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November 2, 2017

41st Parliament, 2nd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2017-Nov-02 (PDF)

L115 - Thu 2 Nov 2017 / Jeu 2 nov 2017

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Thursday 2 November 2017 Jeudi 2 novembre 2017

Orders of the Day

Cannabis, Smoke-Free Ontario and Road Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 modifiant des lois en ce qui concerne le cannabis, l’Ontario sans fumée et la sécurité routière

Introduction of Visitors

Oral Questions

Casinos

Casinos

Hospital services

Social assistance

Steel industry

Highway safety

Student mental health services

Public transit

Hospital services

Research

Student mental health services

Student mental health services

Housing policy

Member’s birthday

Legislative pages

Introduction of Visitors

Members’ Statements

Diabetes

Veterans

Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurpurab

Community Living Upper Ottawa Valley

Autism services

Somali community

Battle of Passchendaele

Flu immunization

Trent University Durham

Visitor

Introduction of Bills

Safer Ontario Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 pour plus de sécurité en Ontario

Motions

Committee sittings

Committee sittings

Consideration of Bill 29

Statements by the Ministry and Responses

Remembrance Week

Petitions

Dental care

Long-term care

Public transit

Long-term care

Animal protection

Long-term care

Pharmacare

Public transit

Long-term care

Shingles vaccine

Public transit

Hydro rates

Winter highway maintenance

Private Members’ Public Business

Fairness in Minimum Wage Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 sur l’équité en matière de salaire minimum

WSIB Coverage for Workers in Residential Care Facilities and Group Homes Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 sur la protection à accorder aux travailleurs dans les établissements de soins en résidence et les foyers de groupe par la Commission de la sécurité professionnelle et de l’assurance contre les accidents du travail

Time to Care Act (Long-Term Care Homes Amendment, Minimum Standard of Daily Care), 2017 / Loi de 2017 sur le temps alloué aux soins (modifiant la

Loi sur les foyers de soins de longue durée et prévoyant une norme minimale en matière de soins quotidiens)

Fairness in Minimum Wage Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 sur l’équité en matière de salaire minimum

WSIB Coverage for Workers in Residential Care Facilities and Group Homes Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 sur la protection à accorder aux travailleurs dans les établissements de soins en résidence et les foyers de groupe par la Commission de la sécurité professionnelle et de l’assurance contre les accidents du travail

Time to Care Act (Long-Term Care Homes Amendment, Minimum Standard of Daily Care), 2017 / Loi de 2017 sur le temps alloué aux soins (modifiant la

Loi sur les foyers de soins de longue durée et prévoyant une norme minimale en matière de soins quotidiens)

Fairness in Minimum Wage Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 sur l’équité en matière de salaire minimum

Time to Care Act (Long-Term Care Homes Amendment, Minimum Standard of Daily Care), 2017 / Loi de 2017 sur le temps alloué aux soins (modifiant la

Loi sur les foyers de soins de longue durée et prévoyant une norme minimale en matière de soins quotidiens)

The House met at 0900.

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

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Cannabis, Smoke-Free Ontario and Road Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 modifiant des lois en ce qui concerne le cannabis, l’Ontario sans fumée et la sécurité routière

Mr. Yasir Naqvi moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 174,

An Act to enact the Cannabis Act, 2017, the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation Act, 2017 and the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, to repeal two Acts and to make amendments to the Highway Traffic Act respecting alcohol, drugs and other matters / Projet de loi 174, Loi édictant la Loi de 2017 sur le cannabis, la Loi de 2017 sur la Société ontarienne de vente du cannabis et la Loi de 2017 favorisant un Ontario sans fumée, abrogeant deux lois et modifiant le Code de la route en ce qui concerne l’alcool, les drogues et d’autres questions.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Mr. Naqvi.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I rise in the House today to open debate on a bill that, if passed, would move Ontario forward with a safe and sensible transition to the federal legalization of cannabis. Before I start, Speaker, I would like to let you know that I will be sharing my time with the Minister of Finance.

I would also like to take a moment to thank the minister along with all the many ministries across the Ontario government who have fed into this legislation. It truly was a cross-government bill. Many different aspects and viewpoints helped to create this comprehensive legislation that we have before us today.

As the members know, the federal government has committed to legalize and regulate recreational cannabis in Canada by July 2018. This past April, they introduced the federal Cannabis Act, which outlined how they plan to do it. The proposed federal legislation would make it legal for adults in Canada aged 18 or older to publicly possess or share up to 30 grams of dried cannabis or equivalent in another form, such as oils.

The legislation also stated that you could also buy cannabis from a provincially regulated retailer and grow up to four cannabis plants in your homes. The federal bill will also create a regulatory system for licensed cannabis producers to produce recreational cannabis, with restrictions on advertising, packaging and the types of products that can be sold. Finally, it would create a new regime of offences under the federal Cannabis Act for illegal cannabis activities, particularly those involving youth.

Under its proposed legislation, though, the federal government would continue to administer the system for medical cannabis users, in that medical cannabis can only be purchased online or over the phone directly from a federally licensed producer and delivered by secure mail. Medical users can also register with Health Canada to produce a limited amount of cannabis for their own medical purposes, or they can designate someone else to produce it for them.

Meanwhile, a range of other policy areas would be left to the provinces and territories to regulate for themselves, with the option to further strengthen some of the federal rules as well. This left our government, like every other provincial and territorial government across the country, with some very important decisions to make.

Speaker, if passed, the federal bill will set into motion a once-in-a-generation change for our society: the end of a prohibition. For many Ontario families, this raises a lot of questions and also a lot of concerns. As we look ahead to legalization, we have to consider its impacts on our communities, our roads and our children’s health. Our government takes these issues very seriously.

Through every step of this process of legalization, we have done our best to approach these changes as thoughtfully and responsibly as possible. We have developed an approach that we believe answers the questions we have heard from people across the province about how to navigate the new reality of legal cannabis use. Right from the start, our aim has been to protect youth, promote public health and safety, focus on prevention and harm reduction, and eliminate the illegal market. The bill before you today can help our province accomplish all of these goals.

As the members have heard me say before, the timeline for federal legalization is fairly ambitious. The amount of work and preparation our government has to do over the next few months is daunting, to be sure. But I am confident that our government has put in motion a plan that will allow us to meet the deadline of July 2018.

Even though the federal legislation was only introduced a few months ago, our government has been working on this issue for over a year now. The legislation we are proposing, and the approach it supports, was developed through months of research and policy development across over a dozen ministries led by our dedicated Ontario Legalization of Cannabis Secretariat, which is located in the Ministry of the Attorney General. This secretariat has done an incredible amount of consultation and work, and I want to thank them for all they have done in a fairly short period of time. I was very happy that they were able to join us for the introduction of this bill yesterday.

For many months, our government has been working closely with our partners at the federal and provincial levels to manage this complex transition. We have also been engaged with states from the United States, such as Colorado, that have already legalized recreational cannabis at the state level, to benefit from their lessons learned and best practices when they went through legalization.

Over the summer, Speaker, we held consultations with stakeholders from across industries and launched an online survey for people across the province to make sure that we were developing an approach that would work for the people of Ontario. By bringing these different perspectives together, we have developed a plan to ensure a safe and sensible transition for July. This legislation is a major step towards implementing that approach.

I would now like to take the members through some of our key proposals outlined in Bill 174. From day one, keeping youth and young adults safe has been our top priority. This is an area where our current cannabis laws have simply not been effective. Medical studies have shown that cannabis use can be harmful to the developing brain up to the age of 25. The rate of cannabis use among young people in Canada is among the highest in the world. That is why our bill, if passed, would introduce new measures to keep cannabis out of the hands of youth.

For starters, we would raise the minimum age to purchase, possess, cultivate or use recreational cannabis in Ontario to 19 years old, a year older than the federal minimum. Through consultation with public health and law enforcement experts, we found that raising the minimum age too high would lead young people to continue to rely on the illicit market. A minimum age of 19 would also align with Ontario’s minimum age for alcohol and tobacco, which people already know and understand.

The province’s approach to protecting youth would focus on prevention, harm reduction and diversion—not punishment. Our goal, Speaker, is to avoid unnecessarily bringing youth into contact with the justice system for possessing small amounts of cannabis. For example, to help enforce the minimum age, this bill would allow police to confiscate any amount of cannabis from youth under 19. These young people would receive a ticket under the Provincial Offences Act, similar to the kind of ticket one would receive for a minor traffic offence or youth possession of alcohol.

We believe that this approach to restricting youth possession of cannabis would strike the correct balance for Ontario and keep our youth safe.

We are also mindful of the health impacts that cannabis can have on all youth and young adults, even those between 19 and 25 who would be able to legally purchase and use recreational cannabis under our proposed approach. To help protect all young Ontarians and give them the tools they need to make responsible choices, it will be important to encourage honest conversations about cannabis.

We are committed to developing a comprehensive prevention and harm reduction approach that promotes awareness of cannabis-related health harms and helps people make informed decisions about its use. This approach will help education, health, youth and social service providers who work to prevent and reduce the harms of substance use in youth and young adults.

We will have more to say about this approach as work continues, but one step that our government is already taking is endorsing the Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines. The guidelines were developed to respond to the reality that even in an environment of prohibition, many Canadians do make the choice to use cannabis. They provide people with recommendations grounded in science that enable them to make decisions to help reduce the health risks associated with cannabis use. In doing so, we will also work with health care partners to share that information and promote using these guidelines.

We are also committed to exploring training and other supports needed to increase capacity among education, health care, youth justice and social service providers to improve prevention and harm reduction efforts. Finally, we will be developing resources to guide employers, labour groups and others as they manage workplace safety issues related to impairment at work, through education and awareness initiatives.

As we have in the past with cigarette smoke, we also need to take steps to limit the health impacts of second-hand cannabis smoke. That is why we are proposing strict limits on where cannabis can be consumed. Under our proposed legislation, it would only be legal to use recreational cannabis in private residences. People would not be able to use any form of recreational cannabis in public spaces, workplaces or inside a motor vehicle.

In developing these proposed rules, we have consulted with key public health stakeholders and drawn on lessons from the existing laws for consuming alcohol and the province’s Smoke-Free Ontario Act. This is a precautionary approach that we believe will keep our public spaces safe and enjoyable, while also protecting the health and well-being of all Ontarians, especially children, youth and other vulnerable populations.

Our proposed legislation would provide clarity on where medical cannabis can be used, which will help ensure that medical users have the access they need without compromising our public health objectives. These measures and more are addressed by the new proposed Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, which is included in the bill before the members today, Bill 174. This is an overhaul of the existing Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which as part of the Smoke-Free Ontario Strategy has greatly reduced tobacco use and lowered health risks to non-smokers in Ontario.

The new act, if passed, would build on that success by also addressing vaping and the use of e-cigarettes to better protect the people of Ontario from second-hand smoke.

Now, Speaker, I know that some people may be disappointed to see that our proposed approach does not include designated licensed establishments where recreational cannabis could be consumed. Throughout our consultations with stakeholders and other jurisdictions, we heard a consistent piece of advice across the board: Go slow. That is good advice. Our approach to cannabis legalization is to start out with more restrictive policies at first and then, once we have a better understanding of what works and what does not, consider relaxing them.

As such, while we are not including these establishments as part of our initial proposal for legalization, we are not ruling them out for the future either. As we move forward, our government plans to consult with a number of partners, communities and organizations, from municipalities to First Nations to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, to explore the feasibility and implications of this sort of change.

Likewise, our approach to retail, finding answers to the questions of how and where Ontarians can buy recreational cannabis, is also something that our government has been working on for a long time. Under our proposed approach, there would be only one legal retailer for recreational cannabis in Ontario, the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. Let me be clear: This will not be the name of the actual stores, rather the corporate name of the overarching organization. The LCBO will be going through a process to develop a brand for these stores.

After careful research and consultation with partners, we found that the best way to ensure a carefully controlled, socially responsible distribution of cannabis is through a government-controlled model overseen by the LCBO. The new agency would have a clear mandate to responsibly serve Ontarians across the province, building on the LCBO’s proven track record for excellent customer service and safety. Like the LCBO, the cannabis retailer would offer both an online ordering service and bricks-and-mortar locations.

The stores will be staffed with knowledgeable employees who are also well trained in social responsibility. The online service, meanwhile, would make legal recreational cannabis available across Ontario, offering secure mail delivery across the province and using all of the same delivery safeguards that exist now for online alcohol sales.

In a few minutes, Speaker, I will be turning the floor over to my colleague the Minister of Finance to speak more to this plan and its implementation.

Hon. Liz Sandals: That could be difficult.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I’m sure he will be coming soon.

As we work to build up a safe, responsible channel for recreational cannabis, we are also committed to stopping the sale of illegal, unregulated and unsafe cannabis. Even though it is already illegal under federal law, we are currently dealing with an active and profitable underground market that makes cannabis readily available to youth. I know in my community of Ottawa several times where constituents have come to me with concerns over the continued operation of these illegal dispensaries. Over the past several years, we have seen this underground market start to emerge at the street level, as storefronts illegally selling cannabis have opened up in cities and towns across Ontario.

I want to say now clearly, Speaker, that we are committed to eliminating the illegal market and taking down illegal cannabis storefronts. These storefronts are not legal now and will not be legal retailers under our proposed model. We know that establishing a safe and responsible cannabis retail environment means providing law enforcement officials with the tools they need to put a stop to the illegal sale of cannabis. If passed, our bill would create tough new penalties for illegal cannabis sales.

These would include penalties for individuals and companies who engage in the illegal sale of cannabis, as well as landlords who knowingly permit their property to be used for this purpose. An interim closure authority is also being proposed which would allow for the immediate closure of premises that are being used for the illegal sale of cannabis. Penalties could include fines or imprisonment, and would escalate based on repeated or continued offences after an initial conviction.

Over the past year, as I have spoken to friends and constituents, one of the concerns that has come most often is the impact that legalization will have on road safety. Every year for the past 16 years, Ontario has ranked first or second in road safety in North America. Our province has a road safety record that Ontarians should be proud of. But in recent months, I have heard many concerns that a greater availability of cannabis would lead to an increase in drug-impaired driving.

Looking at the evidence from other jurisdictions, like Colorado and Washington, that have already legalized cannabis, we know that these concerns should be taken seriously. We also need to confront a range of misconceptions about the impact of drug use on driving ability. We know that impaired driving, whether by drugs or alcohol, is illegal, dangerous and never okay. While the people of Ontario have a strong understanding of the risks of alcohol-impaired driving, there seems to be less clarity around cannabis and other drugs.

A 2014 roadside survey showed that the number of Ontario drivers who tested positive for drugs was more than double the number who tested positive for alcohol. These dangerous misconceptions are particularly prominent among young and new drivers. In that same survey, drivers aged 19 to 24 were more likely than any other age group to test positive for drugs and accounted for more than a third of all drug-positive drivers.

It is absolutely critical that our law enforcement partners have the right tools at their disposal and that the laws on the books reflect the seriousness of these offences. Thanks to changes that our government recently made, police in Ontario now have the ability to immediately remove from the road drivers they believe are impaired by drugs, and that includes cannabis.

With our proposed legislation we are working to make our impaired driving laws even tougher, by proposing increased consequences and costs for those who drive and use cannabis or other drugs. If passed, this bill would strengthen existing measures—which include licence suspensions and potential other penalties such as interventions, including mandatory education or treatment programs—by increasing the financial penalty for those who fail a roadside breath test, a standardized field sobriety test or an evaluation by a drug recognition expert.

It will also create a zero-tolerance policy for young, novice and commercial drivers. This is a sensible approach, Speaker, that focuses on drivers who present a greater risk on the road, whether through the likelihood or potential severity of a collision. Ontario will be the first in Canada to adopt this approach. We believe it is the right thing to do, to preserve our place as a global leader in road safety.

Research shows that drivers aged 21 and under, as well as novice drivers with a G1, G2, M1 or M2 licence, have a higher risk of collision than more experienced drivers. Collisions involving commercial vehicles are far more likely to be severe in nature, as they account for approximately one in five fatalities on Ontario roads. A zero-tolerance approach means that these drivers should not get behind the wheel if they have any presence of drugs or alcohol in their system, as detected by federally approved screening devices. The bill will also introduce new penalties to enforce this policy.

The new and increased penalties that we are proposing here would, of course, be in addition to the federal penalties for impaired driving convictions under the Criminal Code of Canada, which can result in a licence suspension, fines and jail time for offenders.

We developed these proposals in close partnership with our road safety partners and stakeholders who believe that Ontario’s approach is the right approach. We believe that these new enforcement tools are a good step towards ensuring that the law enforcement community is prepared for legalization and will be a valuable resource in eliminating the illicit market and in supporting road safety.

At the same time, we recognize the importance of engaging in dialogue with our enforcement partners. That is why we recently held an enforcement summit which brought together law enforcement, fire safety and public health experts, First Nations policing representatives, municipal partners, and the federal government. The summit focused on identifying enforcement strategies that are currently in place, and discovering where gaps may exist.

To help address those areas where there are gaps, we are also interested in identifying opportunities for collaboration between governments, the enforcement community and other partners, and ultimately determining what supports our government could provide in these areas.

In total, more than 100 individuals from across Ontario attended the summit and offered us valuable advice on how to work towards the effective enforcement of new cannabis laws and regulations. The perspectives and feedback that we received will be critical in helping us to develop a coordinated, multidisciplinary enforcement strategy. This strategy will support our key objective of a safe and sensible approach to federal legalization and will be centred around community safety, with a focus on prevention and diversion.

In the meantime, Speaker, we will continue to engage with municipal and enforcement partners, stakeholders and community partners, including indigenous community and organizations, to make sure that we are giving law enforcement the tools they need to do the important work that they do every single day in our communities.

I believe that we have put forward a vision and a strategy for legalization that the members of this Legislature and their constituents can be confident in. This bill, if passed, would move us one step closer to implementing this vision.

At the same time, there are a number of decisions to be made and challenges to overcome. Some of these, such as pricing and taxation decisions for our retail framework, will be informed by decisions that the federal government has yet to make public. In addition, certain aspects of Ontario’s approach to legalization will have to be set by regulation prior to legalization. It will be essential that we continue to work closely with our federal colleagues to better understand their plans and continue to advocate for the interests of Ontarians.

I have been encouraged over the past month to learn of the federal government’s plans to invest in a responsible transition to cannabis legalization, and I look forward to our continued work together. At the same time, we still have some questions and issues that need to be addressed, including issues related to the available supply of cannabis, the adequacy of federal resources to support effective provincial implementation, and a fair and equitable taxation and revenue-sharing system. Other decisions will be determined through ongoing dialogue with Ontarians, stakeholders and partners at the municipal level, and many others.

In particular, Speaker, we recognize the need to meaningfully engage with First Nations, Métis and Inuit organizations and peoples about cannabis legalization. We also understand and recognize that some First Nations communities may wish to develop specific approaches to cannabis. With this understanding, our bill includes flexibility for the province to enter into agreements with First Nations communities to establish these approaches, reflective of our government-to-government relationships with First Nations. I look forward to continued consultation and conversation as we move closer to July 2018.

Speaker, as you have already heard, this bill is just one piece of our safe and sensible approach to cannabis legalization. It is an approach that will almost certainly shift and evolve over time as we adjust to the new realities of legalization and as we inevitably learn lessons from that experience. In the short term, however, we are tasked with meeting an extremely ambitious timeline that our federal counterparts have set.

I would like to thank everyone who has given us their input so far by participating in our online survey, participating in consultation sessions, or sending us an email. With this ongoing support, I’m confident that the legislation we have placed before the House reflects the best interests of all Ontarians: cannabis users and non-users, parents, children, neighbours, and entire communities. Now I look forward to working with my fellow members of this House and hearing their input on this bill. By working together, I know we can and will arrive at a safe and sensible approach, the right approach that works for Ontario.

The Minister of Finance will take over from now.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): I turn it over to the Minister of Finance.

Hon. Charles Sousa: Thank you to my colleagues for their presentation. I’m pleased to speak about the proposed Cannabis, Smoke-Free Ontario and Road Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017, and how the act would enact our plan for a safe and sensible framework in response to the federal government’s legalization of cannabis. I would like to recognize and thank, once again, Minister Naqvi for his invaluable leadership on this complex file; as well, my colleague ministers Hoskins and Del Duca for their work on the critical aspects of the legislation around public health and road safety.

The proposed bill would enable Ontario to transition to the legalization of cannabis while accomplishing our goals, our goals of protecting youth and vulnerable people, promoting public health and safety, and focussing on prevention and harm reduction as well as eliminating the illegal market.

The reality is that we need to be ready with a provincial retail system when the federal government makes cannabis legal in July 2018. Ontario will be ready. Our plans will meet the federal imposed deadline by next summer. If passed, the proposed bill would enact a new Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation Act. The act would enable the creation of a new crown corporation, the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp., as a subsidiary of the LCBO.

In our proposed approach, this new crown agency would be the only legal retailer of cannabis in the province. The legislation sets out its objectives of governance and authorities. As the only retailer overseen by the LCBO to sell cannabis and related products through a network of dedicated storefronts and an online channel, it determines the types of cannabis products to sell, as well as at what price. Furthermore, it will promote social responsibility.

With this legislation, cannabis would remain a carefully controlled substance in Ontario, subject to strict rules, and one that ensures a controlled measure for distribution in the public’s interests, a system that ensures public health and safety, protects youth and vulnerable people, and prioritizes prevention and harm reduction.

Our proposed model has also received measures of praise for its approach. For example, Addictions and Mental Health Ontario’s chief operating officer, Gail Czukar, said, “Ontario’s approach to the federal legalization of cannabis is on the right track.” With those principles of health and consumer protection in mind, we determined that a controlled model makes sense, and it achieves a high level of social responsibility standards that the people of Ontario expect and deserve, just like the LCBO.

For example, Ontario Public Health Association executive director Pegeen Walsh said, “The province’s plan to regulate legalized cannabis reflects many of the recommendations we have been advocating for.” We’ve chosen the LCBO due to its successful history for selling of controlled substances while maintaining our mandate of social responsibility.

Last year, the LCBO identified over 14.4 million people who appeared underage or intoxicated or were suspected of purchasing for a minor or an intoxicated person. That same year, almost 260,000 people were refused service, with age accounting for 82% of those refusals. The LCBO e-commerce, the online ordering and delivery system, also maintains its strong social responsibility standards. It includes secure home delivery and checks upon delivery for intoxication and age verification.

Just as the LCBO now works in partnership with social and public health groups, the cannabis online delivery system would also maintain similar standards to develop and provide information about responsible consumption, just as the LCBO does with alcohol. I’m confident that the new cannabis retail corporation will embrace the same commitment to social responsibility that we see from the LCBO today.

It’s also important to note the experience of other jurisdictions, like in the US, which has shown that it would have had a better opportunity had it started with stronger controls, and then adjusted over time. Our approach would leverage the LCBO’s experience and operational capabilities to set up separate and dedicated stand-alone cannabis stores, selling cannabis and cannabis accessories, and not alcohol. Stores would have trained and knowledgeable staff and they would sell products in a safe, responsible manner, including strict requirements for age verification, as well as meeting additional federal requirements.

Ontario would, for example, comply with the federal requirements that restrict advertising to not permit products to be visible to youth and require a behind-the-counter type of retail environment. All sales would be assisted via counter service with no self-service. There would also be mandatory training for retail staff. Staff will have knowledge of the different products and public health information about how to use cannabis responsibly. Product types and formats would need to meet the forthcoming federal regulations on packaging and labelling information.

As for online sales, delivery will be available right across the province, but it will include strict precautions to ensure that our social responsibility measures are adhered to for home delivery, just as they are in our stores. For example, all of the same delivery standards and safeguards that exist now for online alcohol would apply, including checking for valid ID, requiring signatures upon delivery and no packages to be left unattended at the door. And as is the case with alcohol, the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. would ensure this channel has all the necessary safeguards to prevent minors from accessing the product.

As part of our safe and sensible transition to the legal sale of cannabis, we’re focused on halting the sale of illegal, unregulated and unsafe cannabis. The demand certainly exists. Many people are buying cannabis now, and they are purchasing it illegally. The dispensaries operating in our cities are illegal. They are illegal today, they were illegal yesterday, and they will continue to be illegal tomorrow. After the federal legislation approval date, the only legal way to purchase recreational cannabis in Ontario would be through the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp., a crown corporation.

We are mindful that through this illegal market, youth are exposed to and, in many respects, targeted to access cannabis. In Toronto and in other cities and towns across Ontario, we see illegal storefronts popping up on our streets and in our communities. Walking down Kensington Market, where I was born, you can’t help but pass by storefronts selling cannabis; you can’t help but see children, as we walk along the streets, smelling cannabis. Along with the federal government, our goal is to eliminate this illegal market.

This includes those illicit dispensaries representing themselves as legal retailers of medicinal cannabis. They are now and would continue to be illegal under the proposed new rules.

Right now, medicinal cannabis can only be purchased directly from a federally licensed producer. These purchases are made online or over the phone and they are delivered by secure mail. This federal program will still continue under the new model, but the current medicinal cannabis dispensaries will not.

In order to establish a safe and responsible cannabis retail environment, it requires providing law enforcement officials with the tools to put a stop to the illegal sale of cannabis. Ontario will work with and support law enforcement to shut these illegal operators.

If passed, our bill would create tough new penalties. These would include individuals and companies who engage in the illegal sale of cannabis, as well as landlords who knowingly permit their property to be used for this purpose. Penalties could include fines or imprisonment and would escalate based on repeated or continued offences after an initial conviction.

Mr. Speaker, our proposal would ensure that we are ready for next summer’s federal launch of legalized cannabis. But there is still work to do and more decisions to be made. Details such as pricing and taxation of cannabis will be discussed over the coming months. One of the outstanding questions is how much revenue this new system would bring to the province. There are still key issues that need to be addressed, including the federal tax approach, product pricing and market conditions.

Having said that, we don’t anticipate revenues to be that significant initially. It’s price sensitive—and this price-sensitive product means our priority must be to shrink the illicit market. Further revenues would need to be reinvested into programs that address the impacts of federal legalization, such as public education, health and social programs, and law enforcement.

When we made our announcement back in September detailing our preparation for the federal government’s plan to legalize cannabis, I spoke about how we would work with municipalities to identify possible store locations. Municipalities are essential partners in our efforts as we move forward, especially when it comes to siting stores. Tracey Cook, the city of Toronto’s licensing executive director, said this: “A provincially operated (marijuana) retail model guided by public health objectives and social responsibility would help ensure that public health and safety is paramount, thereby reducing local impacts that would require extensive municipal oversight and enforcement.”

I recognize that many municipalities have questions about the retail and distribution channels and how they would be involved in the future. Since our public announcement on September 8, staff from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and other partner ministries have engaged with municipalities. AMO, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, has provided invaluable input in informing us on the development of our approach, and we look forward to that ongoing discussion.

I thank the municipalities that have engaged with our governments to date and those municipalities participating on AMO’s marijuana task force. These consultations have also informed our process for engaging individual municipalities moving forward.

Over the coming weeks, municipalities where there is an intention to locate initial stores by July 2018 would be identified in stages. Two primary considerations will be used to guide where those stores should be located: achieving a geographic distribution of stores across all regions of the province; and reducing the number of illegal stores, including illicit dispensaries. As municipalities are identified, the Ministry of Finance would reach out to them by phone and letter. Municipalities selected for initial stores would also be posted on a public website: www.lcbocannabisupdates.com. This website is live.

Following this outreach, officials from the Ministry of Finance and the LCBO would

schedule meetings with municipal staff to discuss the siting process. From our consultations with AMO, the guidelines to identify specific store sites will ensure that youth are protected and the illegal market is addressed. This includes ensuring stores are not located close to schools. We know this is of critical concern to parents, to caregivers and to teachers alike. I have stated, time and time again, our goal is to protect youth and those most vulnerable in our communities.

MADD Canada has commended this approach by saying this: “It’s something that we support and that’s actually the sales model that we had recommended the government should take, similar to the LCBO, because of the controls on it, making sure it doesn’t get to people who are underage, making sure the quality is there.”

Once the LCBO identifies the prospective siting for a cannabis store, it would use a public notification process to let people know that a specific store location has been identified for their community. As part of the process, the LCBO would also provide information that outlines details on the store’s operations and on how local impacts would be addressed. This process would also give the public an opportunity to submit questions and concerns directly to the LCBO.

Municipalities are essential partners in our efforts to establish the safe, responsible sale of cannabis. In fact, I have already sent letters to the municipalities so that they are prepared for the next steps. These letters outline the process through which cannabis retail sites will be chosen. We’ll continue to engage with our municipal partners as well as with the public as these steps unfold. It’s critical, Madam Speaker, to work closely in association with all levels of government.

The federal government has outlined the provisions by which it’s going to be legalized by next summer. The federal government has made it clear that if the provinces are not prepared, it will step in and provide it online to those areas that are not accommodated, and those respective jurisdictions will lose control over the retail, distribution and protection measures in their communities. So Ontario has taken these steps and we have now led Canada in regard to the retailing, distribution and establishment of those conditions to accommodate and respond to the federal government.

But it is essential, as I said, to deal with all levels of government, and that’s why partnering with municipalities is critical. We must engage them at the start, enabling them to be aware of those provisions and also to initiate the proper siting of those locations so that we can meet the obligations that the federal government has imposed upon the provinces and municipalities.

Under the proposed framework, approximately 150 stand-alone stores would be open by the end of 2020, including 40 stores by July 2018, rising to 80 by July 2019. While not all municipalities would have a store in the initial rollout, online distribution would be available for July 2018 for all regions of the province, as I’ve already stated. We must be prepared to accommodate every region of the province on the date that it becomes legal, and we must also provide the measures to protect access and to protect the social and health issues that come from it. More importantly, we must undermine the organized, illicit activity that currently exists today.

Those measures mean that we will take a gradual approach to storefronts—that’s critical—as we begin to better understand the marketplace. Let us not be fooled that the demand is high but the appreciation of and attraction to a storefront is yet to be determined—so we’ll take the gradual approach in order to respond to the marketplace, not to dictate to the marketplace. The Canadian Medical Association agrees with this phased-in approach towards cannabis.

Our engagement doesn’t just include municipalities. We’ve also heard from indigenous peoples and communities. It’s critical, Madam Speaker, that we recognize the need for meaningful engagement with indigenous organizations. We recognize that some First Nations communities may wish to develop specific approaches to cannabis retailing. Our proposed legislation provides the flexibility for the province to enter into agreements with First Nations communities. I look forward to continued dialogue with indigenous communities and organizations as we move closer to July 2018.

My colleagues and I have already been in contact with some of the First Nations communities, many of whom have indicated a desire to possibly be a licensed producer. Many of them are concerned about the degree of distribution that could affect their respective communities. We recognize that we must work closely with them to protect their interests and at the same time ensure that legalization does not go underground but is there to protect all of the communities across our province. So I appreciate their engagement as well.

Our government’s approach to retail and distribution, Madam Speaker, is working in order to ensure the safe, responsible sale of cannabis and that we continue to eliminate the illegal market. We also want to address, as I have stated and as my colleague has said time and time again, the health and safety concerns that come with a controlled substance.

Our government’s approach must address these health and safety concerns. It’s something that the LCBO is quite familiar with. This includes precautions for physical health. To that, we are also drawing on lessons learned from the existing laws for consuming alcohol and the province’s Smoke-Free Ontario Act.

Our proposed legislation would also provide clarity on where medicinal cannabis could be used. We have developed a series of exceptions for medicinal cannabis users to help ensure they have the access they need without compromising our public health objectives. These measures, along with others, will be addressed by the new proposed Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, which is included in the bill before the members today.

I have to commend my colleagues at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care who have already done tremendous work in this regard with their work on the Smoke-Free Ontario Strategy, which has greatly reduced tobacco use and lowered health risks to non-smokers in Ontario. The new act, if passed, would build on that success by also addressing vaping and the use of e-cigarettes to better protect Ontarians from second-hand smoke, as well as understand the degree of content of THC in the oils and in the use of vaping.

We must be mindful of the degree of content—again, all the more reason we need knowledgeable and experienced staff who are trained to deal with these matters over the counter in a respective store.

When it comes to online and the accessories that will be displayed, a lot of information and instructions will be made available to, again, adhere to the restrictions and also inform those who wish to use recreational cannabis to protect themselves and to be mindful of the consequences and the degree of content that will be available in some of those vials.

For example, Canadian Cancer Society said this: “We support the proposed measures around protection and prevention in the cannabis framework and specifically the prohibiting of smoking cannabis in all work and public places, regulations regarding where cannabis can be sold, and the need for a public education campaign.” Madam Speaker, in my community, in Port Credit, I have received countless calls already from concerned parents who go to their ice cream shop right in the strip.

Right next door there is a tobacco establishment with individuals smoking right beside the children who have their ice cream cones; they’re smoking their stogies right beside them. Across the street is a weed shop, and they’re concerned about the use of the product in our public spaces. We must enact those respective laws to protect those interests.

We must also address impaired driving, whether it be drugs or alcohol. Together with our partners, the government has worked to raise awareness of alcohol-impaired driving. As my colleague the Attorney General has noted, there seems to be less clarity around cannabis and other drugs, and young and new drivers are more likely to have dangerous misconceptions. Keeping Ontario roads safe is a critical part of the province’s safe and sensible approach to the federal government’s legalization of cannabis. We are introducing new measures that would make drug-impaired driving laws even tougher.

In addition to creation of a new crown corporation, the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp., the proposed legislation would also provide for the appointment of a board of directors. As a subsidiary to the LCBO, the board of the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. would be accountable to and appointed by the board of the LCBO, subject to the approval of the Minister of Finance. The LCBO would remain accountable to the Minister of Finance for their liquor operations and would take on the added responsibility of providing oversight of the new cannabis retailer.

In addition, the proposed legislation would amend the LCBO’s legislation, the Liquor Control Act. These proposed amendments would enable the LCBO to provide oversight, advice and services to the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp.

It’s critical to take advantage of a tried-and-true system that Ontario has benefited from and enable that system to now operate a controlled substance in a way that’s socially responsible. We’re taking advantage of our controlled system through the LCBO to do just that. We want to leverage the expertise and the back-office capabilities of the LCBO to set up an effective and efficient retail and distribution system.

The proposed legislation also provides for the appointment of a president and a chief operating officer. The proposed legislation provides for the accountability and transparency measures that Ontarians expect of a crown agency. It would require the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. to report publicly with an annual report on the affairs of the corporation. It would require financial statements to be audited by the Auditor General and reported publicly. And it would require a memorandum of understanding between the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. and the LCBO.

It’s important for the House and the public who may be watching to appreciate that cannabis retail stores and the online distribution are separate from the LCBO. It’s a subsidiary to the LCBO. It’s taking advantage of the tried measures done by the LCBO. But it’s not cohabiting with the LCBO; it’s not located near LCBO locations; it’s a stand-alone cannabis retail distribution system. We want to make certain that the experienced individuals and salespeople who are managing and retailing the product do so behind the counter so that they inform the buyer and the public to the degree of products and accessories that are being delivered.

The Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. will be subject to existing accountability and full transparency rules. For example, any salaries greater than $100,000 would be made public, consistent with the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act; the corporation would be required to comply with the French Language Services Act; and, if the proposed legislation was passed, we would develop regulations to ensure that the cannabis retailer was subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Public Service of Ontario Act.

The measures around this crown corporation are subject to the same measures they are for others. The control mechanisms put in place will enable us—and, more importantly, the public—to have assurances that it’s safe and the content and the quality of the product is adhered to through only licensed producers. This is critically important to recognize: Any retailer across the country must adhere to and purchase only from licensed producers, licensed by the federal government.

Ontario has taken this extraordinary step that would enable us to ensure that quality controls are in place, to only purchase from those licensed producers. This is to ensure our government’s mandate on openness and transparency is adhered to. The proposed legislation also complies with requirements set out in the proposed federal Cannabis Act.

These requirements include that only cannabis purchased from federally licensed producers will be sold, that cannabis will not be sold to any individual under 19 years of age, that appropriate records must be kept by the corporation, and that the corporation takes adequate measures to reduce the risk of cannabis being diverted to the illicit market.

We must ensure that we’re ready for retail and ready to distribute. The degree of source of supply will be reliant upon the federal government. That’s their responsibility. Our worry may always and continues to be the measures that are suggested by other jurisdictions that go with the existence of dispensaries: the degree of access and quality of cannabis that can only be purchased by those licensed producers. We know that today, the illicit market has illicit producers, and that is an added concern to the users and the buyers.

We must ensure that quality is not compromised, and that’s all the more reason to have a controlled measure that is proposed here, to provide for those measures of safety.

Madam Speaker, as you know, it is the federal government that has set out the July 2018 timetable for provinces to establish their own systems for direct sales to their citizens. Ontario is working hard to be ready to meet this timeline. We continue to move forward with plans to support young people and vulnerable populations.

Through an integrated prevention and harm reduction strategy, we are also planning a public information campaign to help ensure public awareness of this transition and the new measures that would take effect. We want to make sure the people of Ontario know about the changes, what to expect, and what’s legal and what is not.

Over the past year, we’ve worked with public health and safety experts and businesses from across the province. We’ve consulted with municipalities and indigenous communities. We have asked the people of Ontario directly for their thoughts and ideas, and we have listened. What we’ve heard has helped us develop our safe and sensible approach. Yes, there are many aspects of the retail and distribution framework that are still to be decided, but all the more reason we must act early and act now to get to where we must be. In fact, it’s not that early; the time will pass quickly.

But we are confident that we have taken the best approach. The government control board model works; it’s proven. We feel strongly that it’s the right way to go. Most importantly, it would give the people of Ontario confidence that we would meet their objectives, ensuring safe and controlled sales, protecting youth, shrinking the illicit market and shutting down the illegal stores in the communities that we call home. We will be ready for July 2018 with a system and a plan that’s safe and sensible, a plan that will work.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Questions and comments?

Mrs. Gila Martow: One good thing about this topic today is that I am hoping that it gets people in our communities engaged in what we actually do here. I guess it’s an interesting topic to many people who normally don’t follow what we’re talking about here. Of course, we are talking about Bill 174, the Cannabis, Smoke-Free Ontario and Road Safety Statute Law Amendment Act.

One thing that we didn’t hear in the past hour from the government side is how they’re going to achieve a lot of these things. They say they’re going to stop the illicit sale of cannabis. Well, we still have contraband cigarettes being sold. They didn’t talk about consulting our first responders, our police, our schools, our university campuses. I didn’t hear about that kind of consultation. I think there are a lot of people concerned in our communities.

I didn’t hear specifically how we’re going to address testing in terms of impairment. We saw there was a horrific accident yesterday on the 400 in the early morning. How are we going to be testing whether or not people are indeed taking cannabis—when they took it, how long it will be in their system and how it actually affects them?

We did hear the Attorney General say that it’s dangerous to brain development up to the age of 25, and yet they are selling it to anyone over 19 years of age, just like we do with alcohol. We did hear about online sales, and I think that there’s a lot of concern in the community about delivery of cannabis through mail order.

We didn’t hear anything about consulting with other provinces or about consulting with the US. We all know that there’s a lot of concern in our communities about whether people will have access to the US if they are on record using cannabis. I think that there’s more to discuss and I thank you for the time, Madam Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Questions and comments?

M me France Gélinas: I would say that for me, this bill is more of a disappointment than anything else. Whenever you put forward something like 40 locations for a province that has 13 million people—I live in northern Ontario and I represent rural northern Ontario. Apparently, according to the latest statistics, close to 80% of the people in my riding are interested in trying cannabis, if they have not already done so, when it is legalized. Tell me exactly how 40 locations in all of Ontario are going to serve the people of Nickel Belt.

I know exactly how the people of Nickel Belt are going to be served. Although we pay $1.70 for gasoline because it’s hard to get to Nickel Belt, we can buy cannabis in Nickel Belt in any of my little communities and way cheaper than they get it through the medicinal program. This is going to do absolutely nothing for the people of Nickel Belt. I have no hope that the little villages that I support will be one of the 40 locations that have been brought forward.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Questions and comments?

Mr. Lorenzo Berardinetti: Madam Speaker, good morning. I think the Attorney General and the Minister of Finance did an excellent presentation on a bill that is going to involve several ministries: not only the Attorney General’s ministry and the finance ministry, but the health ministry, the transportation ministry and other ministries as well, because this is a far-reaching change in Ontario. We are doing this because the federal government told us, “You better have something in place before July of next year.”

I just want to mention a few points here about enforcement. We’re taking enforcement very seriously with this bill. For example, the police will have the tools. We’re working on it still. I think the Attorney General made it clear that we’re not finished yet. We’re still consulting, and there are ways that the police will be able to enforce it. They already have some tools that they used before breathalyzers were invented—for example, walking a line and touching your nose and so on—and they’re looking at other ways to deal with that as well.

But what the Attorney General mentioned, basically, is pretty wide-sweeping. He also mentioned the fact that you can do mail-in orders. As long as it’s by secure mail—not by regular mail, but by registered mail—people can receive up to a certain amount of cannabis through the mail. I think the idea of having it only located in the Ontario-run stores is the safest way to do it. It’s going to disappoint some of the people who have opened stores already, because they’ll be shut down and the only place to get it will be in stores located or set aside by the government.

I look forward to further debate on this bill as we go forward.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Questions and comments?

Mr. Robert Bailey: I’m glad to have the opportunity to rise today and be able to comment on this new legislation that’s coming forward. I don’t know where I’m going to land on this before I’m done, after all the debate, but I’m in a unique situation. My riding of Sarnia–Lambton, actually, is going to have a medical marijuana operation that’s going to be started as early as January, so that municipality has some concerns.

I’ve spoken to the Minister of Finance about it and we’re going to get together later. They want to know about taxation and how it will be treated through MPAC. So there are some of those issues that are still out there. As a host municipality, they want to work with the Minister of Finance and find out how MPAC is going to treat that.

Also, the mayor of Sarnia, Mayor Mike Bradley—well known here—has concerns. We know that there is going to be a store in London, probably, because of all the illegal operations, the storefronts, that are there. He’s concerned that Sarnia could be a toking tourist opportunity location, where people will cross to buy marijuana they can’t buy in Michigan and other states. That could be an issue for Sarnia.

Also, the policing: I heard from the chief of police and other chiefs of police. They say that they won’t be ready for July. There’s no way that they can implement all the rules that will have to go along with this.

I know this is being foisted upon the provincial government because of the federal government’s decision. There are all kinds of issues about revenue-sharing. That, again, was raised by the mayors through AMO. Will there be revenue-sharing, because there will be increased costs for those municipalities, whether it’s policing, zoning etc.?

I wait to hear some of those answers. I had a conversation with the Minister of Finance this morning, and he assured me that he’ll meet and talk with my municipality back home and Mayor Kevin Marriott.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): I return to the Minister of Finance to wrap up.

Hon. Charles Sousa: I appreciate the comments made by the members from Thornhill, Nickel Belt, Scarborough Southwest and Sarnia–Lambton.

To the member from Thornhill: We are actually having conversations and discussions with all of the jurisdictions across Canada. I’ll be doing a federal-provincial-territorial meeting in the coming weeks. I’ve had discussions by phone and we had discussions last summer, all with the concern about being ready for the federal legislation to come forward. We actually have been taking lessons from the United States, which now worries about the extent and the explosive growth of recreational cannabis in an uncontrolled manner. They appreciate and have actually preferred now to have done what it is that Ontario is doing today.

The member from Nickel Belt talks about how this is not going to work. It’s not working right now. There’s illicit activity and there’s organized crime around this very issue. Just like we had speakeasies and bootleggers when we had Prohibition, those are the conditions, and evolution will occur over time. Forty stores will be available immediately; it will grow as necessary, at least to 80 by the end of the year and up to 150 in years to come. It will have representation in the north. We’re dealing with AMO and we’re looking at regional representation definitely to be available to them. And of course, it’s going to be available on day one online in every aspect of the province.

The member from Scarborough Southwest reaffirms how important it is to be managed and to provide enforcement, and the phasing-in approach is to do so.

To the member opposite, in regard to the cross-border activity: It’s illegal in many of the states. They won’t be able to pass through the border with medicinal or recreational marijuana. We’ll have to evolve and see how that proceeds over time.

Thank you to all in the House for their engagement and debate. I look forward to their concurrence in and support of this bill as it moves forward.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

The Deputy Speaker (Ms. Soo Wong): Seeing as it’s almost 10:15, I will recess the House until 10:30.

The House recessed from 1013 to 1030.

Introduction of Visitors

Mr. Gilles Bisson: It is not often that we get visitors all the way from the city of Timmins. I would really like to welcome somebody we all know—

Mr. John Yakabuski: Shania Twain?

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Not Shania Twain—she’s somewhere else now.

I’d like to introduce people that you already know—Abigail Collings, the page from Timmins–James Bay and also page captain today. Her mum, Natalie, is here. Her sister Hailey is there, along with brothers Nicholas and Carter.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. John Fraser: I’ve got a few people to introduce today who are here for the debate on Bill 145. From SEIU, we have developmental service workers Jackie Haynes and Sandee Green. And we have the following members of CLAC: Ruth Ann Ferguson, Josh Vanderlaan, Patricia Pot, Rhonda Gow, Marlene Ragbir, Kevin Gates, Cindy Gates, Yvonne Doorenspleet, Janette Deboer, Trish Douma, Susan Siemens, Gary Star, Kathy Myerscough, Hank Beekhuis, Joel Kamphof, Julie Garner, Tamsin Carter, Lisa Muzzin and Sonya Dean.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Jeff Yurek: I’d like to welcome Jonathan Strauss, CEO of the Pedorthic Association of Canada, and Matt Quattrociocchi of the Pedorthic Association of Canada. Also, sitting behind them are Martin Haalstra, an engineer with the Ministry of Transportation and a constituent of mine in Belmont, and George Collins, also an engineer with the Ministry of Transportation. Welcome.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: It’s my pleasure to introduce today, in the west gallery, one of my long-time staff members who’s back from parental leave. Welcome, please, everyone, Alex Callahan and Zillah Louise Callahan-Ebert, his walking 1-year-old daughter.

Hon. Peter Z. Milczyn: I want to introduce a constituent of mine, John Capobianco. He’s with the wrong party but still a great guy.

Mr. Lorne Coe: I’d like to welcome representatives from Colleges Ontario, the Council of Ontario Universities, the College Student Alliance and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance who are at Queen’s Park today to talk about mental health on college and university campuses. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Taras Natyshak: I’d like to welcome, in the members’ west gallery, my amazing wife, Jenny, and my son, Drake, who are not here to see me today, but who are here to see Airika perform her page duties on her last day here at Queen’s Park.

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: I would like to extend a warm welcome to Dr. Kendra Thomson from the Ontario Association for Behaviour Analysis. I had a great conversation with her and Louis Busch, the president of the Ontario Association for Behaviour Analysis.

Mr. Todd Smith: I don’t think we have any Belleville Senators here, but I just want to make note that it was a historic night last night in Belleville, as professional hockey made its debut. The Belleville Senators defeated the Syracuse Crunch, with Gabriel Gagne scoring the winning goal in a shootout. Congratulations to all involved. It was a great night in Belleville.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member should consider a career in radio.

The member from Oshawa.

Ms. Jennifer K. French: I am pleased to welcome Don Lovisa, president of Durham College, to Queen’s Park. He was recently named Business Person of the Year by the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce. He’s here today discussing students’ mental health.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: We’re delighted to have a number of guests here today talking about campus mental health. I’d like to introduce Andrew Clubine, president of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance; Brenda Whiteside, associate vice-president of student affairs at the University of Guelph and chair of the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health; Rick Ezekiel from Western; David Lindsay, Council of Ontario Universities; Joel Willett, president of the College Student Alliance; Fred Gibbons, the president of Northern College; and Linda Franklin, president of Colleges Ontario. Welcome, all. This is important work.

Mr. Sam Oosterhoff: I also would like to take this opportunity to welcome all those who are here today from the various student organizations discussing campus mental health. It’s obviously a very important subject for all of us. I also want to specifically welcome Andrew Clubine, the president of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance and a friend of mine, as well as Landon Tulk, the vice-president of finance.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: The post-secondary sector is well represented here today. I want to single out a couple of individuals for welcome. I’d like to acknowledge Nadia Bathish, who is here from the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance; MaryLynn West-Moynes from Georgian College; Sean Van Koughnett from McMaster University; Dominika Flood from the Council of Ontario Universities; Éilis Karry from the Council of Ontario Universities; Matt Banninga from the Council of Ontario Universities; Aimee Calma from Conestoga College; and I have to acknowledge Landon Tulk from my home community, Western USC.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: It’s a great honour for me to host my parents-in-law today at Queen’s Park. Please welcome Ben and Elizabeth McMillan here today. Welcome.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: It never rains but it pours from Timmins. We have Fred Gibbons, as was introduced earlier—the president of Northern College. Welcome, Fred. It’s always good to see you.

Hon. Jeff Leal: There’s a young lady who’s in her first year at Laurier University. Today, mom and I want to wish Shanae Leal a very happy 18th birthday.

Mr. Percy Hatfield: I would like to welcome my friend Laura Casselman here today, from Brown and Cohen Communications. Welcome back to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Brad Duguid: On behalf of the MPP for Brampton West, I’d like to welcome the family of page captain Ryan Shahmohamadi: his mother, Rebecca; brother, Jamie; sister, Layla; and grandfather, John, who have all joined us today.

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: I, as well, would like to welcome all the representatives that came to talk to us today about campus mental health. I particularly had a meeting with four of those representatives: Landon Tulk of OUSA, Sean Van Koughnett of McMaster University, Ariana Chasse of the College Student Alliance, and Don Lovisa of Durham College. Thank you very much for coming here and bringing this very important issue to all our MPPs.

Hon. Charles Sousa: I’d like to welcome Mr. Totino’s grade 10 civics class to question period and their tour of Queen’s Park. I look forward to meeting them after question period. Welcome.

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: On behalf of the Minister of Transportation, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Iuliana Calin and Alex Bettencourt. The minister wishes Alex a very happy 40th birthday. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Michael Coteau: I feel well prepared for question period today. I got to meet the grade 10 students from North Toronto Christian School. They asked me the toughest questions I think I’ve had from any classroom at the Legislature. Welcome to the Legislature and thank you for being here.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Further introductions?

I have guests in the Speaker’s gallery. We have with us today His Excellency Dionisio Pérez Jácome, the ambassador of Mexico to Canada. He is also accompanied by Porfirio Thierry Muñoz Ledo, the consul general of Mexico. Welcome.

My language skills aren’t as good as they should be. I apologize.

Oral Questions

Casinos

Mr. Victor Fedeli: Good morning, Speaker. I’d like to begin by offering our hope and prayers to the families affected by the tragedy on the 400 yesterday, especially to the Dunn family of North Bay, where nine children lost their father, Benjamin Dunn. We will pray for this shocked and traumatized family.

Speaker, my question this morning is for the finance minister. Every day this week, we have learned more and more disturbing news regarding Great Canadian Gaming’s trouble in BC. Of concern here in Ontario is the fact that the OPP are “reaching out to investigators in BC about the money laundering investigation.”

Is the minister doing anything further other than “watching closely?”

Hon. Charles Sousa: Our agencies, the AGCO and the OLG, have been in constant contact with the regulators in British Columbia. They have been recognizing the requirements to have proponents be approved by the AGCO in consultation with the BC authorities prior to even performing and making their submissions.

The process is apparent; it’s open; it’s transparent; and it precludes the minister from engaging with those proponents, even those who are friends of the Conservative Party. I will not associate myself with any of them until the decision is made openly, with a fairness monitor, and that is being done on an ongoing basis. The continuation of any review is appropriate.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Victor Fedeli: Back to the minister: While the minister is watching on the sidelines, others have been working. Yesterday, we learned of the latest twist regarding the company awarded the casino contract here in Ontario. Media reports have now revealed questionable trading activity by one of Great Canadian’s directors. Neil Baker earned almost $140 million selling shares in late 2016. That happened three months after a report was submitted to the BC Attorney General implicating the casino in allegations of money laundering. That report wasn’t made public until September 2017.

I would ask the minister if he was aware of the questionable trading activity before they awarded the casino deal here in Ontario.

Hon. Charles Sousa: Information that is provided to the AGCO and all its regulatory authorities was made and implications and any activity that engages with suspicious activity is being reported, and those decisions are cleared by the AGCO prior to a proponent being authorized. They were authorized, both by the BC authorities and the Ontario regulatory authorities.

The process is in place. If there is inappropriate activity by any director, by any individual in any institution in regard to any money laundering initiatives, be it in gaming, be it in banking or be it in any other institutions across this province, they have to adhere to those laws, and those things are being enforced.

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

Mr. Victor Fedeli: Back to the minister: Here are the cold, hard facts. A director of Great Canadian Gaming sheds his shares between the time a report of money laundering allegations is submitted to BC’s Attorney General and the time the report is made public. In the report are allegations that workers in a BC casino knowingly accepted millions of dollars in suspicious cash transactions, which could have been the proceeds of crime.

The integrity of Ontario’s gaming industry is at stake here. We have learned the Ontario casino agreement allows for the termination in the event of something prejudicial to the reputation or integrity of OLG, casino gaming or the Ontario government.

Is the minister finally going to stand up for Ontario and halt this deal?

Hon. Charles Sousa: I have been standing up for Ontario. I’ve been standing up for Ontario to modernize the gaming operations for the benefit of Ontarians to provide more income for hospitals and schools and host communities.

The matter that’s before us isn’t one about the sensitivity of the commercial activity of a public company. The matter before us is that this member is talking about the individual activity of a person. If it is in fact suspicious, it should be reviewed and should be enforced. But Great Canadian, as a corporation, has abided, and I believe they are not under investigation, but the activities within that company should be reviewed. In fact, Ontario has led in many respects on socially responsible activities to protect individuals and protect communities. We will continue to abide and maintain the highest standards in this province for gaming in a socially responsible manner.

Casinos

Mr. Victor Fedeli: My question is for the finance minister. These allegations are exactly why this casino deal must be halted immediately. Let’s take a few minutes to review what we’ve learned just in this week alone.

Internal government documents reveal a $500-million money-laundering investigation in BC. We read about “suspicions of ‘terrorist financing,’” possible organized crime connections, hockey bags full of cash—tens of millions of dollars in $20 bills. The RCMP investigation goes back to 2015. They said there was about $220 million laundered in BC in one year alone.

Speaker, to the finance minister: What did he know and when did he know it?

Hon. Charles Sousa: What I know is this: In this industry, a lot of proponents are jockeying to get into Ontario. A lot them want to be the proponents of choice. A lot of them have been donors to the Conservative Party. A lot of them are now feeding the Conservative Party with allegations about Great Canadian.

I am not going to fall prey to this. I am going to assure that there’s full transparency, that Great Canadian, as a public company, is operating in an effective manner. If there’s any impropriety whatsoever, we will immediately act upon it, but I am not going to fall prey to allegations and any lynching that this this member is trying to again do to the good people of Canada.

Whatever happened in British Columbia happened. What’s happening in Ontario—we’re going to protect the interests of Ontarians.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Victor Fedeli: Back to the minister: Perhaps the minister’s reluctance to act has something to do with what we learned next.

According to the Integrity Commissioner, high-ranking, well-connected Liberal insiders were hired to lobby the Premier and that minister. Is this why the Liberals rushed ahead with the deal? Is this why they won’t halt this deal?

The bid process began back in 2013 after the government’s decision to kill the horse racing industry. Between then and now, Liberal insiders were hired to pull the strings.

Speaker, to the minister: Is this the real reason he won’t act on behalf of this deal?

Hon. Charles Sousa: That’s totally offensive, Mr. Speaker. The member opposite is now doing a drive-by smear of individuals who are registered lobbyists in our province.

It’s astounding that the current lobbyist for Great Canadian is a former Conservative. They’re the ones who have actually been acting upon it. In fact, their newest candidate is a former president of OLG, another Conservative who is acting on this very matter of modernization.

The member alleges on individuals who are not registered lobbyists for Great Canadian during this process. It’s offensive and he should retract that comment.

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

Mr. Victor Fedeli: To the minister: All this—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, come to order. The member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, come to order.

Mr. Victor Fedeli: All this government needed to do was admit there are problems in BC and halt the deal until they get to the bottom of it. Instead, they deny any involvement, but senior Liberal insiders working on behalf of the casino operator show us a different story.

Once again, the Liberals put themselves and their insiders ahead of the people of Ontario. There are money-laundering allegations, questionable trading activities and well-placed—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister of Municipal Affairs, come to order. We’re now in warnings.

Carry on.

Mr. Victor Fedeli: —well-placed Liberal insiders at the centre of it all. Like many other issues here, this one does not pass the smell test.

I ask the minister: What’s the priority for this government, Liberal insiders or the integrity of Ontario’s gaming industry?

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Wow, Mr. Speaker. I’ve already made clear that Great Canadian has come out and identified that there were no Liberal lobbyists involved. In fact, there are Conservative lobbyists that are involved. Furthermore, those who have identified have said they’ve removed themselves.

It’s no surprise that the member opposite is looking for impropriety activities given that they engage in that almost every day in their nomination battles, Mr. Speaker.

We are not getting any political influence here. The member opposite is conflating the issues with criminalization; that is not happening on our side of this House.

I will protect the commercial interest of anybody who’s approved as the appropriate winner of a contract.

Hospital services

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, my question is for the Acting Premier. Etobicoke General Hospital reached the alarmingly dangerous occupancy rate of 122% in its acute care beds this year so far. Toronto east Michael Garron Hospital hit 106%. Trillium Health Partners, which operates three Mississauga hospitals, reached 109%. And SickKids got as high as 107%, and their mental health beds registered a shocking 136% occupancy rate, at times, in 2017. None of these hospitals got to this point overnight.

As much as this Premier hopes they will, temporary beds are not going to solve this crisis. What is the Liberal government’s plan to make sure that every person in Ontario can get to a hospital and be confident that they are going to get the health care they need, not just before an upcoming election, but in the long run?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: To the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I have yet to hear from the leader of the third party whether she supports our investment of last week of 1,200 new acute in-patient beds across this province. Mr. Speaker, that’s the equivalent number of beds as creating six new hospitals in this province. We made that decision in a single week, and we did it in a targeted fashion so that we actually provide those beds in the parts of the province that need them the most.

Particularly in some parts of the province where we have high growth and changing demographics, we are seeing the pressures that come with an increased population and an aging population. That’s why we worked closely with the Ontario Hospital Association to make that investment of six new hospitals—that equivalent number of beds. We made that announcement last week and we are well on our way to implement that.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, this government has created a crisis in our hospital system that stretches through all of our major community hospitals. It’s also hitting our tertiary hospitals. This crisis is hitting every hospital in this province, so six hospitals that this minister talks about doesn’t fix the fact that they’ve ruined dozens and dozens and dozens of hospitals in communities across this province with their cuts over the last decade.

Hospitals across the north need a real plan to fix their overcrowding crisis, and hospitals in Toronto, the GTA, Hamilton, Peterborough, Barrie, Orillia, Tillsonburg, London and across the southwest.

The Premier needs to step up, Speaker, put aside her re-election bid and really focus on what the people of the province need. They need—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. The member from Barrie will withdraw.

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: Withdraw.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Now you are warned.

Carry on.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: They need her to stop with the partisan announcements and focus her time and energy on fixing the damage that the Liberal government has done to our hospitals. Will the Liberal government do that, Speaker?

Interjections.

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

Minister?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Mr. Speaker, for the member opposite to suggest that dozens and dozens and dozens of hospitals in this province are in ruins—

Hon. Deborah Matthews: It’s unbelievable.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: It is unbelievable, Mr. Speaker.

Or like she did yesterday: to refer to the emergencies as stacking individuals like cords of wood. For her to use this kind of rhetoric and then suggest that we are making essential investments in our health care system—that that is somehow political, that she’s got the nerve and the ability to actually use—I now understand what the NDP is doing and what the leader of the third party is doing. Her brand is crisis, Mr. Speaker. She has decided to dispense with anything even remotely close to the truth and create a narrative of rhetoric and fear—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Hamilton Mountain is warned.

Hon. Eleanor McMahon: Wow.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): You’re next.

Carry on.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: For this party and that leader to use for explicit political purposes the narrative that she has created, which is so far from the truth—it is amazing to me.

In the context of where the leader of the third party is going, her brand is crisis.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, I’ve got to say, destruction causes crisis, and their brand is destruction. Destruction of our hospital system: That’s what their brand is.

Natalie Mehra, the executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, says this of the Premier’s temporary beds—and I say this in terms of what she said: We are in such dire crisis across the province that it is not enough to meet the overflow beds that are in use right now. The beds will do very little in the big scheme of things. They’re not enough to deal with the people on stretchers in hallways and they’re not enough for the people waiting in ambulances—

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: You’re destroying your own brand. Yell a little bit louder.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. The Minister of Infrastructure is warned.

I hope you’re getting my message.

Finish, please.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: The Premier’s announcement last week is at best a Band-Aid. It doesn’t come close to covering the whole wound, the wound that this government created. When will the Premier and her Liberal government finally take this overcrowding and hallway medicine crisis seriously and actually make sure that every Ontario family has the health care they need when they need it and—

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

Minister?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Yesterday, I went through a long list coming from reliable, independent third-party experts that described, appropriately, our health care system as one of the best in the world. On every single indicator, we are at the top of this country or near the top of this country in performance. We have one of the best cancer systems in the world in terms of survivals and outcomes. We have so much to be proud of: the 150-plus hospitals where we have tens of thousands of hard-working individuals who are providing that highest quality of care.

For that leader of a party to reduce those efforts and that characteristic of our health care system, to describe it in the way she does, to denigrate it, to suggest that it is not functioning to the best of its ability and asking us not to make any investments—

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

New question.

Social assistance

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is to the Acting Premier—although I’d say the experts in the health care system are patients, front-line workers, nurses and doctors, who have all been sounding the alarm bells.

Last year, Toronto was named the child poverty capital of Canada. In the last 22 years, under both Conservative and Liberal governments, monthly social assistance in Ontario has gone up by just 8%, and that’s before you factor in inflationary erosion of that figure.

An 8% increase over 22 years is just not enough for a family to pay rent, buy food, clothes, school supplies for the kids and try to scrape by. It’s not enough, and the Premier and her Liberal government have done next to nothing to fix it.

Why, for 14 years, has this Liberal government allowed the depth of poverty to increase, creating such destitution for Ontario families living in poverty?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: To the Minister of Children and Youth Services.

Hon. Michael Coteau: I’m very proud to answer this question from the leader of the third party. The leader knows that we’ve been working with different groups across Ontario to ensure that we can better position income security here in the province of Ontario.

We’ve been working with a security reform working group, the First Nations Income Security Reform Working Group and the urban indigenous tables on income security reform to study Ontario’s income security systems to make sure that we bring forward recommendations here in the province of Ontario to improve our system.

Over the years, our various social security programs have helped a great number of people and families, but we know that we have to do better. We’re going to bring forward a new road map, a report that’s being tabled, to bring forward change here in the province of Ontario. I’ll be able to answer some of the additional pieces in the supplementary.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: This morning, we learned, in fact, that the Premier’s advisory panel, set up by the Liberal government last year to overhaul Ontario’s troubled income security system, will release its report today. The report will recommend an urgent 22% increase to social assistance funding over the next three years.

Does the Premier and her Liberal government, on the eve of an election, finally plan to follow her committee’s advice and implement an urgent 22% increase immediately?

Hon. Michael Coteau: The road map is a thoughtful, thought-provoking document. I want to thank the members of the working group for their valuable contributions to social security reform here in the province.

Over the next two months, we’ll be going across the province to get public feedback on the report, and we’re going to use this road map as a guide to develop a multi-year plan for early 2018. This plan will be designed to phase in improvements in a way that is practical, realistic and recognizes our fiscal responsibilities as a government.

I’m very proud of this government’s record when it comes to putting in place fairness in this province, and we’ll continue to support the people of Ontario through mechanisms like this when it comes to income reform.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: The report also recommends a 15% increase to the Ontario Disability Support Program, a housing benefit to be implemented by 2019, after the next election, and the expansions of all health benefits to low-income families.

Given this government’s dismal track record on supporting low-income families, which includes—

Interjections.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Listen up, folks—which includes cuts to homelessness prevention programs in 2012, a $100-per-month cut to social assistance in 2014 and a severe cut to the Local Poverty Reduction Fund in 2015.

With an election around the corner, will the Premier reverse course, implement the recommendations of this report immediately and finally begin to support Ontario families who are really struggling, instead of trying to support your own re-election bid?

Hon. Michael Coteau: The leader of the third party talks about supporting families here in the province of Ontario. I would like to ask her and her party: Where were they when we were talking about increasing the minimum wage? Where were they when we talked about OSAP reform?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister.

Hon. Michael Coteau: When we started talking about increasing the minimum wage here in the province of Ontario, the NDP was silent on that issue. We’ve put forward plans here in the province of Ontario to put in, in January—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The minister will wrap up.

Hon. Michael Coteau: So we’ll be taking this report—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I can play this all day.

Carry on.

Hon. Michael Coteau: The NDP always position themselves as working for people in Ontario, but when we talk about the important things to help families, they’re usually silent on these issues.

Steel industry

Mr. Ross Romano: To the Acting Premier: In late 2015, Essar Steel Algoma entered into CCAA creditor protection proceedings. In January of this year, during the Sault by-election, the Premier visited us and spoke with our local media. Quoting from our local Sault Star, “Wynne told reporters that she wants to see the steel industry thrive in Ontario, and in Sault Ste. Marie.

“The province has been working to facilitate the restructuring process without ‘overstepping its bounds.’”

CCAA has been ongoing for three years now, and it needs to come to an end. The municipality is owed millions in back taxes and they may reduce services or increase taxes to cover that loss. Local businesses are owed millions, while the economy waits in limbo. Steelworkers and retirees are worried about the status of their pensions.

It has been almost a year since the Premier made her comments to our local media. My question for the Acting Premier is this: What is the government doing to help facilitate the restructuring process at Algoma, and what have they done to expedite that restructuring process?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: To the Minister of Finance.

Hon. Charles Sousa: Well, one of the things that would have helped is if the members opposite would have voted in support of some of the reforms that were taking place to protect pensioners. They voted against those measures in our budget.

As we move forward with our steel industry and how critical it is, we did something extraordinary in helping Stelco in their outcomes to protect the pensioners as well as retirees and the workers.

Algoma is now going through that process, and I appreciate the concern the member opposite has, because it affects his own community. We know how difficult it is for members of that community to go through this transition. They’re having ongoing discussions now with their creditors, who are the ones engaged in this process. It’s before the courts. The province of Ontario will be part of this, to the extent of protecting the pensioners and their pensions as we move forward. That’s why we’ve taken many reforms to protect pensioners.

In regard to priorities, this I’ll deal with in the supplementary.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Ross Romano: Again to the Acting Premier: So the answer to that question was obviously nothing.

Huron Central Railway is vital in delivering products to market in northern Ontario. This—

Hon. Brad Duguid: No it wasn’t. Clean your ears out. Clean the wax out of your ears.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock.

Mr. Ross Romano: The Huron Central line service is a major employer and economic driver in the Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma–Manitoulin ridings. Our steel plant depends on this rail line. I’m in frequent contact with Huron Central, discussing a fatal problem they face. If upgraded infrastructure funding is not approved immediately, they will be forced to close the service. To again quote the Premier’s by-election trip to Sault Ste. Marie when discussing the future of the steel industry, “‘A diversified economy is also part of that future success,’ she said. ‘And the transportation hub can play a role in that diversification.’”

The Premier met with Huron Central just last week and she refused to provide funding. Northern Ontario’s economy depends on this train and our workers depend on these jobs; yet, at a time of great need, she turned her back on us. How can we take them seriously when whatever they say lacks the action to back it up?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Nothing is what that member and that party opposite did when we looked to support the steel industry. We have helped the steel industry and we provided for more integrity. We recognize the challenges it’s facing globally. It’s why we stepped in. It’s why we’re arm in arm with the workers and why we’re continuing to do the same in Algoma. We have taken the steps that permit those pensioners to be protected.

The member opposite is citing the priority claims from CCAA that the federal government, under the Conservative regime, rejected to even discuss when the Senate provided for legislation in that regard.

So, Mr. Speaker, we’ll continue to work with the industry. We recognize how important it is to Ontario’s economy. It is a priority. We’re actually having those discussions even in our NAFTA negotiations with the federal government. The member opposite has a right to issue concerns, but he also has a right to his community to work with us to provide for the changes that we’re putting forward to protect his own constituents.

Highway safety

Mr. Wayne Gates: My question is to the Acting Premier. This week we saw another tragic accident on Highway 400, involving 14 vehicles. At least three people died. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families. OPP Sergeant Kerry Schmidt referred to the accident scene as “absolute carnage and devastation.”

Unfortunately, this is not the only fatality that’s happened on this highway with trucks. In the last two years, there have been 1,400 collisions with commercial trucks and 155 people have died. Fewer truck inspection points, truck tires becoming airborne and poor winter highway maintenance have created a serious problem with highway safety in the province of Ontario, a problem the NDP has been raising for years.

A co-host of Breakfast Television tweeted to Minister Del Duca and I regarding this crash, asking, “How many more truck-related crashes and fireballs do we need to have an inquest?” Does the Acting Premier have an answer for him and for the people of Ontario?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Minister of Infrastructure.

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: I thank the member for the question. Our thoughts, like the member from Nipissing’s, are with the families and friends of the victims in this horrific tragedy. On behalf of the Minister of Transportation, I would also like to thank our first responders who were on the scene. We know how hard they work when responding to tragedies like this.

As we do with all serious incidents on our highways, the Ministry of Transportation will review the results of the police investigation to determine if there are additional safety measures we need to consider.

The member will know that it’s the chief coroner in Ontario who has the discretion to call an inquest, and I would be very surprised if that is not under consideration, at least, at this particular point.

In my supplementary, I’ll talk to truck safety on our highways as well.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Wayne Gates: Back to the Acting Premier: I’m not the only one that has concerns about the safety of Ontario’s trucking industry. OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes asked the Ontario trucking industry to take a close look at the way they conduct business. The Ontario Safety League is asking the Liberal government to begin a coroner’s inquest into this horrible accident. And our first responders see first-hand the devastating impact that our unsafe highways are having on the people of the province of Ontario.

Commissioner Hawkes has gone on to say that the trucks on our roads “are in essence missiles travelling down the highway”—missiles—and that trend seems to be getting worse.

Will the Premier listen to Mr. Hawkes and the Ontario Safety League and immediately conduct a review of the Ontario truck driving industry and order a coroner’s inquest?

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: One fatality is one fatality too many on our highways. Ontario is a leader in truck safety standards and enforcement, but we’re always looking for ways to make our roads even safer.

The number of deadly collisions on our roads involving large trucks has been declining—not as the member suggests—despite growing truck traffic. We are committed to making sure our roads stay safe when it comes to truck traffic. A critical part of that is making sure that truck drivers are properly trained. That is why we introduced, just this July, mandatory entry-level training for new commercial class A truck drivers, which recently came into effect and is helping to ensure our roads remain among the safest in North America.

We recognize that distracted driving is a serious issue on our roads with all drivers. That is why our government has now introduced legislation that would, if passed, create tougher penalties to combat distracted driving, making Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to have a licence suspension for those convicted of distracted driving and the toughest penalties for repeat offenders.

Student mental health services

M me Nathalie Des Rosiers: Ma question est pour la ministre de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Formation professionnelle.

As a government we’ve done great things to reduce the financial barriers for entry to post-secondary education through our transformation of OSAP. But, Minister, post-secondary life, often in a new town or a new city, presents unique challenges for students. As a former dean of a law school, I know how students can get stressed and how important it is for them to have access to mental health supports. We know that positive student outcomes depend on access to good mental health support.

Can the minister share with this House what her ministry has done and is continuing to do for mental health on post-secondary campuses across Ontario?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: The member is absolutely right: Mental health is a very important issue on campus. I have visited many campuses. The issue I hear about the most, whether it’s from students, from faculty, administration—everyone agrees we need to do a better job supporting students with mental health challenges on our post-secondary campuses.

I am delighted to welcome the advocates for campus mental health who are here today. They’ve issued a report called In It Together. It is a unique report in that it is from the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance and the College Student Alliance. The college sector and the university sector worked together to create this report. It is excellent, and I thank them for that.

We’ve been working since 2011. The ministry has been a partner in the comprehensive mental health and addictions strategy, where we’ve done some good things, including funding 34 innovation projects for mental health.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

M me Nathalie Des Rosiers: Merci, madame la Ministre, and thank you also for this incredible leadership on this issue. I know not only is it important for students, but it creates a toll on all employees in universities when students suffer from mental health stresses. Thank you very much for continuing to work on this issue.

I think reports have shown, as well, that the mental health requirements are increasing; that is, for students of all ages, access to mental health support is important. It’s not only the young people but also all the students who are on campuses.

I’d like to ask the minister if she could please inform this House what the ministry is continuing to do to meet the ongoing and growing need for mental health supports on campuses in Ontario.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: I was very happy this year to announce, with the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, a $6-million increase to dedicated funding for mental health supports to enhance mental health services on campuses. This will bring our total funding to $15 million a year for mental health, an increase of over 60% from last year. As part of this funding, we’re investing almost $4.5 million in the mental health worker grant program to hire mental health workers at all public post-secondary institutions.

This is not the only action our government has taken; our students are going to benefit greatly from OHIP+. It will provide free prescription medications for everyone under the age of 25 in Ontario.

Public transit

Mr. Raymond Sung Joon Cho: This question is for the Deputy Premier. During the Scarborough by-election, your government bragged about the Scarborough subway, but you have failed to deliver any transit north of Highway 401 in Scarborough.

I repeat: In my community—

Interjection: Are you sure? You voted against it.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. The Minister of the Environment and Climate Change is warned.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. If different acknowledgement is necessary, I’ll accept. Seeing none—finish, please.

Mr. Raymond Sung Joon Cho: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I repeat: In my community, there has been absolutely no transit expansion during the time this Liberal government has been in office.

Recently, the Premier appointed Shelley Carroll as her candidate in Don Valley North. Ms. Carroll is a loud opponent of the Scarborough subway project.

Deputy Premier, will your government continue to stall construction on the Scarborough subway to make Shelley Carroll happy?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: To the Minister of Infrastructure.

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: Strange things happen in this place. We seem to have a recollection—and I’m reminded by the member beside me from Scarborough that that member, when he was on Toronto city council, voted against the subway. He fails to recognize that it takes time to plan, to do the financing, to do the procurement. It’s not going to happen tomorrow. We are on that file. We have said we are going to go forward with it. There’s nothing else we can do other than co-operate with the city of Toronto and co-operate with Infrastructure Ontario to move forward to make this happen. I’m very, very pleased to hear that you now support it.

Interjections.

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

Mr. Raymond Sung Joon Cho: I could put my hand on the Bible: Every time the subway issue came up in council, I strongly supported it.

This is just more talk and no action by this failed government. Frankly, it’s all hard to believe. During the election—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): My resolve hasn’t changed.

Please.

Mr. Raymond Sung Joon Cho: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

During the election, they promised great ideas. But after the election, they failed to deliver; not only that, they ignored them. This is why I’m here today in this Legislature. The only action that the Liberal Party has taken is appointing a candidate who is firmly against the Scarborough subway.

Deputy Premier, can your government and your candidate in Don Valley North come clean and admit that you simply do not support the Sheppard subway in Scarborough?

Interjections.

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

Minister?

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: It’s with great pleasure that I refer this to the member from Scarborough Centre.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): It’s to be done properly. Simply refer to the other minister, please.

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: Referred to the Minister of Economic Development and Growth, Speaker.

Hon. Brad Duguid: I think I should remind the member—and maybe his good friend Doug Ford would remember this very clearly, because it was on TV. It was taking place during the council agenda, when you were criticizing Doug Ford for building the Scarborough subway.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): To the Chair, please.

Hon. Brad Duguid: The member was criticizing Doug Ford for building the Scarborough subway, so his recollection may be different than his brand new friend Doug Ford’s recollection of that issue.

I want to say, on behalf of the members who are on this side of the House, that these members fought very hard to ensure, despite the challenges going on when that member was at the city, with the city continually changing their position on this—we stood strong for the Scarborough subway. This government stood strong for the Scarborough subway. Every single member from Scarborough here stood strong for the Scarborough subway. It’s going to happen. It’s being built. It’s on time. It’s on budget. It’s going to be delivered despite the fact that members who didn’t support it in the first place—despite what that member says.

Interjections.

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

New question.

Hospital services

Mr. John Vanthof: My question is to the Minister of Health. Yesterday in the Timmins Daily Press, Dr. George Freundlich described some of the risks his patients are facing because of the lack of hospital funding in northeastern Ontario. A child at risk of attempting suicide waited for two weeks at Bingham Memorial Hospital in Matheson before there were any beds in the mental health unit in Timmins. Another patient in Matheson had a broken hip, but did not have any surgery for several days because, again, there were no beds at Timmins and District Hospital.

Minister, this government has been in power for 14 years. Why has it chosen to continue to underfund hospitals and put patients at risk?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: As the member knows, we increased our hospitals’ operating budget by $500 million this year. When it comes to Timmins, as well, they importantly and specifically were included in the announcement that I made last week of the creation of the equivalent number of beds of six new hospitals across the province. Those 1,200 acute-care beds, of course, are in addition to approximately 600 other transitional beds that we’re making available. But those 1,200 acute care beds include an allocation of beds for Timmins.

Even more than that, there’s an additional, as-yet-to-be-allocated complement of beds for the North East LHIN, which Timmins is of course under consideration for receiving, beyond what was announced last week.

These are important investments. I know that party does not want us to make any investments, apparently, between now and next June when we have an election. We will make the right investments at the right time, despite what they say.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. John Vanthof: Once again to the minister: Dr. Freundlich has been practising in Matheson since 1994. He is a respected pillar in the community. I would like to quote him: “In the past ... it was most unusual to have no beds. Now, it’s most unusual when you get a bed.” Referring to the new beds, “Those eight beds will fill in no time, and we will be again back to square one.... I cannot assure you 100% that nobody died” because of a lack of beds.

Minister, you have accused the NDP of fearmongering on hospital overcrowding. In your opinion, is Dr. Freundlich fearmongering as well?

Interjections.

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

Minister?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Mr. Speaker, we increased the budget of Timmins hospital this year by $1.6 million. As well, I have before me the capacity figures for all hospitals across this province, monthly from April through to and including September. For not a single month was Timmins hospital above capacity.

Notwithstanding that, we understand that there continue to be pressures across our hospitals—a number of them, for various reasons. Sometimes it’s because of growth in the local population, sometimes it’s because of the aging population and their complex needs. The allocation that I announced last week will go specifically to Timmins hospital, but in addition, there are 31 as-yet-unallocated beds, which have been funded and have been announced, that are available to Timmins and other hospitals as they require them.

Mr. Speaker, we will make those investments, as we have the 1,200 acute care in-patient beds that we announced last week, and we’ll continue to make similar investments.

Research

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: My question is for the Honourable Minister of Research, Innovation and Science. Coming from a riding whose motto is, “Where history and innovation thrive,” I am naturally gravitating toward all of the amazing articles about innovation in the province of Ontario. In fact, I’m surprised that people have not yet taken to calling you “Mr. Innovation.” But I also know that innovation is one of three hats that you typically wear, and I would personally like to hear a little more about research in our province.

Medical research in the province is coordinated by the Ontario Research Fund, a two-stream program supporting research excellence and research infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, could the honourable minister please tell the members of this House about the work he’s been doing to ensure Ontario is engaging in top-notch research in our province?

Hon. Reza Moridi: I want to thank the member from Kingston and the Islands for that question. I also want to thank her for that nickname. It’s a terrific nickname. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, since 2003, I have been hard at work making sure that Ontario scientists and the researchers are being supported through the Ontario Research Fund. That support has made them wildly competitive. The competition and collaboration have fostered discoveries which lead to innovative technologies, treatment for patients and advances in sciences, all the while supporting very high-quality jobs in our province of Ontario.

The Ontario Research Fund has been an incredible success. We will build on that success with the Ontario Research Fund review, the first meeting of which is scheduled for tomorrow.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: I’m delighted and, in fact honoured, to have this question. I have seen that we can count on this government to build on past successes and look for new ways to run programs efficiently and maximize their value. I have also seen that this is what our ministers believe in: setting high expectations, delivering on those goals and raising the bar.

Support for research is absolutely critical to maintaining Ontario’s reputation as a research-friendly province. That reputation attracts more researchers, research institutes, business and foreign direct investment, which results in more high-paying, high-quality jobs for Ontarians today and Ontarians tomorrow.

That is particularly important in my riding of Kingston and the Islands, with three post-secondary institutions: Queen’s University, St. Lawrence College and Royal Military College of Canada. Could the minister tell the members more about the Ontario Research Fund and the Ontario Research Fund review?

Hon. Reza Moridi: Again, I want to thank the member from Kingston and the Islands not only for her question, but for her advocacy for those three internationally, very, very well-regarded institutions in her riding.

The Ontario Research Fund is an excellent program that to date has invested about $1.8 billion toward research projects. These investments go toward projects like scalpel-free surgery projects that speeds up recovery times and reduce health care burdens; research into cancer-attacking viruses that have no means to defend themselves; and research into the effect of wind on structures in our urban areas that could optimize wind farms.

As I said earlier, we plan to build on these investments by starting a review of the Ontario Research Fund.

Student mental health services

Mr. Lorne Coe: My question is for the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development. Several college and university groups are at Queen’s Park today to emphasize the critical need for an integrated mental health strategy on student mental health.

A 2016 survey of 25,000 students conducted by the Ontario University and College Health Association found that 46% of students reported feeling so depressed, it was difficult to function, up from 40% in 2013; 65% of students reported experiencing overwhelming anxiety, up from 58% in 2013; most pressing is that 13% of students have seriously considered suicide in the previous year, up from 10% in 2013.

Speaker, will the Liberal government commit today to preparing an integrated mental health strategy to address student mental health on community college and university campuses?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: I think this is an issue that all three parties agree passionately on.

I do want to say thank you to the people who spoke at the breakfast meeting this morning, those students who have a lived experience of mental health challenges who spoke very eloquently of their journey.

We are absolutely committed to building a more responsive, more coordinated mental health system on our campuses with links to the community sector. I think it’s a responsibility we have to our students to ensure that they can be the very best they can be. As our Minister of Health says frequently, there is no health without mental health.

We have made important investments—I’ll speak to them more in the supplementary—but there is more to do. I know that I can count on the support of all parties as we work to address this challenge.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Lorne Coe: Back to the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development: Money alone cannot remedy this crisis. Students, community colleges and universities want a mental health strategy developed to deal with the crisis that exists on campuses.

Colleges and universities support their students as best as they are able, but again, money alone cannot remedy this crisis. Will the Liberal government answer the call from students and Ontario’s colleges and universities and help them to address student mental health by developing and implementing an integrated mental health strategy here in Ontario?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Speaker, I agree that money alone does not solve this problem, but money sure does help. That’s why we increased funding by 60% last year alone, dedicated to campus mental health services.

Let me talk about some of the investments that we’ve made and the impact they’ve had. We established Good2Talk/Allo J’écoute, a 24/7 bilingual helpline service that offers direct counselling and referral services to young people. To date, more than 77,000 students have accessed that.

The Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health is a knowledge exchange hub. They have funded more than 30 unique and innovative mental-health-related projects that we are learning from.

We take this issue extremely carefully. As I have said, it’s the number one issue everywhere I go. I look forward to the support of both opposition parties.

Student mental health services

Ms. Peggy Sattler: My question is to the Acting Premier. Speaker, the actions that have been taken by this government to address campus mental health have clearly been ineffective in addressing student mental health needs. Over the last five years, the number of college and university students with identified mental health issues has more than doubled at Ontario campuses.

This has led to an unprecedented collaboration among four organizations, representing almost the entire post-secondary sector, who released a comprehensive report this morning with 26 recommendations to address this crisis in campus mental health. These partners—the College Student Alliance, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, Colleges Ontario and the Council of Ontario Universities—are urging this government to act now to implement a “whole of community” approach to the mental health needs of students. Will this government commit today to doing the right thing and implementing these crucial recommendations immediately?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Speaker, I think the member from London West has proven my point. We are all united on this issue. We all believe that campus mental health is important and that we need to do more when it comes to making sure students get the support they need.

As I’ve said, we are all in this together. We are in it as government, as colleges, as universities, student groups and community services. We are all in this together. The recommendations from this, as the member says, unprecedented collaboration are excellent recommendations. We will take them very, very seriously.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: Again to the Acting Premier: Speaker, this morning a panel of young people shared their experiences with the lack of services for campus mental health. They talked about escalating rates of student suicide and a chronic shortage of counsellors. They talked about being referred to community mental health services and waiting eight months or more for an appointment.

Three specific priorities were highlighted by the panellists: the need to recognize post-secondary students as a distinct population cohort, the need for sustainable funding to support peer-to-peer programming with trained volunteers at every post-secondary campus, and the need to integrate resiliency in children and youth through mandatory K-to-12 mental health and wellness cur