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April 10, 2017

41st Parliament, 2nd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2017-Apr-10 (PDF)

L066 - Mon 10 Apr 2017 / Lun 10 avr 2017

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Monday 10 April 2017 Lundi 10 avril 2017

Introduction of Visitors

Financial Accountability Officer

Oral Questions

Housing policy

Sexual violence and harassment

Executive compensation

Tenant protection

Pay equity

Hydro rates

Northern Ontario development

Child protection

Long-term care

Infrastructure program funding

Opioid abuse

Labour dispute

Occupational disease

Energy policies

Visitors

Deferred Votes

Putting Consumers First Act (Consumer Protection Statute Law Amendment), 2017 / Loi de 2017 donnant la priorité aux consommateurs (modifiant des lois en ce qui concerne la protection du consommateur)

Members’ Statements

Wildlife protection

Polish community

Agnes Macphail

Property rights

Highway signs

John Polanyi Collegiate Institute

Atwood Lions Club

Battle of Vimy Ridge

HMCS York

Petitions

Palliative care

Privatization of public assets

Nanjing Massacre

Access to justice

Grandview Children’s Centre

Dental care

Hydro rates

Eating disorders

Hydro rates

Hydro rates

Soins de longue durée

Orders of the Day

Anti-Racism Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 contre le racisme

The House met at 1030.

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

Prayers.

Introduction of Visitors

Mr. Todd Smith: I’d like to welcome a couple of constituents from my riding: a former Moira Secondary School teacher, Leslie Lewis, who is here with us today, and her 13-year-old grandson Cameron who attends Queen Elizabeth school in Belleville. They also happen to be related to the member from Beaches–East York. We welcome them to the Legislature this morning.

Hon. Michael Chan: I would like to welcome the family of page captain Eashvar Sukumar from my riding of Markham–Unionville: his father Sukumar, his mother Anjula, his sister Sitha and his uncles Balakumar and Selvakumar. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Chris Ballard: I’d like to introduce a number of important people to the House today from my constituency. We have Trish Palichuk, Rohit Singh, Jenny Duffy and new to my Queen’s Park staff, Samantha Challoner. Welcome.

Mr. Arthur Potts: It does give me great pleasure to introduce my cousin Leslie Shuter Lewis to the House. She repeatedly reminds the member from Prince Edward–Hastings to be nice to me. She’s also here with her son Cory Lewis and her grandson Cameron Mercier. Her father, Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Shuter, penned the poem The Canadian Volunteer that I read last Remembrance Day. I’m glad to have them all here today.

Hon. Bill Mauro: I’m pleased to introduce this morning, from the riding of Thunder Bay–Superior North, family and friends of page Frances MacGregor who are here, I’m quite certain, somewhere: William MacGregor, Nancy Lorimer, Harry Walker, Anne Walker, mother Daphne Mitchell, father Bill MacGregor—who I’ve already introduced. I would just like to welcome them to Queen’s Park, as well as great uncle Harry Walker—I think I got him once as well.

Mr. Wayne Gates: I’d like to welcome to Queen’s Park Mary Ann Comfort and Stan Comfort who are here today spending their day with their favourite MPP from Niagara Falls.

Mr. Grant Crack: On behalf of my colleague the MPP for Etobicoke–Lakeshore, I’d like to welcome, as a guest of page Zara Trainor, her mother, Kyra Trainor. She’s in the public gallery with us today. Welcome.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Today we have with us in the Speaker’s gallery a delegation from the Parliament of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, in Belgium. They are led by Speaker Philippe Courard. Bonjour. Bienvenue.

The member from Nepean–Carleton on a point of order.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Thank you very much, Speaker. I have a very important point of order. On the past weekend my Ottawa Senators clinched the Stanley Cup playoffs. They will begin playing this Wednesday.

I’d also like to give a profound and heartfelt warm welcome to the Toronto Maple Leafs for finally, in this century, getting to the playoffs.

Financial Accountability Officer

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I’m neutral.

On a serious but good note, I’d like to inform the House that, effective today, following a successful convalescence, the Financial Accountability Officer, Stephen LeClair, has resumed his duties.

I also would like to say, on behalf of the entire House, I want to thank Integrity Commissioner David Wake for agreeing to act as temporary Financial Accountability Officer during Mr. LeClair’s absence. Thank you to Judge Wake.

It is time for question period.

Oral Questions

Housing policy

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Housing. I’ve heard from many young families about their dream of buying their first home, only to be outbid time and time again. Why has the dream of home ownership become so much more difficult? It’s because of this government’s burdensome regulation and red tape. The supply of houses doesn’t meet the demand. In fact, if no new houses went on the market after today, the supply would be gone in one month.

Mr. Speaker, it’s time the government gets out their scissors and truly starts cutting red tape. Will the Liberals commit to slashing red tape and letting the housing market meet the demand?

Hon. Chris Ballard: Thank you to the member opposite for that question. As we’ve stated repeatedly in the House, we really understand the concerns throughout the GTHA regarding the booming housing market. We know that Ontarians are worried about homes. They want the peace of mind knowing that they’ll all have an affordable place to call home.

I can say that we have been working and consulting across this province, and in fact across Canada, looking at solutions that we can use in Ontario. Some of those will be coming soon, Mr. Speaker.

We’ve been participating alongside BC and the cities of Toronto and Vancouver in a federal working group to look at housing. We have been looking at the Residential Tenancies Act. We’ve been consulting extensively across Ontario over the past few weeks. We’re on it.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: Mr. Speaker, this morning I was joined by Juan Rojas, who is in the gallery with his wife today. Juan, his wife and their three-year-old daughter are looking to move to a bigger house for their growing family. They’ve been looking for months in Etobicoke and base their bids on the housing prices they saw the week before. They bid last week’s price today and they didn’t get it. It never seems to be enough.

Mr. Speaker, can the Liberals tell Juan why they are making it harder for him to buy a house for his young family?

Hon. Chris Ballard: It’s a very interesting question coming from the member opposite. I will tell you that the former Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Tim Hudak, recently said that he congratulated the government for taking positive steps to address affordability. We agree, Mr. Speaker.

Let me just reiterate a few of the things that this government has done. We’re continuing to work with our municipal partners to make secondary suites—those are the self-contained residential units—available more quickly, helping communities better respond quickly to renters’ needs.

We recently passed legislation that empowers communities to use a new tool called inclusionary zoning.

Mr. Speaker, we have a whole host of things we’ve done, and I look forward to explaining more.

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

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: The government significantly increased municipal review times for planning applications. They raised it from 90 days to 180 days for amendments to the official plans and subdivision and condominium approvals, from 90 days to 120 days for zoning and holding bylaws, and from 60 days to 90 days for consent applications, all of which make it harder to get foundations dug, walls put up and roofs over the heads of our young families.

The dream of home ownership should be attainable for most young families. Why does the government insist on making it so much harder for the majority of families?

Hon. Chris Ballard: Minister of Municipal Affairs.

Hon. Bill Mauro: I want to thank the member for the question. There is an interesting narrative, I think, that is beginning to take hold in the GTHA around housing affordability. We understand very clearly that this is a real issue.

What I do want to say is that, from our perspective in our ministry, we have been doing a significant amount of work on this file already. I would say that we feel comfortable in discounting the following from being in any way influencing the price of housing in the GTHA.

Number one is land availability. There is absolutely enough land available in the province of Ontario and in the GTHA to meet demand.

Number two, there is absolutely enough serviced land available to meet demand. It is a mandated three-year supply required. We’ve done a deep dive and, in fact, there is a three-year supply of serviced land available.

We continue to work further on this to see if approvals are part of what’s holding it up—

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

Sexual violence and harassment

Ms. Laurie Scott: My question is to the Minister of the Status of Women. There is a sexual assault centre in Brampton. It currently has 132 people on the waiting list, and it takes nine months for survivors to get their first session. That wait is about to get longer: Staff hours are being cut and the centre is closing on Fridays.

Does the Minister of the Status of Women believe that this is acceptable?

Hon. Indira Naidoo-Harris: I’m pleased to rise and talk to the member opposite about this important question. Absolutely, sexual violence has a devastating impact on the lives of survivors and their families, and it’s far too prevalent in our society. It’s absolutely unacceptable. That’s why, through the sexual violence and harassment action plan, we’re addressing awareness, we’re raising awareness, we’re improving supports and we’re making workplaces and campuses safer.

We know that Hope 24/7 does important work throughout Peel region, which is why we have provided them funding for sexual violence and harassment prevention over the last 20 years. In fact, of the 42 sexual assault centres in the province, they now receive the sixth-highest funding allocation of any of the centres in the province. I think that’s amazing.

Now, I understand that their model of delivery is different. We are working with them to ensure that they are on track.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary question.

Ms. Laurie Scott: Jaipaul Massey-Singh, the president of the Hope 24/7 board, had this to say: “Unless (the province) is prepared to step up in a meaningful way we are really in a situation where we are going to fail our community.”

Is the government prepared to step up in a meaningful way, or will the Liberals fail sexual assault survivors in Peel region?

Hon. Indira Naidoo-Harris: Attorney General.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: This is a very important question. This is an issue that this government and our Premier have taken a tremendous amount of leadership on. Our Premier is the one who stood up to make sure that we deal with issues around sexual violence and sexual harassment in a meaningful way—not to just pay platitudes, but to actually take action—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Finish, please.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Thank you, Speaker—to take action that is going to ensure that there are supports available for victims of sexual violence or harassment, to ensure that we change attitudes when it comes to sexual violence and harassment through our It’s Never Okay campaign. We are making a meaningful and substantive difference. In my supplementary, I will speak to the kinds of supports we have available.

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

Ms. Laurie Scott: Hope 24/7 has the second-lowest funding per capita of all sexual assault centres in the province, yet the government’s tone-deaf response to this crisis in Peel has been that they’ve funded this centre for 20 years. But what good is this funding if it doesn’t meet the needs on the ground?

I know the government doesn’t believe in mandatory sexual assault training for judges, but now it seems like they’re not prepared to help the most vulnerable victims of sexual assault.

Mr. Speaker, once again, will the government respond to the cry for help from sexual assault survivors in Peel region?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Hope 24/7 does important work throughout Peel region, but I think it’s also really important to note the kind of support we have been providing to this very important agency. Since 2003, our funding for all sexual assault centre programs has increased by 45%.

In 2015, we increased Hope 24/7’s budget by over $31,000 as part of our It’s Never Okay action plan to increase funding to all sexual assault centres by 7%. Hope 24/7 currently receives almost $500,000, the sixth-highest funding allocation in all of Ontario. We have committed to reviewing counselling services—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Dufferin–Caledon will come to order. Thank you.

Finish, please. Wrap up.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: We have committed to reviewing counselling services across the province, and we’ve asked Hope 24/7 to be part of this conversation. This is important work and we will get it done together.

Executive compensation

Mr. Peter Tabuns: My question to the Acting Premier: People living on the minimum wage will see their paycheques increase by 1.7% this year under the Premier’s pegged-to-inflation minimum wage. However, if you happen to be the CEO of Hydro One, you’ll have seen your salary go up by 500%. The people who need the raise the least are getting the most, and the people who are struggling are getting the least. Does the Acting Premier see anything wrong with that?

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister of Economic Development and Growth, come to order.

Minister of Finance.

Hon. Charles Sousa: In Ontario, we’ve had the largest job growth in the past 10 years. We now have more people working in the private sector than ever before. These are high-paying jobs, good-paying jobs. Many of the workers that the member makes reference to in a relative number of sectors in our economy are now receiving more than they ever have before.

Mr. Speaker, it was this Minister of Labour—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Finish, Minister.

Hon. Charles Sousa: Mr. Speaker, it was this Minister of Labour, within this caucus, who put forward an index on wages. Now, minimum wage is forever going to be increased as a function of CPI, something that that side did not support and wasn’t even part of their official plans.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Okay, so you’re fine with that. Let’s go on to the next question.

It’s not just the million-dollar raises that are unfair. After 14 years of letting hydro rates reach a crisis point, the Premier promised relief, but she didn’t mean for everyone. Their plan doesn’t apply to hospitals, large businesses or even municipalities. Why is the Premier only interested in helping some people, not everyone?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Ontario’s prosperity, its growth, has increased. We’re now leading Canada. We lead the G7. We’re taking a number of steps to diversify our economy so as not to be reliant on anyone or any one commodity to ensure we advance in the new-age economy. That’s high-paying jobs, good-paying jobs, stable jobs.

The member opposite seems to want to go back to the days of assembly lines and smokestacks. We can’t compete in low wages, which he’s trying to propose, that we’re losing to other economies around the world.

We are going to support our young people, we’re going to invest in our young people, we’re going to invest in jobs, and we’re going to invest in positions that create those jobs—unlike that member, who wants to increase our taxes and push them away.

Interjections.

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

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Again to the Acting Premier: The Premier’s priorities don’t make sense. She rubber-stamps multi-million-dollar raises for Hydro executives who don’t need them and leaves people living on the minimum wage, struggling. She’s promising hydro relief, but schools and hospitals could actually see their hydro delivery charges increase under her privatized Hydro One.

She could take a step toward ending the runaway Hydro salaries and runaway bills by stopping the sell-off of Hydro One. Will she do that?

Hon. Charles Sousa: We’re balancing the books so that we can afford to pay for and invest more in education. We’re balancing the books so that we can invest more in hospitals. We’re balancing the books so we can invest more in our young people, so we can create those jobs. We’re balancing the books so we can ensure that businesses invest and come to Ontario—and they are, Mr. Speaker. They’re creating jobs, good-paying jobs.

Stop talking down Ontario and the people of Ontario who are delivering for our province.

Interjections.

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

New question.

Tenant protection

Mr. Peter Tabuns: This weekend, I received a letter from a senior named Clarence Bax. Mr. Bax lives in Sault Ste. Marie. He and 31 of his friends and neighbours are facing a 31% increase in their rent.

Does the Acting Premier think it’s fair that a senior like Clarence, living on a fixed income, should be subject to a drastic increase in his rent at the drop of his landlord’s hat?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Minister of Housing.

Hon. Chris Ballard: Thank you to the NDP for that question. Speaker, it’s absolutely unacceptable that so many Ontarian tenants are faced with housing costs that are rising so dramatically. That’s why we’re already developing a plan to address unfair rises in rental costs right across Ontario. In the coming weeks, we’re going to be rolling out our plan for substantive rent control right here in Ontario. It’s going to be a very broad package of changes that will protect tenants. We’ve been working on legislation since last June. It’s important that we get it right.

As I said in a previous response, we’ve already taken a whole host of things in regard to action. We’ve introduced secondary suite legislation. We have introduced inclusionary zoning. We’ve frozen municipal property tax on apartments. We have doubled the maximum refund for first-time homebuyers.

We’re continuing to collect data to better understand housing needs right here in Ontario, and we’re working with—

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

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Again to the Acting Premier: “We are all senior citizens living on a fixed income and are faced with the problem of where the funds will be coming from to pay this substantial rent increase,” Mr. Bax wrote in a letter that he sent to Premier Wynne.

Last week, the Premier and her Liberal Party voted against my bill which would have closed that loophole now that allows these devastating rent increases. Will she change her mind now? Will the government change its mind?

Hon. Chris Ballard: As I said before, I outlined a whole host of things that this government has already put in place. I’ve talked repeatedly about the broad package of change that we’re going to be moving ahead with in the days and weeks ahead, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier and I both have been exceptionally clear that we’re moving forward with a plan to address unfair increases in rental costs. The NDP know that, Speaker. The NDP know that. We appreciate that they are on the same page when it comes to helping families who are feeling the pinch, but our plan will go further. It will address a whole host of issues around tenant rights. Simply addressing a removal of the rental cap is a good start; our plan will do that and it will do more.

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

Mr. Peter Tabuns: If you want to be on the same page, act now. Pass it now.

These seniors need the Premier to act, and they tell her so in their letter. “We are asking you to support Mr. Tabuns’ Bill 106 which would eliminate the dramatic rent increase we and 150,000 Ontarians are facing,” they said.

Will the Premier put aside partisanship, put the interests of Mr. Bax, his friends and thousands of other Ontarians who are facing unfair rent increases first, and agree to pass my bill today?

Hon. Chris Ballard: You know, Speaker, what the NDP put on the table in that private member’s bill was pretty thin gruel when it comes to addressing the needs of Ontario renters. It’s, dare I say, a one-trick pony.

I will say again, what we’re bringing forward in the coming days and weeks ahead will be a more robust rent control, more robust legislation regarding the rental tenancy act. We heard time and again as we travelled across Ontario what is bothering tenants and some of the issues facing landlords. Our changes are going to address a whole host of those things.

It’s wonderful to hear the NDP standing up for seniors, but I want to—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Hamilton East–Stoney Creek, come to order.

Wrap-up sentence.

Hon. Chris Ballard: The NDP didn’t even mention the word “poverty” in their last election platform.

Pay equity

Ms. Laurie Scott: To the Minister of Labour: On March 8, International Women’s Day, I met with Ontario’s long-time commissioner for pay equity and had the opportunity to review the 2015-16 statistics for the pay equity office.

While the pay equity office does what it can to support women, it still lacks the tools and resources it needs to fulfil its mandate. As usual, this government loves to talk about equality, but when it comes to actually getting to the work that needs to be done, they are missing in action.

The government has yet to act on the Gender Wage Gap Steering Committee’s final report, which was published almost a year ago, in May 2016. Why has it taken the government and the minister so long to convene a working group to review the well-thought-out recommendations made by the expert committee?

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Thank you to the member for that very important question. We know the gender wage gap still disadvantages women right across Ontario and throughout every jurisdiction within Ontario.

The conversation that was started a while ago led to the creation of a working group. They came forward with some recommendations. We didn’t wait; we implemented those things that we could implement immediately.

Gender-based analysis now is required. Any time any policy goes through this government, it gets put through a gender lens. We’ve been providing employers in this province—very progressive employers—with the resources that they need, training materials on anti-discrimination and developing other educational products.

The task force is meeting. April 13 is its first meeting. I’m expecting some pretty good recommendations out of that group. I look forward to the work of the people. We’re determined to close this gap.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Laurie Scott: Back to the minister: Not only has it taken this government more than six months to even notice the report; they have now decided to convene an invite-only, closed-door session to discuss how to close the gender wage gap. Why not bring this discussion to this Legislature? These are important issues that should be discussed publicly and not behind closed doors.

I remind the minister that when the Pay Equity Act was adopted in this House in 1987, it was passed unanimously with the support of all three parties. It’s time for this government to do what’s right for women. I call on the government to work with all parties in this Legislature and establish a special legislative committee to sit this summer, to work on strengthening the Pay Equity Act.

Can I expect the minister’s support for this kind of non-partisan initiative to improve the lives of hard-working women in Ontario, or will the government revert—

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

Minister?

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Thank you for the supplementary. Again, we’re determined to build on the progress we’ve already made. Everybody knows that we need—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Niagara West–Glanbrook, come to order.

Finish, please.

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: All members of this House, I think, share the feeling that we need to do better on this, that we need to close the gap. It’s not just confined to that side of the House.

But I’ll tell you, Speaker, when I hear the member opposite demean and denigrate and dismiss the people who are putting the hard work into this, the people we’ve appointed to the task force—we’ve got organized labour, we’ve got business, we’ve got advocates, we’ve got equal pay advocates coming forward—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member knows how to address a member in the House too.

Wrap up.

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: The member needs to pay a bit more respect to those people who are working hard on that issue. It’s not just this side of the House, that side of the House. It’s the women who have stepped forward to serve on this working group who are going to help us—

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

Interjections.

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

New question.

Hydro rates

Mr. Wayne Gates: My question is to the Acting Premier. I stood up in this House many times before to try and explain to you what your hydro crisis is doing to Ontario.

Manor Cleaners has 30 employees, with locations in Niagara Falls and St. Catharines. They’re another example of a business struggling to afford their hydro rates. Their hydro bills in 2017 have doubled. They tell me that dry cleaners across Ontario can’t raise their prices fast enough to keep up with their hydro bills. And if they do, they can’t hold on to their customers, who are struggling to pay their own hydro bills.

My question to the Acting Premier: Will the government commit today to make real changes to our hydro system, to ensure that businesses in Ontario have the ability to stay open and, equally important, keep their workers employed?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Minister of Energy and hydro cuts.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: Thank you to the member for—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The minister knows better. Withdraw that, please.

Hon. Charles Sousa: I withdraw.

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

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: I’m very pleased to stand and rise and talk about how Ontario’s Fair Hydro Plan is going to help 500,000 small businesses and farms right across the province.

Not knowing the specifics of the business that the honourable member mentioned, if they’re a general-service business, as the 500,000 businesses right across the province are, they’ll be receiving a 25% rate reduction. That is significant for small businesses right across the province.

I know we’ve been working with the Minister of Economic Development and Growth to also continue to have a very prosperous business climate in this province, and that’s something that we’re going to continue to see here in this province. Our businesses are going to grow, hire more people and create more jobs, and that’s something we should all be proud of.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Wayne Gates: Mr. Speaker, I can tell you, to the minister—both ministers—that Manor Cleaners called me; I didn’t call them about their hydro bill. It’s absolutely disgusting that the minister would stand up and laugh at a question I’m asking about hydro when hydro in this province is a crisis. Make no mistake about it: It’s disgusting and shameful that you do that. I didn’t call the employer; they called me. There’s a real and serious problem in the hydro system in this province.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister of Economic Development and Growth, second time.

Mr. Wayne Gates: After setting the building on fire, this government wants to hand business a pail of water to put out the flames. It’s not putting out the fire, and it’s not stopping the closures of businesses right across the province of Ontario.

I ask the Acting Premier again, will you commit to take immediate action to help small businesses in Ontario with their crushing hydro bills by stopping the sale of Hydro One and taking real action to lower hydro bills?

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Beaches–East York, come to order.

Minister of Energy.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: I’m pleased once again to be able to rise and stand and talk about how all businesses will be getting a 25% reduction when we bring forward Ontario’s Fair Hydro Plan. That is actually relief that is coming for businesses right across the province, unlike that party that puts forward a plan that’s pie-in-the-sky. Many of their proposals rely on vague, yet-to-be-determined expert panels to be convened sometime in the future.

I know the PCs don’t even have time to think about a plan. But, on that side of the House, they have no idea on how to deal with it. This expert panel of theirs, with the NDP: Have they heard back from anything yet? They have not. Let’s be honest, Mr. Speaker; the feds aren’t even returning their calls. Maybe that’s why they’re sending out the member from Bramalea–Gore–Malton to go to Ottawa.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Order.

One wrap-up sentence.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: To see action to help small businesses, you look to this government. To see no action, look at the other side.

Northern Ontario development

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: My question this morning is to the Minister of Northern Development and Mines. I know that our government strongly supports communities and businesses in northern Ontario. We recognize that through strategic investment, northern Ontario is on the right track to prosperity. Investing in the north is a critical part of this government’s plan to build Ontario up by supporting job creation and creating a dynamic and innovative business climate.

I understand that through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp., our government does exactly that. Mr. Speaker, can the minister please tell us more about supporting job creation in the north and the work of the NOHFC?

Hon. Bill Mauro: In the late 1980s, the David Peterson Liberal government put in place this fund, a flagship program for northern Ontario called the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund. It has served northern Ontario very well for almost 30 years now.

Speaker, what I like to remind people about with this particular fund is that, in 2008, as the recession had taken hold—and in northern Ontario, we had already felt the effects of that in 2005-06 when forestry was affected even before the main recession—we made a decision not to scale back when the recession took hold, but to actually increase funding in this program.

Historically, it was at $60 million a year. We took it from $60 million to $70 million, from $70 million to $80 million and from $80 million to $90 million. Now that fund sits at $100 million every year and has continued to enhance and facilitate economic development in northern Ontario ever since then.

It’s a great program, Speaker. We’re very committed to it and we’ve increased the funding level by $40 million.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: Thank you, Minister—

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Wow, Minister, that was a great answer.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Timmins–James Bay will come to order.

Supplementary.

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: Thank you, Minister, for setting the record straight in this House. I know that northern Ontario is the top priority for our government, and it’s clear that the investments made through the NOHFC are having a direct impact on universities, communities and businesses in the north.

Investing in universities and colleges benefits everyone by creating jobs, enriching society and stimulating culture. Can the minister please speak to other investments made specifically at colleges and universities in the north?

Hon. Bill Mauro: Thank you again to the member for the question. We recognize that in northern Ontario, our colleges and universities have capacity to grow and to help our northern economies ride out the cyclical nature of many of the economies of many of our communities. One of the things that we’ve been doing through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund is to invest in research, innovation and knowledge-based jobs that help our smaller communities ride out the cyclical nature of our economy.

Just last week or two weeks ago, I was at Lakehead University for a $5-million announcement on the Centre for Advanced Studies in Engineering and Sciences, a major project that will create over 67 jobs over about five years. Very soon, we’ll be at Confederation College in Thunder Bay for the ribbon-cutting on their new technology hub, which will prepare students very well for the jobs in the future.

It’s very focused, some of the programs in NOHFC, to help us ride out and change our economies in northern Ontario.

Child protection

Mrs. Gila Martow: My question is to the Minister of Children and Youth Services. We’ve had three days of hearings into Bill 89, which is looking to overhaul our child welfare system for the first time in over three decades. I’ve attempted five times to put forward a motion in order for the committee on justice policy to formally request that the minister present himself at the committee. I’m sure the NDP member from Hamilton Mountain can vouch for me, since she agreed she’d like to hear from the minister as well.

Would the minister please explain why his colleagues on the justice policy committee are blocking the committee from inviting him to speak?

Hon. Michael Coteau: I’d be happy to take a question here today on this bill. The legislation is a very comprehensive piece of legislation that I believe will give young people the best start to life they can possibly have. We know that here, in the province of Ontario, we want to make sure young people can transition into adulthood and find success in the province. We also need to make sure that young people get the services that they need when they need them.

This piece of comprehensive legislation—I’m very proud that it’s being debated here in the Legislature and proud that it went to committee for the three days—is something that I believe will be a big game changer here in the province of Ontario. In my supplement, I will talk about some of the highlights from that proposed legislation.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mrs. Gila Martow: There were five attempts, and I even tried to set up a phone call with the minister. After three days of hearings, many questions were raised, questions only the minister can answer. For example, our indigenous communities are expected to join the integrated child welfare data system known as CPIN, yet they have not been told how this will be possible without the proper Internet infrastructure in these communities.

I’m baffled as to why the minister responsible for child welfare would not want to address the concerns raised at the hearings. For a government that claims to be open and transparent, why in this case does the minister refuse to be accountable to the elected members of the justice policy committee?

Hon. Michael Coteau: The member knows that in the Westminster system the member has an opportunity to ask questions here in question period. That’s why we call it question period. You can ask any question you want during that time period. We have an hour, Monday to Thursday, where members can stand up and ask members in the Legislature questions. I’m so proud of this piece of legislation. It—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister?

Hon. Michael Coteau: I will remind the member opposite and all the members opposite that this is their opportunity. If they have questions, we have something called question period, and we’re here today. Use the opportunity to ask questions, and any member, any—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member is not helping me.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister of Infrastructure.

New question.

Long-term care

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: My question is to the Acting Premier. Today we see more and more evidence that this Liberal government has driven long-term care to the breaking point. CARP, which represents 300,000 older Canadians, polled its members and found deep dissatisfaction with long-term-care facilities. Seniors are not happy with long-term care today. They are worried about their loved ones. They have little confidence in oversight and they see that staff are overworked and just don’t have the supports they need.

After 14 years in power, after 14 years to improve long-term care, after 14 years of inaction, when will this Liberal government finally admit it has spent 14 years failing Ontario’s seniors?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I appreciate the question. There’s nothing more important to us as a government and a health care system than providing a safe, secure and compassionate environment for our seniors wherever they reside, including in long-term-care homes. That’s why, since coming into office, we have almost doubled our funding for long-term care from $2 billion to more than $4 billion today.

We’ve also invested in health care personnel. Since 2008, in the last decade, we have added 4,600 new staff into our long-term-care homes, and that includes more than 2,000 nurses. We’ve built more than 10,000 new long-term-care beds. We are in the process of redeveloping 30,000 new ones. In fact, we’re almost halfway toward that target already. We’re investing in behavioural supports because we recognize the higher prevalence of dementia.

We’re making all those investments for that precise reason: to have the best quality care.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: Seniors want to see big improvements in long-term care, not more excuses from this Liberal government. Wanda Morris, the vice-president of CARP, says that these findings should be a wake-up call for this minister.

Seniors have little faith in the oversight of long-term care, and they want standards of decency and care to protect every resident. Yet this Liberal government refuses to back the NDP’s call for minimum standards of care.

Why is this government refusing to listen to seniors and refusing to do the right thing to protect the safety and the dignity of every long-term-care resident in Ontario?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Mr. Speaker, we require long-term-care homes to develop a staffing plan that is specific and reflects the unique characteristics and needs of the population they serve. We think, rather than an arbitrary minimum number of hours or staffing, which in fact was investigated by Shirlee Sharkey several years ago—and she did not advocate for that approach—she felt, and others have felt to this day, that it’s most appropriate to recognize that long-term-care homes in one part of the province may have a completely different population than in another part of the province.

Some arbitrary staffing number is not nearly as helpful or important as ensuring the development—which they’re required to do by law—and the implementation of a human resources plan that reflects the needs of those patients who reside in that residence.

Infrastructure program funding

Mr. Arthur Potts: My question today is to the Minister of Infrastructure. Our government recognizes that making smart investments in public infrastructure is one of the best ways to stimulate growth in our economy, create jobs and enhance quality of life. For decades, previous governments, including both opposition parties, have failed to keep our infrastructure up to date.

We want people in every corner of the province to share in the stronger communities that we are building, whether they live in big cities or small towns. I am so proud to be a member of a government that is investing directly in communities through programs like the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, which supports priority projects in ridings across the province.

I know that our government is making an exciting announcement today regarding this year’s OCIF funding. Speaker, through you to the minister, will he share the details of today’s announcement with the House?

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: My thanks to the member from Beaches–East York. Yes, our government created the $100-million OCIF fund to provide all communities in Ontario with a population of 100,000 or less with funding for critical projects. Every eligible municipality’s allocation is reliable, formula-based funding, but they can also all apply for additional supports through OCIF’s top-up component.

Today, our government is pleased to announce the approval of 55 OCIF projects worth $60 million, bringing the number of top-up projects funded by our government to 200 since 2015.

After listening closely to stakeholders like AMO, we are also tripling the size of the program from $100 million to $300 million.

OCIF supports smaller municipalities in a bigger way and makes a real difference for their residents.

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

Mr. Arthur Potts: My thanks to the minister for the great work he is doing building Ontario up, because addressing this infrastructure deficit is a major priority of our Premier and this side of the House.

I know that the $60 million will go a long way to addressing municipal infrastructure needs. I also know that the changes to the structure of OCIF will maintain the program’s role as a major support for Ontario’s small communities. Our infrastructure investments are being made on a truly province-wide scale, with every riding benefiting from the $160 billion this government is investing over 12 years.

While we invest in our communities, the opposition seems focused on taking down the largest infrastructure investment in Ontario. We fear, and the people of Ontario fear, that they will cancel the OCIF program should either party opposite form the next government. Speaker, through you to the minister: Would you please outline exactly what the infrastructure programs mean for Ontario’s residents?

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: The difference between our government and the parties opposite is that we have a plan and they don’t. Our plan is making a positive difference for their constituents.

The leader of the third party should know that Hamilton is eligible to receive nearly $33 million in clean water and waste water funding, to say nothing of the $1 billion we have committed to their LRT.

The Leader of the Opposition should know that in his riding of Simcoe North, communities will benefit from $8 million in OCIF and clean water funding, to say nothing of the $474 million we invested in a mental health centre in his riding.

Communities in NDP-held Timmins–James Bay will benefit from $5 million in combined OCIF and clean water funding.

Communities in PC-held Simcoe–Grey will benefit from over $12 million.

Our government is working extremely hard to support all of our residents in every part of this province.

Opioid abuse

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: My question is to the Minister of Health. I’ve written and spoken to the minister many times regarding the opioid crisis in Ottawa, a crisis which has caused almost as many overdoses in the first three months of 2017 as we saw in all of 2016.

I’m in daily contact with the parents and youth who are struggling with this addiction. These parents have taken matters into their own hands, organizing support groups, holding information sessions and raising funds for a youth centre because they feel that their government isn’t listening to them.

I’ve received correspondence from the minister on the high-level things that the minister says they want to commit to, but the opioid strategy is either not working fast enough or it’s not working at all. Will the minister visit Ottawa during the constituency break next week to meet with these families and myself to see their struggle and to commit to the action that they need?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I first want to express my sympathy and compassion for the families the member opposite is referring to: the families in Kanata and the Ottawa area who have experienced such tragedies. Particularly, I think of the 14-year-old whose life was tragically lost because of an opioid overdose.

That’s why we are taking the measures that we are, in an extremely comprehensive way, from ensuring appropriate prescribing of opioids to providing the appropriate treatment and life-saving medications like Naloxone, to ensuring that individuals, including youth, have access to the supports that they need. We announced, just a couple of months ago, $140 million of new investments, including in cognitive behavioural therapy, that will reach individuals who are at risk and can support them in such situations.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I again extend my invitation to the Minister of Health to join us in Ottawa next week. I know he says that there’s a lot of money out there, but there are still many people who are left behind and falling through the cracks. Here’s an email I received from one parent dealing with this crisis first-hand:

“Unfortunately this has been a terrible week. In and out of hospital. He was staying downtown in a drug house. We found him Thursday. He was a mess. Totally out of it. Marks all over his face, his mouth. Feet so swollen from either his heart condition, or from injecting between his toes. We called police. They took him to ER and they released him six hours later!”

This mother was devastated. She finishes with this, and I want to leave this with you, Minister: “The system isn’t doing anything about this because they are following the natural elimination of waste. Why spend money on addiction? Most people will relapse over and over again. Why spend” $5,000 “a week in hospital?”

Can the minister answer this mother, whose son is falling through the cracks and whose government is failing her?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Mr. Speaker, we are taking action, including directly in Ottawa. The Premier and myself have committed to a meeting with municipal leaders, specifically on the opioid situation.

This year alone, we’ve invested—and I know the member opposite is well familiar with this treatment centre—$1.5 million to the Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre in Ottawa to support the construction of a new 30-bed youth residential treatment facility, helping more young Ontarians, including and especially young Ontarians and youth in the Ottawa region, and providing support to their families and helping them to overcome substance abuse and related issues.

This new centre is not a panacea, but it is part of a comprehensive approach where we have to touch this tragedy at every possible location that we can, geographically and whether it is with regard to avoiding individuals from becoming addicts in the first place or providing the necessary supports to leave that addiction, Mr. Speaker—

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

Labour dispute

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: My question is to the Acting Premier. It has now been over a month since workers at the Canadian Hearing Society were forced off the job after working without a contract for four years. This means people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing don’t have access to the 227 interpreters, speech-language pathologists, counsellors, literacy instructors and audiologists they depend on to thrive.

Speaker, no member of the deaf or hard-of-hearing community should be forced to go without service, period. Will the Acting Premier stand up for all clients of the Canadian Hearing Society, insist that no scab workers are used during the labour disruption, and ensure all parties return to the bargaining table immediately?

Hon. Charles Sousa: Minister of Community and Social Services.

Hon. Helena Jaczek: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for the question. As the member knows, contract negotiations are a matter between the agency, as the employer, and the union. I’m sure the Minister of Labour will want to follow up in the supplementary. We certainly encourage the union and the agency to continue contract negotiations. We certainly hope that the matter will be resolved as quickly as possible, because, of course, the Canadian Hearing Society does—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Please.

Carry on.

Hon. Helena Jaczek: Certainly, the agency does provide very valuable services to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. My ministry has been advised that there is a contingency plan in place so that there is continuity of services to these individuals served by this agency, and that is my ministry’s primary concern.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: What the minister should know is that the government plays a large role in ensuring that no scab workers are used during a labour disruption. Since you fund the CHS, you have the ability to force the employer back to the table to actually bargain for a fair contract.

Again to the Acting Premier: Late last month, Mount Sinai permanently shut the doors to their audiology clinic. For people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, the scarcity of services in the Toronto area has just increased exponentially.

But it’s not just Toronto. Workers at the Canadian Hearing Society are on strike in Windsor, Ottawa, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and throughout the province. Many of these workers are deaf or hard-of-hearing themselves.

I ask again, will the Acting Premier acknowledge the importance of these services to a vulnerable community, insist no scab workers are used during this labour disruption—that includes management and their families—and ensure the employer returns to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair deal immediately?

Interjections.

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

Minister?

Hon. Helena Jaczek: Minister of Labour.

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Thank you for the supplementary, Speaker. During labour disputes, which nobody likes to see—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister?

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Collective bargaining is tough. It’s tough by its nature. Nobody likes to see disputes drag on for too long. It’s a shared responsibility to get people back to the table.

The province of Ontario has some of the best mediators in this country. You see the track record they have: In over 98% of collective bargaining, an agreement is reached without a strike or a lockout in the province of Ontario. So we’re involved with this. We want to see an end to it. But we’ll take no lessons from the NDP. Last year: 18 work stoppages. When the NDP were in power, 139. That record speaks for itself.

Occupational disease

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: My question is to the Minister of Labour. Over the past few weeks, I have seen some local coverage about the Minister of Labour’s surprise visit to Peterborough. The minister was there to visit an information clinic for workers who previously worked at GE. My friend the member from Peterborough, Jeff Leal, also stopped in to meet the workers.

The media coverage and what I have heard from constituents in my riding of Northumberland–Quinte West have been extremely positive.

These workers and their families felt as though people were there to listen to them and to help them work through some of the troubles they have encountered as a result of their worker compensation claims.

Speaker, to the minister: Could you please explain more about the purpose of the information clinic and the next steps in dealing with these important constituents?

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Thank you to the member from Northumberland–Quinte West for his question and the involvement he has had in this issue to date.

It was a pleasure to work with the MPP for Peterborough, my seatmate, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs—the support that he brought to this was just incredible—and the great volunteers, Speaker. There was Heather Brooks-Hill, Marion Burton and Kathy Dracup-Harris—ordinary people who stepped to the fore of this.

As a result of them stepping to the fore, at the end of March my ministry organized a three-day information clinic. All the parties came forward that are involved in this very complex case, and we started an information clinic. The Office of the Worker Adviser, the WSIB and OHCOW were there. Over these three days, these organizations were able to sit down face to face with workers in Peterborough and were able to help them through.

I’m proud of the work that has been done, Speaker. There’s more to come.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: Thank you to the minister. I agree with him that this information clinic was an important first step. It was an opportunity to bring guidance on a complicated issue to the community, all in one place. I will certainly be following the issue as it moves forward.

I know the Minister of Labour is working hard to transform workplace health and safety in the province. Keeping people safe at work begins with creating a culture in Ontario where health and safety at work is paramount.

Speaker, through you to the minister, what else is our government doing to ensure that we are working to prevent occupational disease in the province?

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Thank you again to the member from Northumberland–Quinte West for that question.

It’s critical to my ministry that all occupational diseases are treated with the same seriousness that we bring to physical injuries, which we’ve done so well on. The ministry has developed a proactive strategy for detection and prevention. It includes regulation, it includes enforcement, and it includes research, education and awareness.

The cornerstone of this, though, is going to be a dedicated occupational disease response team that is being put in place this very year. This new unit is going to examine and respond to all aspects of occupational disease exposure, and that goes from the initial report to enforcement to helping the workers themselves.

Speaker, everybody in the province of Ontario who goes to work each day deserves to work in an environment that’s safe, free from harm, and to return home at the end of each day.

I’m committed to ensuring that Ontario remains one of the safest places you can work on the entire planet.

Energy policies

Mr. Jim McDonell: To the Minister of Energy: When Ontarians were facing disconnections in the middle of winter, the Premier said to this House that Hydro One was already complying with a no-disconnection policy. So it’s obvious that, once again, this government does not know what’s going on at Hydro.

Steve and George, in my riding, were disconnected on February 20 and 21 and had to deal with flooded basements and buying generators to avoid frozen pipes, as Hydro One had silently disconnected their service. Both had no arrears.

The Minister of Energy says, “That’s the one thing they have been doing, Mr. Speaker: enhancing their customer service.”

Speaker, is this government made of hydro salespeople, or are they actually made of ministers who will provide proper oversight?

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: I know that lately, the opposition have been bringing stories to this House about individual customers. What’s frustrating is that often the member hasn’t contacted me directly about this issue, or apparently hasn’t even contacted the local utility to try and resolve the issue before bringing it up here in question period.

Last week, for example, a member opposite raised the story of someone who received a false electricity bill after their house was tragically lost in a fire. If the member had talked to me or Hydro One, we could have gotten the issue resolved right away. When they learned of the mistake, Hydro One immediately reversed the charges and has promised the customer four months of free credits.

But, apparently, helping this customer wasn’t really the priority of that party. I get it, Mr. Speaker. If you don’t have a real plan on electricity, it makes sense to try and focus on the problems—

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

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Jim McDonell: Back to the minister: Minister, we have resolved the problems, but they shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

The government promises modest compensation at Hydro One, and we see outrageous salaries. The government promises no disconnections, yet Hydro One disconnects anyway. Every time a story of incompetence and outrageous customer service at Hydro One comes to the House, all the government can say is, “We’ll look into it,” or that “We’re becoming customer-focused,” or “Hydro One is becoming a better company.”

How long will it take for this government to realize it’s a pattern and it needs to be broken? As the majority shareholder of Hydro One, it is the minister’s duty and obligation to act in the public interest and fix these problems. When will the government—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister of Children and Youth Services.

Mr. Jim McDonell: —find some decency and take some long-needed leadership on executive pay, transparency and customer service, while they are still the majority shareholder?

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: I’m always happy to rise and talk about the great work that this side of the House has done on the electricity file. For decades, Mr. Speaker—

Interjections.

Mr. John Yakabuski: That should take about eleven seconds.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Renfrew, second time. It’s never too late to get warned or named.

Finish, please.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: It’s interesting that—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Thornhill: I didn’t even get to sit down.

Let’s try this again.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re happy to actually provide solutions for the people of Ontario. That’s what we do, and we act on that.

On that side of the House, they have no plan, they have no idea what to do, and that’s why they come to us to actually get things done. That’s what we’ve done with the fair hydro plan, that’s what we’ve done on these issues, and we’ll continue to do that as we build this province up.

Visitors

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): We have with us in the Speaker’s gallery a delegation from the National Council of Austria; they are led by Karlheinz Kopf, Second President of the National Council. Welcome. That would be the Deputy Speaker, for those who don’t know the translation.

Deferred Votes

Putting Consumers First Act (Consumer Protection Statute Law Amendment), 2017 / Loi de 2017 donnant la priorité aux consommateurs (modifiant des lois en ce qui concerne la protection du consommateur)

Deferred vote on the motion for third reading of the following bill:

Bill 59,

An Act to enact a new Act with respect to home inspections and to amend various Acts with respect to financial services and consumer protection / Projet de loi 59, Loi édictant une nouvelle loi concernant les inspections immobilières et modifiant diverses lois concernant les services financiers et la protection du consommateur.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Call in the members. This will be a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1139 to 1144.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): On April 4, 2017, Madame Lalonde moved third reading of Bill 59,

An Act to enact a new Act with respect to home inspections and to amend various Acts with respect to financial services and consumer protection.

All those in favour, please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Ayes

Albanese, Laura

Anderson, Granville

Armstrong, Teresa J.

Arnott, Ted

Bailey, Robert

Baker, Yvan

Ballard, Chris

Barrett, Toby

Bisson, Gilles

Bradley, James J.

Chan, Michael

Chiarelli, Bob

Cho, Raymond Sung Joon

Clark, Steve

Coe, Lorne

Colle, Mike

Coteau, Michael

Crack, Grant

Damerla, Dipika

Del Duca, Steven

Delaney, Bob

Dhillon, Vic

Dickson, Joe

DiNovo, Cheri

Dong, Han

Duguid, Brad

Fedeli, Victor

Fife, Catherine

Flynn, Kevin Daniel

Forster, Cindy

French, Jennifer K.

Gates, Wayne

Gélinas, France

Gretzky, Lisa

Hardeman, Ernie

Hatfield, Percy

Hillier, Randy

Hoggarth, Ann

Hoskins, Eric

Hunter, Mitzie

Jaczek, Helena

Jones, Sylvia

Kiwala, Sophie

Lalonde, Marie-France

MacCharles, Tracy

MacLeod, Lisa

Malhi, Harinder

Mangat, Amrit

Martins, Cristina

Martow, Gila

Mauro, Bill

McDonell, Jim

McGarry, Kathryn

McMahon, Eleanor

McMeekin, Ted

McNaughton, Monte

Miller, Norm

Miller, Paul

Moridi, Reza

Munro, Julia

Murray, Glen R.

Naidoo-Harris, Indira

Naqvi, Yasir

Nicholls, Rick

Oosterhoff, Sam

Pettapiece, Randy

Potts, Arthur

Qaadri, Shafiq

Rinaldi, Lou

Sandals, Liz

Scott, Laurie

Singh, Jagmeet

Smith, Todd

Sousa, Charles

Tabuns, Peter

Takhar, Harinder S.

Taylor, Monique

Thibeault, Glenn

Thompson, Lisa M.

Vanthof, John

Vernile, Daiene

Wilson, Jim

Wong, Soo

Yakabuski, John

Yurek, Jeff

Zimmer, David

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): All those opposed, please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Todd Decker): The ayes are 86; the nays are 0.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I declare the motion carried.

Be it resolved that the bill do now pass and be entitled as in the motion.

Third reading agreed to.

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

The House recessed from 1147 to 1300.

Members’ Statements

Wildlife protection

Mr. Monte McNaughton: This year, we are celebrating Canada’s 150th year as a nation. It is a history that has been shaped and coloured by the richness and diversity of our landscapes, our wilderness and our wildlife.

I want to mark this year’s National Wildlife Week by celebrating an organization which is promoting both awareness and conservation of our wildlife. The Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre is a grassroots, non-profit organization that started out in 2004 near Mount Brydges, in my riding of Lambton–Kent–Middlesex. Since then, they have cared for more than a thousand injured and orphaned animals and birds each year, enabling them to regain their freedom and return to their natural habitat. Founder Brian Salt and his dedicated team of volunteers have treated everything from an injured great horned owl to an orphaned mallard duck to a poisoned red fox.

Through their community outreach programs, Salthaven educates and inspires diverse audiences, introducing people, especially young people, to their local wildlife and helping them to better understand the role we each have to play in the health of our ecosystems.

I want to thank Salthaven and their volunteers and supporters for the tremendous impact they have locally and for helping to preserve Ontario’s proud natural heritage.

During National Wildlife Week, I would encourage everyone to seek opportunities to learn about local wildlife and perhaps to rediscover an appreciation for nature and the outdoors.

Polish community

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the opening of a new exhibit dedicated to showcasing the contributions of the Polish people to Canada. Just in time for Canada’s 150th anniversary, the University of Windsor’s Leddy Library and the Polish-Canadian Business and Professional Association of Windsor have teamed up to showcase the Polish-Canadian Commemorative Exhibition: A Canada 150 Tribute and Celebration.

Speaker, despite having Polish roots myself through my husband’s family, while visiting the exhibit there was still much I learned about the extent of the contributions by Polish people. Did you know that my community of Windsor had a recruitment centre for Polish people during World War II, or that one of the first members of Canadian Parliament was of Polish descent—Alexandre-Édouard Kierzkowski? Some members may remember the exhibit dedicated to Mr. Kierzkowski that was on display at Queen’s Park last year.

The Polish-Canadian Commemorative Exhibition features eight displays presented in three categories, including the contribution of Poles to Canada, why Poles are grateful to Canada, and the contribution of Poles to the world.

I would like to thank the Polish-Canadian Business and Professional Association of Windsor and, in particular, its president, Jerry Barycki, along with the University of Windsor, for making this possible.

If you didn’t have a chance to visit the official opening of the exhibit, Speaker, you’re in luck. The exhibit will remain on display this week, and I would invite all members of this assembly to come to Windsor and learn more about the contributions of Polish people to Canada.

Agnes Macphail

Mr. Arthur Potts: Every day as I climb the centre staircase to come into this legislative chamber, I give a nod to the carving of Agnes Macphail’s head in the lobby.

You may have seen over the weekend, Speaker, that the Bank of Canada has unveiled a new $10 commemorative banknote for the Canada 150 celebrations. The front of the bill features portraits of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald; fellow Father of Confederation Sir George-Étienne Cartier; James Gladstone, Canada’s first indigenous senator; and Canada’s first female member of Parliament, Agnes Macphail.

Macphail was the only woman in Canada to be elected to the House of Commons in 1921, the first year in which women got the vote. She was once described as “the most important woman in public life that Canada has produced in the 20th century.”

In 1943, Macphail returned to politics, winning the provincial riding of York East in Toronto, an area that encompasses my own riding of Beaches–East York. With Rae Luckock, she was one of the first women to become a member of the Ontario Legislature.

Every year since 1993, there has been an awards ceremony held in honour of Ms. Macphail. The Agnes Macphail Award recognizes an East York resident who has made outstanding contributions as a volunteer by “thinking globally and acting locally,” an expression that she coined. This year’s winner was Patrick Rocca.

I want to say congratulations to the wonderful group of people who lobbied hard to see her face honoured on the $10 banknote, with a special thank you to Lorna Krawchuk for all the time she put in to make sure the Agnes Macphail Award is held every year.

Property rights

Mr. Randy Hillier: Last week, I tabled a property rights motion in the House which would add two sections to

section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It reads as follows:

“

(1) The following

section is inserted after

section 7:

“‘7.1(1) In Ontario, everyone has the right not to be deprived, by any act of the Legislative Assembly or by any action taken under authority of

an act of the Legislative Assembly, of the title, use, or enjoyment of real property or of any right attached to real property, or of any improvement made to or upon real property, unless made whole by means of full, just and timely financial compensation, and that this

section refers to any act of the Legislative Assembly made before or after the coming into force of this section.’”

It also adds a second section:

“‘

(2) This amendment may be cited as the Constitution Amendment, 2012 (No Expropriation in Ontario without Compensation), and reference to the Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982, shall be deemed to include a reference to the Constitution Amendment, 2012 (No Expropriation in Ontario without Compensation).’”

Highway signs

M me France Gélinas: I believe that the Minister of Transportation’s provincial highway signs policy discriminates against small northern communities like Alban, in my riding of Nickel Belt. Before the four-laning of Highway 69—we’re very thankful for it—drivers would see the directional sign that said that Alban was only three kilometres off the highway. They would come into town, grab a bite to eat, do some grocery shopping, and even spend the night at one of the beautiful lodges, like Presqu’ile Cottages or the Beausejour Inn.

Now, with the four-laning of Highway 69, the new directional sign off the highway does not list Alban. It lists Noelville, which is 30 kilometres away, and Sturgeon Falls, which is even further. To motorists, it looks like you have to drive at least 30 kilometres before you can buy food or gas. That’s not the case.

RDH Mining, which is an international mining equipment manufacturer, wrote me to say, “It was hard enough to get customers to find our location as it was. Now, with this omission from the new sign to our community, it will be an even greater challenge.”

Right now, many businesses, from mining to forestry to restaurants, grocery stores and lodging, are all losing business in Alban because of the made-in-Toronto sign policy that makes no sense.

This needs to change, Speaker. The people of Alban, the businesses of Alban and the motorists travelling Highway 69 trying to find Alban deserve a proper directional sign on Highway 69 directing them to this community. It is that simple.

John Polanyi Collegiate Institute

Mr. Mike Colle: I want to talk about a remarkable school in my riding. It’s John Polanyi Collegiate Institute, which is at Lawrence and Allen Road. This is a school that was previously known as Bathurst Heights. It was closed during the Mike Harris days but reopened under the name of the John Polanyi Collegiate Institute, named after the Nobel Prize-winning physicist John Polanyi of U of T.

It is now up to 1,000 students. It’s a thriving school, with all kinds of incredible, unique programs. It has an outstanding principal who has won Canada’s outstanding principal award: Aiman Flahat. He has brought in a partnership with the Rotman School of Management so that grades 11 and 12 students have the opportunity to take business leadership, which teaches them integrated thinking.

It offers the Toronto school board’s only science, math and robotics program. The school is a hub of activity, and recently hosted the grades 7 and 8 girls’ STEM conference.

It is a school that is very active not only in academics but very good in sports. It has one of the best basketball programs in the city of Toronto, and is very good in archery and in other track and field sports.

Anyway, this is part of the revitalization of Lawrence Heights. This school is a real gem. Young students come from all over central Toronto to go to John Polanyi.

Congratulations to the teachers, students and their families at John Polanyi Collegiate.

Atwood Lions Club

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: Earlier this month, the Atwood Lions Club celebrated a milestone: their 60th anniversary. I was fortunate enough to join their celebration on April 1. Also in attendance was the club’s charter president from 1957, Derek Nind.

The Atwood Lions Club is part of Lions Clubs International, a global service organization with over 1.4 million members. Its founder, Melvin Jones, had a vision of giving back to his community and beyond. Indeed, Melvin Jones’s personal motto was, “You can’t get very far until you start doing for somebody else.” By extension, the Lions’ motto is, “We serve.” Across the globe, Lions clubs are making a huge difference in areas like care for children dealing with blindness; diabetes prevention and treatment; and a partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

Locally, the Atwood Lions Club has been a fixture in serving their community. They run a wonderful skating rink that kids and families get to enjoy every year. Every July, they also hold a hugely popular parade, barbecue and family fun fair, along with their famous elimination draw.

Here’s the point: Atwood Lions Club, like so many Lions and other service clubs across Ontario, strengthens our community. As a long-time Lion, I can tell you first-hand that Lions are making a difference.

I invite everyone to join me in congratulating the Atwood Lions Club on its 60th anniversary and wishing them many more years of success in the future. Roar, Lions.

Battle of Vimy Ridge

Mr. John Fraser: I had the privilege on Sunday morning of attending the Vimy memorial at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with my colleague from Ottawa Centre, the Attorney General. It was a very moving ceremony. We had Silver Cross moms there. We had the Ottawa Choral Society, and violinists playing a lament.

When we speak about the Battle of Vimy Ridge, we often talk about the birth of a nation and how we became co-signatories to the Versailles treaty. But what it really is all about is sacrifice. That’s the memory that we honour. There have been many battles fought since then. In every family, somebody has, somewhere along the line, made that kind of sacrifice. As we go forward and we get to the 101st anniversary and remember all those who served us, we must remember that sacrifice, because that’s how we have what we have now.

At the end of the ceremony, there was a beautiful moment when they released some doves, and as the doves circled the cenotaph, somehow a flock of Canada geese came by at exactly the same time. It was really quite incredible for all of those people who were there, and truly a surprise, but a wonderful part of that celebration.

HMCS York

Mr. Toby Barrett: I congratulate Commander Rob Johnston and the officers and sailors of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship York, who recently a conducted a domestic maritime exercise in Toronto harbour. HMCS York is the largest naval reserve division in the country, based here in Toronto. The training day involved search and rescue on the water, diving and treatment of casualties.

The exercise involved eight boats and over 150 personnel and observers from the Royal Canadian Navy—HMCS York and HMCS Star—25 field ambulance, Toronto’s Office of Emergency Management, the Toronto police marine unit, Coast Guard Auxiliary, St. John Ambulance, Commissionaires Great Lakes, PortsToronto and Billy Bishop airport.

This type of training helps prepare our men and women in uniform in case they are called upon to act in support of our municipal and provincial agencies.

Special thanks to the organizers from HMCS York’s operations department, including Petty Officer Mlynarczyk, Petty Officer Sakki, Master Seaman Walia, Acting Sub-Lieutenant Habayeb—and this information, supplied to me by Lieutenant Paul Hong.

To all involved, Bravo Zulu.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I thank all members for their statements.

Petitions

Palliative care

Mr. Toby Barrett: Speaker, this is a petition, and I realize the title is directed to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled.

“Whereas hospice palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing problems associated with life-threatening illness through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification, assessment and treatment of pain and other problems: physical, psycho-social and spiritual; and

“Whereas hospice palliative care provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms, affirms life, regards dying as a normal process and intends neither to hasten nor postpone death; and

“Whereas hospice palliative care is not specifically mentioned in the Canada Health Act; and

“Whereas hospice palliative care is not accessible and available to all Canadians;

“We, the undersigned residents of Canada, request the House of Commons in Parliament Assembled to specifically identify hospice palliative care as a defined medical service covered under the Canada Health Act so that provincial and territorial governments will be entitled to funds under the Canada Health Transfer system to be used to provide accessible and available hospice palliative care for all residents of Canada in their respective provinces and territories.”

As I indicated at the commencement, this is directed to the House of Commons.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Before I move to the next petition, I’m going to dovetail into that particular piece of information—not picking on the member, but reminding everybody that your petitions should be stamped first before you read them. Quite frankly, we’re not sure of all the language, and in this case it would not be appropriate to this particular House for that petition. I’m going to let it pass if the table decides to stamp it, but I’m reminding all members, and spread that amongst your colleagues: to the table first for a stamp for an official approval of the petition. Thank you.

Privatization of public assets

M me France Gélinas: I have this petition that has been approved by the table, and I wanted to thank Arthur Schmith from Lively, in my riding, for sending it. It goes as follows:

“Privatizing Hydro One: Another Wrong Choice.

“Whereas once you privatize Hydro One, there’s no return; and

“Whereas we’ll lose billions in reliable annual revenues for schools and hospitals; and

“Whereas we’ll lose our biggest economic asset and control over our energy future; and

“Whereas we’ll pay higher and higher hydro bills just like what’s happened elsewhere”;

They petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“To stop the sale of Hydro One and make sure Ontario families benefit from owning Hydro One now and for generations to come.”

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

Nanjing Massacre

Ms. Soo Wong: I’m very pleased to table another 5,000 signatures in support of my bill today.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the events in Asian countries during World War II are not well-known;

“Whereas Ontarians have not had an opportunity for a thorough discussion and examination of the World War II atrocities in Asia;...

“Whereas Ontario is recognized as an inclusive society;

“Whereas Ontario is the home to one of the largest Asian populations in Canada, with over 2.6 million in 2011;

“Whereas some Ontarians have direct relationships with victims and survivors of the Nanjing Massacre, whose stories are untold;

“Whereas the Nanjing Massacre was an atrocity with over 200,000 Chinese civilians and soldiers alike were indiscriminately killed, and tens of thousands of women were sexually assaulted, in the Japanese capture of the city;

“Whereas December 13, 2017, marks the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre;...

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

“That the Legislature pass the Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day Act, 2016 by December 8, 2017, to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, which will enable Ontarians, especially those with Asian heritage, to plan commemorative activities to honour the victims and families affected by the Nanjing Massacre.”

I support the petition and give my petition to Franny.

Access to justice

Ms. Laurie Scott: Freshly stamped by the Clerk’s office: “Stop the Move of the Provincial Offences Court from Minden to Lindsay.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Ministry of the Attorney General has announced it is closing the provincial offences court in the town of Minden; and

“Whereas closing the court in Minden would render justice inaccessible for many residents in the county who do not have reliable access to transportation to travel to Lindsay; and

“Whereas the government did not consult with the county of Haliburton to support this decision; and

“Whereas the Ontario Provincial Police will incur overtime and travelling costs which will result in higher taxes passed directly onto our taxpayers; and

“Whereas the courts have a positive effect on the economy of the county of Haliburton and closing the courthouse will divert money out of town;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows: that the Minister of the Attorney General immediately reverse the decision to move the Minden provincial offences court to Lindsay from the period of July 1, 2017, to July 1, 2018, and ensure that residents in the county of Haliburton have access to justice in their own community.”

It’s signed by the reeve and council in Minden Hills.

Grandview Children’s Centre

Ms. Jennifer K. French: I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas Grandview Children’s Centre is Durham region’s only outpatient rehabilitation facility for children and youth with special needs; and

“Whereas Grandview Children’s Centre’s main facility was originally constructed in 1983 to serve 400 children and now has a demand of over 8,000 children annually; and ...

“Whereas it is crucial for Grandview Children’s Centre to complete a major development project to construct a new facility in order to meet the existing as well as future needs of Durham region’s children, youth and families; and ...

“Whereas since 2009 the need for services has continued to increase, with over 2,753 children, youth and families currently on the wait-list for services;

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

“That the province of Ontario prioritizes, commits to and approves Grandview Children’s Centre’s capital development plan so that the chronic shortage of facilities in Durham can be alleviated.”

I wholeheartedly support this petition. I’ll sign my name and send it with page Kishan.

Dental care

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: I have a petition that reads as such:

“Whereas lack of access to dental care affects overall health and well-being, and poor oral health is linked to diabetes, cardiovascular, respiratory disease, and Alzheimer’s disease; and

“Whereas it is estimated that two to three million people in Ontario have not seen a dentist in the past” 10 years, “mainly due to the cost of private dental services; and

“Whereas approximately every nine minutes a person in Ontario arrives at a hospital emergency room with a dental problem but can only get painkillers and antibiotics, and this costs the health care system at least $31 million annually with no treatment of the problem;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to invest in public oral health programs for low-income adults and seniors....”

I agree. I will sign this petition and send it to the desk with Laura.

Hydro rates

Mr. Norm Miller: I have a petition with regard to electricity prices. It reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas electricity rates have risen by more than 300% since the current government took office; and

“Whereas over half of Ontarians’ power bills are regulatory and delivery charges and the global adjustment; and

“Whereas the global adjustment is a tangible measure of how much Ontario must overpay for unneeded wind and solar power, and the cost of offloading excess power to our neighbours at a loss; and

“Whereas the market rate for electricity, according to IESO data, has been less than three cents per kilowatt hour to date in 2016, yet the government’s lack of responsible science-based planning has not allowed these reductions to be passed on to Ontarians, resulting in electrical bills several times more than that amount; and

“Whereas the implementation of cap-and-trade will drive the cost of electricity even higher and deny Ontarians the option to choose affordable natural gas heating; and

“Whereas more and more Ontarians are being forced to cut down on essential expenses such as food and medicines in order to pay their increasingly unaffordable electricity bills; and

“Whereas the ill-conceived energy policies of this government that ignored the advice of independent experts and government agencies, such as the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) and the independent electrical system operator (IESO), and are not based on science have resulted in Ontarians’ electricity costs rising, despite lower natural gas costs and increased energy conservation in the province;

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

“To take immediate steps to reduce the total cost of electricity paid for by Ontarians, including costs associated with power consumed, the global adjustment, delivery charges, administrative charges, tax and any other charges added to Ontarians’ energy bills.”

Mr. Speaker, I’ve signed this, and I’ll give it to Nicholas.

Eating disorders

Ms. Teresa J. Armstrong: This is a petition for action on eating disorders: I’m reading this on behalf of Shelly Payne from London, Ontario.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas at any given time there are an estimated one million people suffering from eating disorders in Canada;

“Whereas the mental health system in Ontario is fragmented and is failing to provide the necessary supports to those suffering;

“Whereas eating disorders have the highest mortality rates of any mental illness;

“Whereas three out of four youth suffering from mental illness in Ontario do not receive treatment;

“Whereas the morbidity of eating disorders is extensive and the life expectancy of individuals with anorexia nervosa is 20 to 25 years less than would normally be expected;

“Whereas Ontario’s Auditor General reported that the Ontario government spent $10 million sending 127 youth to the United States for services not offered in Ontario;

“Whereas that $10 million could have helped more than 500 people suffering from eating disorders here in Ontario;

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

“Immediately pass Bill 78, Eating Disorders Awareness Week Act, 2016;

“To create a provincial strategy to deal with the devastating effects of eating disorders as a frequently misunderstood mental illness;

“To invest the $10 million used to send people to other countries for services into Ontario so that all Ontarians suffering from eating disorders are able to access the mental health services and supports they need when they need them.”

I sign this petition and give it to page Charlotte to deliver to the table.

Hydro rates

Ms. Daiene Vernile: This petition is entitled “Support the Ontario Fair Hydro Plan.”

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas electricity prices have increased and in too many cases become unaffordable for Ontarians;

“Whereas Ontario is a prosperous province and people should never have to choose between hydro and other daily necessities;

“Whereas people want to know that hydro rate relief is on the way; that relief will go to everyone; and that relief will be lasting because it is built on significant change;

“Whereas the Ontario fair hydro plan would reduce hydro bills for residential consumers, small businesses and farms by an average of 25% as part of a significant system restructuring, with increases held to the rate of inflation for the next four years;

“Whereas the Ontario fair hydro plan would provide people with low incomes and those living in rural communities with even greater reductions to their electricity bills;

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

“Support the Ontario fair hydro plan and provide relief for Ontario electricity consumers as quickly as possible;

“Continue working to ensure clean, reliable and affordable electricity is available for all Ontarians.”

I agree with this, and will put my initials to it and give the petition to page Aidan.

Hydro rates

Mr. Jack MacLaren: “To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario hydro bills have long caused confusion for Ontarians;

“Whereas Ontario hydro bills bundle several costs under often-misleading headings;

“Whereas the Ontario government has committed to operating in a transparent manner;

“Whereas quasi-governmental entities like Hydro One and other electricity providers in the province have also committed to operating in an open and transparent manner;

“Whereas the cost of hydro in the province of Ontario is the highest in the developed world;

“We, the undersigned, call on the Ontario government to revise electricity billing so that each consumer bill provides an exact and accurate breakdown of all costs being charged to the consumer.”

I agree with this petition. I affix my signature to it and give it to page Taylor.

Soins de longue durée

M me France Gélinas: J’aimerais remercier M me Marie-Anne Vaillancourt pour avoir signé la pétition.

« Le traitement équitable des personnes âgées ...

« Attendu que les personnes âgées frêles qui ont besoin de soins de longue durée dans des foyers du Réseau local d’intégration des services de santé du Nord-Est (RLISS du Nord-Est) ont été contraintes de quitter l’hôpital pour attendre le placement ou de rester et de payer des frais hospitaliers d’environ 1 000 $ par jour; et

« Attendu que les personnes âgées frêles qui ont besoin de soins de longue durée à Sudbury et à Sault-Sainte-Marie ont été poussées à déménager dans des foyers qui ne sont pas de leur choix ou à des lits ‘provisoires’ dans des établissements qui ne respectent pas les normes prescrites par la loi ...

« Attendu que la pratique consistant à maintenir les patients dans des lits ‘provisoires’ est contraire à la politique du ministère de la Santé et des Soins de longue durée (MSSLD) qui identifie les lits ‘provisoires’ comme destinés à assurer un écoulement continu afin que les lits provisoires soient constamment libérés... »

Ils demandent à l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario deux choses. Dans un premier temps :

« S’assurer que les fonctionnaires du système de santé utilisent des lits ‘provisoires’ comme étant ‘conformes’, conformément à l’équité et conformément à la politique » du ministère; et

« S’assurer que les patients ne subissent pas de pression sur les taux hospitaliers et réaliser les promesses faites à des centaines de résidents de maisons de soins infirmiers qui ont accepté de se déplacer temporairement avec la promesse qu’ils seraient replacés aussitôt qu’un lit dans une maison de leur choix est devenu disponible. »

J’appuie cette pétition. Je vais y afficher mon nom, et je demande à Zara de l’amener à la table des greffiers.

Orders of the Day

Anti-Racism Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 contre le racisme

Resuming the debate adjourned on April 6, 2017, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 114,

An Act to provide for Anti-Racism Measures / Projet de loi 114, Loi prévoyant des mesures contre le racisme.

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

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: It’s my pleasure again to rise to speak to Bill 114,

An Act to provide for Anti-Racism Measures.

Before I begin my remarks on behalf of the Progressive Conservative caucus and my leader, Patrick Brown, if I may, I assure the members of the Coptic community here in Ontario that our hearts are with them at this time, and so are our thoughts. In particular, I would like to reach out to my own Coptic Christian community in Nepean, at St. Mary Coptic church, which is just around the corner from my home. Yesterday, as you’re aware, there was a terrorist attack in Egypt that affected these Christians who were praying. It gives me great pain to know that those who go into a place of worship may never come out.

You’ll recall this happened in Quebec not too long ago. I just wanted to put that out on behalf of our caucus and, I’m sure, all members of this assembly.

It gives me great pleasure once again to speak on behalf of Patrick Brown and the Ontario PC caucus regarding anti-racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim bigotry and, of course, the systemic discrimination of Ontario’s indigenous population. As I’ve stated many times in this assembly, hate is hate. All kinds of hate need to be condemned, whether it is vandalism, violence or even the subtle digs and/or strange looks those who are racialized experience.

I can tell you, I’ve seen at recent events that hate in all of its forms exists. We’ve seen it on university campuses. We saw it in swastikas that were spray-painted in Hamilton just weeks ago. We saw it in my own city of Ottawa when all forms of religions were vandalized at their places of worship. That type of fear that people would place on others who are just simply trying to go about their way of life is very troubling to me, Speaker, and I think that’s why it’s very important that we have conversations.

As you know, when we spoke to anti-Muslim bigotry in the Legislature just a few months ago, I talked about the fact that when it comes to race, religion, sexual orientation or creed, whenever we talk about hate because people are afraid, we have to take it right down. We have to talk about what we agree with each other on and what our similarities are, and we have to build from there.

I know in this Legislature today—we all go into our communities and we talk to people. We talk to people who are different from us. At the end of the day, we all realize that they are always struggling with something. We all do, whether that’s paying your bills—your heat, your hydro; whether your child has mental illness or addiction issues; whether you have a frail parent who needs care at a long-term-care facility.

If we can’t have that conversation, recognizing that the person we’re communicating with, the person we see who may be different from us, actually has the same struggles, then we’re not doing it right. So I think it’s important that we have this conversation in this assembly about making sure that we erase those systemic barriers for people who are just like us but who may look different, may pray differently or may love differently than we do.

I know that many in this assembly will recognize that all members of this assembly have had a long record in defending human rights and standing up against racism, bigotry and hatred. I would like to point out that my Progressive Conservative caucus also has a strong and proud legacy when it comes to that. We in the Progressive Conservative caucus support measures that advance racial equality. As a Legislature, we have frequently condemned hate activity against Ontarians, sometimes generally, other times more specifically, through nonbinding motions or through private members’ legislation. Today, we have Bill 114,

An Act to provide for Anti-Racism Measures, which talks about all races and all religions in the province of Ontario. The PC caucus has in fact been a leader in defending citizens who have been targeted from bigotry, harassment and hate. It is our duty as legislators to lead our communities through debates of humanity, inclusion and tolerance.

Speaker, just last month, on March 20, I held a day of humanity, inclusion and acceptance in my constituency, at the Ottawa Torah Centre. That synagogue is brand new, recently built, and has a wonderful rabbi named Rabbi Blum. He is a true community leader and a true Canadian. He espouses such a kind way of dealing with the community. I want to talk a little bit about it in the context of making sure that, as we grow—and I’ll talk about statistics in a little bit, but as we grow in Ottawa as a city and in this province, as we welcome people from all around the world, it’s important that we have that debate.

I want to tell you a little bit about this day, Speaker. I know I spoke about it earlier on when I was able to have an opportunity on this bill, but it started in the morning, when Rabbi Blum and his dear friend Dr. Aisha Sherazi, who is a hijab-wearing woman, came in. They ran a workshop for all of us to get to know one another for what’s inside us rather than what we appear to be. The workshop was quite fascinating. In fact, it was very popular, so much so that my local imam said to the rabbi—Imam Delic said to Rabbi Blum: “I need you to come to my mosque to put this on.”

The day only got better from there. We heard from Ottawa immigration support. They came in and did a presentation. I’ll use some of their statistics in a little bit. Then we had Imam Delic at the pulpit of the synagogue giving a talk about what it means to be a Canadian. After that, we had Brian Lee Crowley from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute come in and talk about what makes Canada great.

We actually forgot what other people looked like and how they prayed and started thinking about each other as Canadians. We became more patriotic about what a great nation we are. We had a wonderful elder, Annie from the Algonquins. She gave us a wonderful blessing. We got to talk to her, and it was incredible.

What really was incredible for me was the afternoon, when we met survivors of genocide, survivors who fled their country to come to Canada. We had a wonderful little old lady. She is a Holocaust survivor, but she has been an advocate. She spoke to us about fleeing Germany—sorry; I believe she was Austrian. We had a Rwandan genocide survivor who told us that she was shot in the head and in the leg. Her parents were murdered. She had seven or eight brothers and sisters, all of whom died except for one baby girl. She had been sent to Canada, but she wanted desperately to go back to find her family.

So she went back to Rwanda and built a park with some of the people who had also survived the genocide. She said that it was only then, after she found her one remaining sister and she had built this park with others, that she truly felt that she could come back to Canada and start her life over. I can tell you, Speaker, that that was one of the most impactful things.

We also had a man from the Yazidi genocide. As we’re all aware, the Yazidis right now are suffering a terrible genocide in Syria, a world away. Sometimes we dim it on our television sets, but at the end of the day, we must never forget that these atrocities are happening. It is genocide. Then we had someone from the Armenian genocide. Rabbi Bulka, my dear friend, was the moderator of that.

By the end of that, we were spent, as you can imagine, from hearing from people who had suffered through atrocities. You may ask, “What does this have to do with here, in this Legislature? What does that have to do with this piece of legislation?” It has everything to do with this piece of legislation. It has everything to do with this debate that we are having on making sure that there is racial equality in this province. That is what’s very important.

As I said at the beginning, it’s our duty to lead our communities through debates of humanity, inclusion and acceptance. I can say that I was very pleased to support, on many occasions, members of my own caucus as they put forward legislation over the years to ensure that that happens.

For example, my close friend and colleague MPP Gila Martow succeeded in the Legislature having rejected the BDS movement in an important gesture to Ottawa’s vibrant Jewish community.

I’m very close with the Jewish community. Of any group in Ontario—and I will get to these statistics later—they are the most likely to experience hate. The Toronto police suggest, as well as Statistics Canada—the numbers do not lie—that our Jewish population in the province of Ontario experiences more hate and has recorded more hate than any other group in the province of Ontario.

Gila Martow’s motion, which I was proud to speak to, was an important gesture to our Jewish community, to reject that BDS movement. It was anti-Semitism at the root of this movement, and for us to condemn it was the right thing. As a Legislature, we did the right thing, the moral thing.

I always tell this story. For anybody who has ever travelled to Israel—I have, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, spiritually, and obviously to learn about world affairs. There was fighting in Syria at that time, in 2014, and some of the shelling, actually, across the border into Israel. When we were at the Golan Heights, we did see that activity. I heard the guns all night, and I woke up to the little birds.

But that’s not what I want to talk to you about; it’s about Yad Vashem. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Israel, go to Yad Vashem. It’s the international Holocaust memorial. One thing that stuck with me when I walked through there—talk about emotionally draining. When you get toward the end, there is a glass floor, and when you look down, there are these little black slippers, like ballet slippers. There are thousands of them under this floor.

You realize at that moment—you don’t need a tour guide to tell you—when you are walking on that glass floor, that the shoes that are under there are from people who perished in the Holocaust. You don’t quite ever get over a visit to Yad Vashem. I think it’s important to do that.

That motion that was brought forward by my colleague Gila Martow was so important. It spoke to the world atrocities that have been experienced, but it also spoke to the reality of anti-Semitism in the province of Ontario and how we must move beyond that.

My colleague MPP Todd Smith also crafted Ontario’s law for Tamil Heritage Month. And last week he spoke to a motion by Harinder Malhi from Brampton–Springdale with respect to hate and violence against Sikhs. My colleague Todd Smith has travelled the province, working with the Indo-Canadian community, and I’m quite proud of that. He knows that the face of Ontario is changing.

When I came here 18 years ago, Speaker, it was mostly people coming from different parts of Canada to find a job—which is why I am here. I wanted to work on Parliament Hill, and that’s why I moved to Ottawa. Eventually, I got elected, and I’ve now been here for four terms. Most people come here for that reason. But in the last decade or two, that has really shifted.

The changing face of Ontario is—the fact that we do have people coming from around the world, different cultures, different ethnicities. In the city of Ottawa alone—and I’ll talk about this later—we have 70 different ethnicities and over 100 languages that are spoken. That’s incredibly important.

I want to congratulate my colleague Todd Smith for making sure that he is reaching out to those communities and engaging them. He has done a wonderful job. I’d also be remiss not to acknowledge the great work of my leader, Patrick Brown, in doing the same and making sure that we are changing the face of our own particular political party. I think that’s incredibly important.

One of my close friends in this assembly is MPP Ted Arnott. In fact, he’s one of the longer-serving members of this House. Ted has been a wonderful mentor to me over the past 11 years, and I really value his friendship. It’s Ted Arnott who was responsible for the Emancipation Day Act, recognizing Ontario’s role in helping the enslaved and the oppressed. And he was really instrumental in Lincoln Alexander Day. He has preserved the late, great Lincoln Alexander’s memory not only here in this House, but throughout the rest of the province of Ontario.

In fact, we recently had black heritage month, as the minister had mentioned in his remarks to this assembly. I had expected, as the anti-racism critic, that I would be able to give that speech, but no; Ted’s deep and abiding relationship with Ontario’s black community supersedes that. It was my pleasure to cede the floor to him for him to be able to speak to it, because that is a great passion for him. Again, I want to congratulate my good friend and colleague MPP Ted Arnott.

Finally, I just wanted to acknowledge my former Progressive Conservative leader, Tim Hudak, and my former colleague MPP Peter Shurman, who were both very passionate about defending the State of Israel. Tim had a similar motion on anti-BDS before he left this assembly, and spoke, too, quite openly and candidly and passionately—but also Mr. Shurman, who was successful in having the Legislature condemn Israel Apartheid Week. I remember speaking about this when I was first elected—the hate directed toward Israel and the hate directed toward the Jews of this province.

Again, I cannot state enough that the most targeted group according to Toronto police as well as according to Statistics Canada is our Jewish population. Therefore, it is my opinion that we must continue to stand up for them very vocally and very proudly.

Other members of the Progressive Conservative caucus have been instrumental in legislation aimed at Ontario’s diversity and ending race-based hate. It is our firm belief that all Ontarians should feel safe and secure in their province, regardless of their religion, race, language, sexual orientation or gender. We will look forward to debating this bill, but also consulting with the race-based communities.

We expect that the government will hold substantial public hearings into this legislation because I think it’s important that all of those voices are heard before this becomes law, and that they have their say. It’s one thing to do it in public consultations in communities—and I applaud the minister for coming to the city of Ottawa—but I think it’s also important that sometimes these conversations get put on the public record. I’m very big on making sure that that’s in Hansard to live on so that we remember what has been said and we remember why we are doing it.

My appeal to the minister, obviously, is to perhaps let this bill travel a bit. I would welcome him to the city of Ottawa, but also to ensure that there is ample time to give to these communities—who have, for so long, been voiceless—a very prominent voice in the province of Ontario by coming to this assembly and making sure it truly is a people’s place.

I told you, Speaker, that I wanted to talk a little bit about the statistics—about the changing face of Ontario and why it’s important for us to start this conversation of deeper understanding at this time. The Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership—which I always get wrong, but its acronym is OLIP, which is just something we’re very used to here. We had a wonderful presentation, and we were provided with a wonderful road map of where the city of Ottawa, where I live, is going in terms of our diversity.

Some of the statistics are important because when we have this debate on acceptance, anti-racism and—I don’t want to use the word “tolerance.” I really don’t like that—because I could tolerate you, but I’d rather accept you. I think I’d like to have that changed in our language.

I think she provided us with some interesting statistics. One of the statistics, according to Statistics Canada, is that immigrants and second-generation individuals will represent nearly one in two people, or almost 50% of the population in Ontario. Think about that. In the near future, 50% of our population will either be first or second generation, meaning they’ve come from somewhere else, and possibly they may be racialized. It’s more than likely they will be racialized. And that’s just in Canada. Sorry; I thought that was in Ontario.

In Ontario today, that number is higher. We’re actually 60% either first generation or second generation. That’s quite remarkable when you think about it. People want to make this land their home, and they want to because of the same values, I’m sure, that brought me to this province when I graduated from university.

You know you’re going to get good public services. I’ll criticize the government from time to time, but I will, broadly speaking, say that in the province of Ontario that I came to, I had good hospitals and good schools and I knew you could get a job. Those might be a little bit debatable these days, but at the end of the day, our values are the values that have beckoned people from around the world and across Canada to come here to start their career, start their family, buy a home and possibly buy an automobile if they live in the suburbs, or even downtown Toronto. They believed, as I did, that you could retire here comfortably.

Now, again, I can debate other matters that would be off-topic, about some of the criticisms I have in terms of the direction we have politically, but the reality is that at the end of the day, when we step out of this building, we are all Ontarians. We can be Caucasian, we can be black, we can be indigenous, we can be South Asian, but at the end of the day we all walk out of here as, simply put, Ontarians. That’s what I think is really important about this legislation.

Last week I talked about how my favourite Prime Minister is our founder, Speaker; 150 years ago he had this dream and he had this vision, and we are now today 150 years strong as a country. Yesterday, we commemorated the Battle of Vimy Ridge. We were a very different country at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. We only had eight million people living in this country at that particular point in time, but my God, we outranked ourselves in terms of heroes. I want to just quickly acknowledge those heroes at Vimy Ridge who we commemorated yesterday.

There used to be a time, when I was a little girl, when I wanted to know at least one person from every single province. That, to me, was a sign of success. As a Canadian, if I knew somebody from each and every province and territory, then I would have made it in the world. Now, today, my daughter doesn’t have to have that dream, because she does know lots of people from different parts of Canada. My dream for her is what I get to experience as an MPP, each and every single day: that she gets to know people from around the world—different cultures, different ideas—that she gets to experience that.

I’m going to depart from my script right now, Speaker. My staff are well aware that I often will depart from my script for a bit. I want to talk about what it’s like. It’s very hard to be a mom in politics, especially when you have to travel, but the benefit that I’ve had over the past 11 years with my little girl is that she celebrates Chinese New Year, and it’s normal for her. She loves it. She loves the colours. She loves the little red pouches she gets. She is experiencing something I never would.

I took her on Saturday—it’s always about the food with these kids—to the opening of Ottawa’s first Filipino restaurant. She was so excited. I said, “Victoria, we have to leave. We’ve got to go see Dad.” My husband chairs the national capital region of St. John Ambulance. It’s excellent work that they do. We had to go see him, and she said, “I don’t want to leave. I never want to leave. The food is so good. Can I come back here tomorrow and order spring rolls?” I thought that was interesting, because she got to know the Filipino community, who showed up in droves for this new restaurant.

A couple of weeks ago, we were at an Indo-Canadian event. I think I mentioned this last week, but Speaker, what’s incredible about our new High Commissioner of India to Canada is that he actually wrote Slumdog Millionaire, the book. He’s incredible. It was amazing to be there with him. I told him at the time that I came from this small town, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, with 10,000 people, and our only two spices were salt and pepper. He had a good laugh, because there are slums in India—and I’ve been to India—that have millions of people, not 10,000. We had this wonderful conversation.

I wanted to go, and I said to my daughter, “Do you want to come?” She said, “Will there be butter chicken?” I said yes, so she came, and she was dancing Bollywood. It’s incredible, the things that we get to do together when we share our ideas.

I may have mentioned this last week, but we went to a traditional Kenyan wedding over the summer, which was very interesting. I’m Scottish, Speaker, as my red hair and my freckles and my last name probably give away, but one of the cool things that I think unites all cultures and religions is our love of food and our love of dance and our love of family. I think that that’s incredibly important and one thing that I did want to mention here because that’s really important.

Now, this is a statistic that I think is very, very important in this debate: According to Statistics Canada, 70% of newcomers to our country are racialized, which is why it’s important for us to have this debate in this assembly. I obviously am partial to what is happening in the nation’s capital. That’s where I’m from; that’s where I love. In our population of almost one million, 23%—or 202,000 people—were born outside of Canada. So, of almost one million people in the nation’s capital, nearly 20% belong to a visible minority or racialized group, and that is expected to grow to 36% by 2021.

In Ottawa alone, there are more than 100 ethnicities, with more than 70 languages spoken. Can you believe that the world has come to us? I know the wonderful thing that is happening in our city, Speaker. We get to benefit more than anybody else over Canada’s 150th because we are the federal seat of Parliament and most of the wonderful things that have happened in our country constitutionally have occurred in our city.

But what is remarkable is that in this 150th year we have set up a secretariat inside the city of Ottawa to celebrate Canada’s 150th, and in so doing we have these wonderful events like Red Bull Crashed Ice. There’s going to be dining between the twin cities of Ottawa and Gatineau.

One of the coolest thing is that we are home to all the world’s embassies. I think there are more embassies in Ottawa per capita than anywhere else in the world. What we are doing is, we are opening Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park, and different countries are bringing their cuisine and their culture into an event each week. Because we do have so many different people from so many different places in the world, obviously attached to each embassy is a community that they would continue to work with; for example, India, China, the Philippines, Kenya, Liberia. That’s what’s happening in the city of Ottawa.

That’s an incredible thing that makes me so proud, and it makes me happy that my daughter gets to experience all that and gets to see other people.

I want to now turn to Ontario’s largest city. I indicated today in question period that although we might only be the second-largest city in Ontario, we have the best hockey team. That would be the Ottawa Senators. We’re very happy that the Senators made the playoffs, but we are equally happy that our friends from Toronto—the largest city in the province, our largest city—also saw that their hockey team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, made it. So we’re congratulating them. I can tell you something: It doesn’t matter where you come from and it doesn’t matter where you are going; if you love hockey, there’s always an exciting little battle between our two cities.

I want to turn to the city of Toronto. According to the city’s website, the 2011 census showed that 49% of those living in Toronto—that’s over 1.2 million people—identified as a visible minority—1.2 million people in this city are a visible minority. Thirty-eight per cent of those living in the rest of the GTHA and 19% nationally identified as a visible minority. The region of Peel, however, has the highest percentage of visible minorities in the GTHA, at 57%. More than half of the population in the region of Peel is a visible minority. The world is changing from when Brampton Bill was the Premier of this wonderful province.

The top three visible minorities in Toronto were: South Asian, 12% of the total; Chinese, 11%; and black, 9%. Meanwhile, the city of Toronto website also indicates that the census showed 76% of those living in Toronto identified a religious affiliation: 54% of those living in Toronto identified as Christian; 8% identified as Muslim; 6% identified as Hindu; and 24% had no religious affiliation. So you see that there’s a growing diversity there from what our roots would have been predominantly when this country was founded, which would have been Catholic and Protestant.

In my own community where I grew up, there were the Scottish Presbyterians and the Scottish Catholics. My parents married in 1973. I shared this last week. When my parents married, there were people who would refuse to go to their wedding because they were of “mixed race.” How stupid is that? They were both Scottish. They came over on the same boat, I’m pretty sure, and one was Catholic and one was Presbyterian. My, have the times ever changed. I shared that one with my daughter as well.

I wanted to also point out that there were almost 20,000 people living in Toronto who identified as aboriginal; 67% were First Nations, which means North American Indian; 25% were Métis; 2% were Inuk or Inuit; and 1% had multiple aboriginal identities.

I want to expand on this. “In 2015,” according to the National Post, “Statistics Canada said that the black community were targets of 22% of hate crimes in 2013, remaining the most likely target of hate crimes in Canada as part of a racial community; meanwhile, Jewish Canadians are the most likely target of religion-motivated hate crime, with 16% of all hate crimes of all types targeting Jewish” communities.

Finally, I have a passage that I want to read from the Toronto Police Hate Crimes Unit, and it says, “The three most targeted groups since 2006 have been the Jewish community, the black community and the” LGBTQ “community. In 2015, the Jewish community, followed by the LGBTQ community and the Muslim community were the most victimized groups. The three most reported criminal offences motivated by hate/bias in 2015 were mischief to property, assault and criminal harassment.” Think about that. The three most reported—and that’s just reported, Speaker.

It doesn’t mean that that is what has happened the most; it means it’s the most reported. The most reported were mischief to property, assault and criminal harassment.

I recently watched a video—I had a group from the Muslim community come in and meet with me two weeks ago. They had been working on an ad. It left me in tears. They told me that it had actually happened. The family had been out for the day. They drove in the driveway, and it said, “Go home.” I can’t imagine driving into my driveway, with my child in my vehicle, and seeing that scrawled on my home. But that happened, and that’s wrong and we have to condemn it. We should not, and cannot, allow that to continue.

We’ve got to make sure that we understand that mischief to property may not invoke bodily harm, but mischief to property and vandalism—putting a swastika or calling someone the N-word or whatever it is will harm, the feeling of safety and security that we expect all of our residents in this province to feel. I wanted to put that out there.

I want to get into the meat of this bill. The Liberals will be formalizing the Anti-Racism Secretariat and its three year anti-racism strategy that is the compendium to this bill. If you read this bill, Speaker, you see a lot of legalese, but what it’s really doing is, it’s going to ensconce the government’s three-year anti-racism strategy within the bill. There will be a lot of reviews, which I’ll talk about.

The strategy intends to elimin