite an inconsistent vaccine supply to date, our government has continued to build a solid foundation in Ontario’s vaccine rollout, with a focus on age and risk, allowing us to reach our most vulnerable populations and have a measurable impact.

Can the Minister of Health update this House on the status of our vaccination program for the month of May?

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you to the member for that question.

I was pleased to report to this House that last Thursday we were on track to achieve our goal of administering first doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 40% of Ontarians aged 18 or over—which was achieved. As of today, over 5.3 million doses have been administered across the province.

Importantly, over 91% of Ontarians aged 80 and over have received at least one dose; over 25,000 first and second doses have been administered in 31 fly-in First Nations communities and Moosonee; and 95% of long-term-care residents are now fully vaccinated, providing a layer of protection to those who need it most.

Mr. Speaker, the best vaccine for anyone remains the first vaccine that you’re offered. I hope that everyone in Ontario will take that up as soon as they’ve reached the required age and level.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Mr. Aris Babikian: Thank you to the minister for the update.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of what our government has been able to accomplish despite the unpredictable supply of vaccines to date.

Now that we have more vaccines being delivered this month, can the minister tell us how we are going to expand our capacity to vaccinate even more Ontarians?

Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you again to the member for the question.

Approximately 800,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive in Ontario each week at the start of May, ramping up to 940,000 doses per week by the end of May. This reliable increase in vaccine supply allows our government to further accelerate our vaccine rollout and get more shots into arms.

Because of this, last Friday we launched a pilot through select pharmacy locations in hot spot communities to administer the Pfizer vaccine to individuals aged 55 and over. Eight stores in Peel and eight in Toronto will participate in this pilot, with each location receiving approximately 150 doses per week to help continue to grow province-wide capacity to vaccinate as many individuals as quickly as possible.

With a strong and steady supply of vaccines on the way, we will continue expanding access to individuals across the province.

Government accountability

Mr. Michael Mantha: Last week, we learned that the Premier’s personal pollster and professional lobbyist Nick Kouvalis has been quietly pocketing over $100,000 a year of taxpayer money to advise the Conservatives. That’s on top of the $120 million he has gotten in government contracts from the Premier in the last few years.

My question is to the Deputy Premier.

We know it’s not just Nick; Kory Teneycke, the chief lobbyist for big corporations like Amazon, is also on the PC Party payroll.

Why does the government think that lobbyists and PC insiders deserve a bigger say around the cabinet table than experts like the science table?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Government House leader.

Hon. Paul Calandra: Clearly, we don’t. This is why cabinet and this caucus have been meeting for months, and why this Legislature, as well, has been meeting for months, non-stop, to bring forward an aggressive pandemic response.

I remind the member opposite that indeed his party voted with the government—unanimously, in fact; all members of this Legislature voted with the government—on a number of proposals at the onset of this pandemic.

It’s the job of the government to bring people together and address issues with respect to global health and an economic pandemic the likes of which we have not seen in over 100 years.

I’m very proud of the fact that we have done that—whether it’s on states of emergency, which we’ve received unanimous consent for; whether it’s on budgets, which we received the unanimous support of this House for; or, most recently, the Minister of Labour, who was able to bridge gaps between all parties in this Legislature and bring forward a bill on sick pay which received the unanimous consent of every member of this Legislature and speedy passage. We’re getting the job done for all Ontarians, and more often than not we’re doing it together.

I appreciate the support of all members.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Mr. Michael Mantha: Again to the Deputy Premier: While lobbyists and PC Party insiders are steering the ship around the cabinet table, Ontarians are asking what the Premier and his ministers are doing. It turns out they’re all out fundraising.

First, the Premier left his 24-hour, super-important cabinet meeting to expand police powers and shut down parks to fundraise—his third fundraiser that month.

Now the Minister of Labour has another $1,000-per-plate fundraiser planned this week. Speaker, $1,000 per plate pays for a lot of sick days—just saying.

My question, again, through you, to the Deputy Premier: Why, when we’re in the worst crisis our province has ever seen, is this government’s top priority filling the PC Party bank accounts?

Hon. Paul Calandra: First, we’ve been working very, very hard.

I’ll tell you what I have been doing.

On the weekend, I was able to speak to a small business in my community that has had a challenging time. He opened up just as the pandemic was starting—a brand new shoe repair business for Stouffville. I want Baktash to know that we are supporting him and helping him.

I spoke to parents Lisa and Margaret, who told me about the challenges that they’re facing, understandably, with having children at home—they’re trying to get their kids through school while still doing their jobs.

I know those are stories that we’ve heard from a number of people.

The member for Northumberland–Peterborough was telling us with respect to—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Opposition, come to order.

Hon. Paul Calandra: —in his riding and the great work that they’ve been doing on vaccinations.

We heard the Minister of Health talk about the incredible work that was done getting all of those First Nations vaccinated in the province of Ontario.

There’s a lot of work—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you. Next question.

COVID-19 immunization

Mr. Roman Baber: My question is to the Premier.

Six months ago, the Premier started talking about vaccines as Ontario’s exit strategy out of the pandemic. He did so knowing that distribution would take at least six months to a year, but almost immediately, on cue, shifted the blame onto the federal government.

But now we have a major pivot. During his press conference on Friday, the Premier used the phrase “vaccine-resistant variants” three separate times.

So what was the Premier told about vaccine-resistant variants, and what does that mean for us? Does it mean that the vaccine is not a viable exit strategy anymore? And if this government believes that the lockdown is the only way to fight COVID-19, do vaccine-resistant variants mean that we’re going to be in lockdown forever?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Minister of Health.

Hon. Christine Elliott: In fact, the vaccinations and the progress that we’ve been making on vaccinations has taken us very far: Over five million Ontarians have now received the vaccine. We also know that even if you have your first dose, you have much greater protection against COVID-19 than if you do not. And even if you do contract COVID-19 after your first vaccination, the evidence has shown that you’re not likely to require hospitalization and that it will in all likelihood save your life. So we are going to continue. We are receiving more vaccines now from the federal government.

It is true that during the month of February we were receiving fewer doses of the Pfizer vaccine because of some of the work they were doing on one of their warehouses in Europe. We have also had a slowdown in the Moderna vaccines. But these vaccines are coming in in greater quantities now. We’re going to continue to vaccinate people.

We’re also learning more about the variants of concern. But the evidence so far suggests that except for the South African variant, which is not helpful with respect to using AstraZeneca, we are doing well with vaccines and they will provide the people of Ontario with the protection they need.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary.

Mr. Roman Baber: Speaker, with respect, I did not get an answer to my question. The Premier used the phrase “vaccine-resistant variants” three times on Friday; the minister didn’t use it once.

The goalpost keeps changing month to month. It shows that the government never had an exit strategy. That’s why Ontarians lost faith in this Premier. “Two weeks to flatten the curve” turned into “slow the spread.” “Slow the spread” turned into “stop the spread.” “Stop the spread” turned into, “Until we all get vaccinated, we must all stay home.” And now it has come to this moment: a repeated threat by the Premier of vaccine-resistant variants.

Ontarians want to know where this is going, because we demand our lives, our livelihoods and our liberties back.

Hon. Christine Elliott: Well, in answer to the member’s question: We have had a plan for protecting the health and well-being of Ontarians since this pandemic began. We ultimately wish to receive the vaccines—which we are receiving now. We are supplying people with the vaccinations, and I’m very pleased that so many people are coming forward voluntarily to receive the vaccines—because that’s not happening in every jurisdiction; in Ontario it is, and we’re very grateful for people coming forward to receive their vaccines.

However, we also know that we need to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, and that’s what we’re doing with the stay-at-home order. That is to protect people—again, to keep people from catching either one of the variants of concern or the original COVID-19, if I may call it that. That is also very important—limiting transmission, and getting people vaccinated.

We’re not going to stop until every single person in Ontario who wishes to receive the vaccine gets one.

COVID-19 response

Ms. Marit Stiles: This question is for the Minister of Education.

Speaker, internal emails published by the Toronto Star this morning show how a teacher’s Twitter post sent the government spinning into damage control. The tweet shows a crowded 34-desk classroom with barely any room for students to move between desks, let alone stay safely distanced. It’s just one of many such examples that have been shared by education workers at a time when this government was repeatedly refusing to cap class sizes.

Speaker, is the minister finally ready to admit that holding back needed supports for schools led to the cycle of school closures—the absolutely disgraceful mess that continues to this day?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: What I can confirm to the member opposite is that Ontario has one of the lowest case rates for youth under 20 because our government followed the advice, invested in a plan with the full stamp of approval by the Chief Medical Officer of Health.

In fact, it is a $1.6-billion plan that helped us hire 7,000 net new staff—3,400 more teachers; 95% of air ventilation systems in the province of Ontario in publicly funded schools, as reported by the boards, have been improved; we doubled the public health nurse allocation supporting our schools; we launched one of Canada’s only province-wide asymptomatic testing programs; and we purchased and implemented 33,000 HEPA units to improve air ventilation—all of this because we followed the advice, because we invested, and because our Premier and our government are committed to keeping students safe in this province.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Ms. Marit Stiles: Our schools are closed across this province. We’re in the third lockdown. What does this minister not understand about this?

All throughout this pandemic, the minister has been more interested in appearances than in actually keeping students and education workers safe.

Their approach has failed: 27% of schools had at least one case of COVID-19 before the recent closure. Infections and related isolation requirements caused absolute havoc for families.

Looking ahead, school boards have been told to plan for layoffs, that their reserves will not be replenished. And they still don’t have details about this year’s funding breakdown.

Can the minister tell us how cutting staff and inflating class sizes is going to make schools safer or help kids recover from this pandemic?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: In the words of the Chief Medical Officer of Health last month, our schools—

Interjection.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: I wouldn’t dismiss the public health leader of Ontario at a time of crisis. I would actually have confidence in him at a time when we need our institutions to have that confidence and—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Take your seat.

Member for York Centre, come to order. Member for Davenport, come to order.

Minister of Education, conclude your answer.

Hon. Stephen Lecce: It is most concerning to hear that level of distrust in our public health units.

What the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario said is that our schools have been safe, and we want to keep them safe. That’s why we put in place a plan, a $1.6-billion investment, that hired more staff.

Our commitment, going forward, is that we are going to have more staff supporting our schools, continued improvements in air ventilation, the continuation of supports that have been critical, including PPE.

Speaker, we have, under our government—unlike under the former Liberal government—increased mental health supports by 400%, because we know the risks. The challenges are real for our students and for our staff.

We will be there for students as we look to September. We’ve been planning over the past months for that—being ready for wherever this pandemic takes us. We will be ready to ensure schools are safe and they are open in September.

Education funding

Ms. Kathleen O. Wynne: My question is also for the Minister of Education and actually follows on the last question.

As of today, none of the school boards in Ontario have received the detailed information regarding the funding for next year, although that information in the form of the Grants for Student Needs was promised a month ago. This delay will already have caused turmoil in board planning. How many teachers? How many support staff? How many admin and cleaning personnel? These questions simply cannot be answered until boards receive the GSNs.

To compound the problem this year, boards have not received the guidance that they’ve asked for on how to plan for the coming school year. What are the public health expectations, and what are the scenarios boards should be modelling? These are questions that boards now, already in May, cannot answer.

Students, teachers, support staff in all 72 boards in Ontario have been under enormous stress this year.

What will the minister do to do to ensure the delay of the GSNs does not have a negative impact on the ability of boards to plan for the next school year?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Thank you to the member opposite for the question.

Indeed, the Grants for Student Needs, the priorities fund and Ontario’s learning recovery plan will all be unveiled in very short order to enable our school boards to be ready for whatever scenario, whatever path, this pandemic takes as we look forward.

While there’s a promise of hope, as the Solicitor General confirmed, with educators this week now being eligible, child care educators last week, licensed child care educators being eligible for the vaccine—that gives us hope as we look to September.

We have been planning, listening to experts, and working closely with the Chief Medical Officer of Health to ensure every public health intervention that has helped keep case rates down—it is no coincidence that Ontario has one of the lowest case rates of youth under 20 in the country, because we put in place a plan that has listened to the science, because we’ve provided school boards with the funding they needed to combat this pandemic. We’re going to continue to do that.

I assure the member that’s coming in short order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary?

Ms. Kathleen O. Wynne: It’s interesting that the minister talks about the funding that was put in place to combat COVID-19, which was inadequate. But that funding is being removed.

In this year’s budget, the government claims that it’s increasing funding to schools in the province. In fact, while the pandemic is still in full force in Ontario, this government is cutting over $1.5 billion from education. That funding paid for boards to support the realities of COVID-19, including some, though not enough, extra staffing.

Now, with no guidance on how they should plan for next year, the late release of funding information, and facing the removal of support that schools across the province may still need, boards are facing funding cuts.

On top of the direct funding cut, boards are also facing the reality that the reserve funds that had been earmarked for local school projects that they had to dip into to deal with COVID-19 pressures are not going to be restored. There was nothing in the budget to indicate that the government understands that the use of reserve funds was a short-term, flawed solution to an immediate problem, but that long-term problem still exists.

Speaker, when will the government restore the reserve funds to boards so they can fulfill their commitments to local school projects?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Mr. Speaker, the Chief Medical Officer of Health of this province has confirmed that schools have been safe in this province.

The challenge we face in Ontario is a spike in community transmission that has stayed up—a challenge within our ICU capacity. We’re all responding and doing our part.

What we have done in our school system is listened to the science and put in place every public health measure possible: quality PPE, the cohorting of staff, screening, active screening of children before they enter schools, an asymptomatic testing program that uniquely positioned Ontario to respond both in high-risk regions and in all school boards across the province. We’ve hired 7,000 net new staff.

I can assure the member and all families in the province, we will be there for school boards in September, for our children, for our staff and for the families who depend on our publicly funded schools. We will have more teachers. We will have improvements to air ventilation, mental health—in the areas of learning loss, focused on math and on literacy, the areas that we know we’ve seen a regression globally for students.

We’re going to continue to invest, because we know it matters to families in this province.

Indigenous health care

Ms. Suze Morrison: My question is for the Premier.

The urban Indigenous community in Toronto has been devastated by COVID-19. According to preliminary data, Indigenous people in Toronto have been hospitalized at more than three times the rate of the general population, and the rate of infection for Indigenous people is 23% higher. Despite that, Indigenous people across Ontario are not receiving equitable access to vaccines. Under current provincial guidelines, Indigenous people living off-reserve are being asked to wait four times longer for their second dose than those who are on-reserve.

Speaker, this is not the time to be distinguishing between and discriminating against Indigenous people just because they don’t live on-reserve, when we know that all Indigenous people are equally at risk.

Will the Premier commit today to end this racist and discriminatory policy and offer all Indigenous people, on-reserve or off-reserve, equitable access to the second doses of their vaccines?

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): The Minister of Health.

Hon. Christine Elliott: We are ensuring equitable access to a vaccine to all of the people of Ontario—and I would start with the Indigenous community and the operation in fly-in communities: Operation Remote Immunity, which was led by Dr. Homer Tien and Ornge, with people from the community, and making sure that all of those residents were vaccinated.

Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald is a member of the task force on immunity, and I can advise you that she has been a very vocal proponent of ensuring that Indigenous people living off-reserve and living in urban areas also receive their vaccinations in a timely manner, in the same way as the people on-reserve have. Chief Archibald is a large proponent of that within the task force.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): That concludes our question period for this morning. There being no further business, this House stands in recess until 1 p.m.

The House recessed from 1134 to 1300.

Reports by Committees

Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight

Mr. Tom Rakocevic: I beg leave to present the eighth interim report of the Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Mr. Rakocevic presents the committee’s report. Does the member wish to make a brief statement?

Mr. Tom Rakocevic: As Vice-Chair of the Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight, I am pleased to table the committee’s eighth interim report.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the membership of the committee for their work: Daryl Kramp, Chair; Bob Bailey; Gilles Bisson; John Fraser; Christine Hogarth; Robin Martin; Sam Oosterhoff; Lindsey Park; Sara Singh; and Effie Triantafilopoulos.

The committee extends its appreciation to the Solicitor General for appearing before the committee. The committee also acknowledges the assistance provided during the hearings and report-writing deliberations by the Clerk of the Committee and the staff in legislative research.

Report presented.

Introduction of Bills

Inherent Right to Safe Drinking Water Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 sur le droit inhérent à de l’eau potable saine

Mr. Mamakwa moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 286,

An Act to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002 to require specified actions with respect to safe drinking water for Ontarians living and working on reserves / Projet de loi 286, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2002 sur la salubrité de l’eau potable pour exiger des mesures spécifiées à l’égard de la salubrité de l’eau potable des Ontariens et Ontariennes qui vivent et travaillent dans des réserves.

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

First reading agreed to.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Would the member like to briefly explain his bill?

Mr. Sol Mamakwa: Meegwetch, Speaker.

This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002. Currently, one of the act’s purposes is to recognize that the people of Ontario are entitled to expect their drinking water to be safe. The bill amends this purpose to specify that Ontarians living and working on reserves have the same entitlement.

The bill amends the act to require the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to submit to the Minister of Indigenous Services Canada a comprehensive set of recommended standards respecting the provision of safe drinking water on reserves in Ontario.

Petitions

COVID-19 response

Mr. Deepak Anand: “To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas new mutations of COVID-19—known ... as variants of concern (VOC)—originating in other parts of the world are the main drivers of the devastating third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and are currently entering both Canada and the province of Ontario by way of international travel; and

“Whereas the provincial government has taken decisive action to stop the spread of new COVID-19 variants by closing interprovincial land and water borders and by instituting a first-in-Canada program of mandatory on-arrival COVID-19 testing for international flights; and

“Whereas in the last two weeks alone, 17 flights landed at Pearson International Airport with possible COVID-19 exposure; and

“Whereas further action is needed from the federal government to restrict international travellers who are at heightened risk of spreading COVID-19 and variants of concern from entering the province of Ontario;

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

“To immediately, through all means at the disposal of the government, petition the federal government to take swift and decisive action to curb all non-essential international travel to protect Ontario’s public health care system from the unprecedented strains currently facing it if current trends are left unchecked.”

I fully support this petition and will pass it on to the desk.

Orders of the Day

Advancing Oversight and Planning in Ontario’s Health System Act, 2021 / Loi de 2021 visant à faire progresser la surveillance et la planification dans le cadre du système de santé de l’Ontario

Resuming the debate adjourned on April 29, 2021, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 283,

An Act to amend and enact various Acts with respect to the health system / Projet de loi 283, Loi visant à modifier et à édicter diverses lois en ce qui concerne le système de santé.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Further debate?

Mr. Chris Glover: It’s an honour to rise in the House and speak on behalf of the people of Spadina–Fort York, and it’s a real honour to speak about this bill, the Advancing Oversight and Planning in Ontario’s Health System Act, Bill 283. There are two main schedules in this bill. The first one deals with vaccinations and the second one deals with the regulation of PSWs. That’s how I’m going to divide my time. I want to talk about both of these: the vaccinations—the vaccination reporting act—and also the PSWs.

The first part of the act, the vaccinations, seems to give the ministry, from my reading of it, the power to collect information about vaccinations, including identifying information, who’s been vaccinated, who they got vaccinated by and what kind of vaccination they got. This makes a lot of sense in the middle of a pandemic to keep these records. It seems also that vaccine passports are being talked about internationally in order for international travel to happen in the next stages of the pandemic. So collecting this kind of information makes sense. The question is: Why is it happening now? How did the government manage to mess up the vaccine rollout so badly in this province?

There’s a team of volunteers in Spadina–Fort York who are desperately trying right now to register people for their vaccines. One of them just sent me this text message. He got a message—he’s on the provincial online portal and he just got this message. He said: “We are using”—this is the government portal speaking to him—“a virtual queue to limit the number of people using the website at the same time. Your number in line is 915,515.” That’s the success of this government’s vaccine rollout. That’s the online portal.

There are 22 different sites where you can book your vaccine in the GTA and many of them are insanely difficult to use. The Conservative government’s vaccine registration portal has also crashed multiple times, so that nobody had any way to book. It was closed for three days last week. There were 3,100 local appointments that had to be rescheduled because of the crash.

There are three postal codes in my riding that have ben announced as hot spots, and for three weeks, people have been wondering, “How can we get vaccinated? We’re identified as a hot spot. We were told that anybody 18 and over in those postal code hot spots would be able to register.” But there has not been the capacity to do it.

Part of the reason for that is that three weeks ago, the Premier was speaking to the media and he announced, “These are the postal codes that are hot spots, and anybody 18 and over will be able to register.” The problem with making that announcement in the media is that he never informed the public health units or the hospitals or anybody who’s actually doing the vaccinations that he was going to make this announcement.

The next day, the University Health Network’s website crashed because there were so many thousands of people trying to book their registration, and this was because there was no plan for this rollout and there was no supply. This announcement was made and it just added further to the confusion.

On March 15, the Ontario portal was finally opened. At that point, because the government’s vaccine registration portal came so late, we already had some supply in Ontario and the public health units and the hospitals had scrambled and developed their own registration sites. Otherwise, they would have had vaccines and nobody to vaccinate, and those vaccines would have expired. They would have gone to waste if they hadn’t jumped into the breach that was left by this government’s lack of attention to creating this online portal on time.

I saw this on Twitter last week. There was a woman from Ontario, and she said, “I registered my parents for vaccines in Ontario, and I registered my aunt for a vaccine in Nova Scotia. In Ontario, it was awful. It took several days and many attempts: Going online, finding out that there are registrations, the registration portal opens, it’s open for an hour and then all of them are booked.” And there are multiple different sites. As I said, there’s 22 different sites in the GTA where you can register for a vaccine.

Then she registered her aunt in Nova Scotia, and in Nova Scotia there’s one site. Whether you’re registering for a vaccine at a pharmacy or a hospital or a clinic or one of the government mass vaccination sites, it’s all happening through one portal. You type in your name, your age, your postal code, and they give you the locations near you where you can get vaccinated. So it’s a much, much simpler system.

That’s the system we should have had, and it’s a system that was developed by an Ontario company called CANImmunize. Nova Scotia hired an Ontario company to develop their vaccine registration program, and they’ve got a really good system. We’ve got this mishmash, a confusing system where we’ve got Vaccine Hunters Canada and all these different things because this government has not taken the time or did not plan properly for this vaccine registration.

The other thing about vaccine registrations is that you can only book with a green OHIP card. If you’re booking online, you can only book with a green OHIP card. If you’ve got one of the older cards, you can’t book with it, so then you have to go to the phone, and you can wait on the phone for hours and hours. I’ve got many complaints from residents in my riding who said they’ve waited on the phone, and then the person wasn’t able to help them. They wasted several hours waiting on the phone and the person on the other end of the phone just wasn’t able to help them because either they didn’t have proper training or there were no registration spots available after all those hours of waiting.

There are also 500,000 residents who do not have a medical card. Those people need a way to get registered for the vaccines as well, and there’s no way to do that online right now. It’s been a disaster from day one, this vaccine registration.

The other thing that’s happened, and it came out over the last couple of weeks, is the political games that this government has been playing with vaccines. The science table gave the government a list of postal codes that were hot spots based on the health data, and what happened was, they were edited to accommodate—and this is from the Toronto Star. The Toronto Star report asks, “Is the Ford government playing politics when determining which COVID-19 hot spots are given priority for vaccines?”

Conservative MPPs say it’s not, but a CBC investigation shows certain PC ridings such as York region neighbourhoods, which is a Conservative riding, have lower COVID-19 rates yet are getting vaccinated at a higher rate than others that are harder hit by COVID-19. That is shameful, because if you’re playing politics—

Mr. Kaleed Rasheed: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Point of order.

Mr. Kaleed Rasheed: With all due respect to the member opposite, I know the bill talks about COVID-19 vaccines, but it doesn’t talk about the details that the member is going into, like postal codes and all of those things. So I would appreciate if the member opposite can talk about—I mean, he can talk about the COVID vaccine, but not what is not in the bill.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Order.

I appreciate the member’s point of order, first of all. It is a reminder to all of us that the remarks that we make in debate have to be relevant to the bill that we’re actually debating.

This bill, Bill 283, I have in my hands is a health-related bill.

Schedule 1 is the COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting Act. I hear the member talking about the vaccination rollout, and