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May 6, 2003

37th Parliament, 4th Session

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Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2003-May-06 (PDF)

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L'ONTARIO

Tuesday 6 May 2003 Mardi 6 mai 2003

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

SUDBURY REGIONAL HOSPITAL

ROTHERGLEN SCHOOL

NORTHERN HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS

PLANIT MEASURING CO

ADAMS MINE

AMBULANCE SERVICES

CELTFEST

SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

KINGSWAY COLLEGE

VISITORS

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD

CONSUMER PROTECTION

AND GOVERNANCE ACT, 2003 /

LOI DE 2003 SUR LA PROTECTION

DES CONSOMMATEURS ET LA RÉGIE

DE LA COMMISSION DE L'ÉNERGIE

DE L'ONTARIO

STATEMENTS BY THE MINISTRY AND RESPONSES

ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD /

COMMISSION DE L'ÉNERGIE

DE L'ONTARIO

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

HEPATITIS C

ORAL QUESTIONS

NURSES

HYDRO GENERATION

PUBLIC HEALTH

ONTARIO ECONOMY

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

PUBLIC HEALTH

DUFFINS ROUGE

AGRICULTURAL PRESERVE

SOFTWOOD LUMBER

HOSPITAL FUNDING

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

HYDRO GENERATION

WINE INDUSTRY

PETITIONS

SOINS DE LONGUE DURÉE

SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

EDUCATION TAX CREDIT

POST-SECONDARY

EDUCATION FUNDING

SERVICES FOR THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED

ABORTION

HEALTH CARE FUNDING

CREDIT UNIONS

WASTE MANAGEMENT

SCHOOL BUS SAFETY

AUDIOLOGY SERVICES

AIR QUALITY

OPPOSITION DAY

SARS

Tuesday 6 May 2003 Mardi 6 mai 2003

The House met at 1330.

Prayers.

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

SUDBURY REGIONAL HOSPITAL

Mr Rick Bartolucci (Sudbury): My community is tired of the pathetic game of political chess the Minister of Health and the government are

playing with regard to the Sudbury Regional Hospital and its financial woes. It's time for your manoeuvring to stop, and it's time for you to call checkmate and send the cheque to Sudbury.

Our community has done everything this government has asked it to do. You asked us to raise $17.5 million over five years; we raised $23.6 million over three

years, thanks to the hard work of Gerry Lougheed Jr, the Heart and Soul Campaign, and a giving community of Sudbury in northeastern Ontario.

What is your record? You've got a project that's gone from $88 million to $363 million. Capital construction stopped two years ago and hasn't started up. We have

a community uncertain about its health care future because of your inaction. We have a hospital supervisor appointed by you who is waiting for you to take action.

Today, on behalf of the constituents of Sudbury, on behalf of the people in Nickel Belt, on behalf of the people of northeastern Ontario, we demand that you send

the cheque and get the project onboard again. We need our hospital.

ROTHERGLEN SCHOOL

Mr Ted Chudleigh (Halton): I take this moment to congratulate the Ottawa Senators and their winning the Eastern semi-finals. It certainly sets

up the opportunity for an all-Canadian Stanley Cup, something that has for far too long been absent from this country.

On another completely different topic, during the recess, back in the depths of a very snowy March, I had the opportunity to speak to grade 5 students and

teachers at Rotherglen School in Oakville. Teachers Jean Lem, Don Otto, and Julie Enyedi-Peric took their classes to Queen's Park a few weeks after I had chatted with their students at their

school.

These students asked some very impressive questions, showing a remarkable understanding of local issues and a keen interest in the political process. It

certainly reflects well on the process that has taken place and how well these children learn. Questions ranged from the details of an MPP's job and the election process through to local,

provincial and indeed federal issues. Talking with young people provides an interesting and enlightening window on our educational system. Students' questions reflected the high quality of

education provided at this private facility.

Schools like Rotherglen, with its program firmly rooted in Montessori principles, provide a choice for parents and a competition between educators that can only

benefit Ontario's students. Rotherglen School operates at six campuses in Oakville, Mississauga and Burlington, with students enrolled in pre-school through grade 8.

NORTHERN HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS

Mr Michael Gravelle (Thunder Bay-Superior North): With Premier Eves heading to Thunder Bay tomorrow for a fundraising event, I want to use this

opportunity today to call on him to spend at least part of his time in my community dealing with some major transportation improvements that have been needed for several years and which so far

have, sadly, been brushed aside by the Tory government.

Certainly the expansion of our highway system in northwestern Ontario, specifically the four-laning of the Trans-Canada where no alternate route exists, cannot

be ignored any longer. Even your own Smart Growth panel, Premier, which formally presented its recommendations last week, views four-laning as a vital priority from both a public safety and an

economic point of view.

A real commitment to such a project is needed, but two other major projects demand your attention as well. The construction of the Shabaqua Expressway is long

overdue. The project has been ready to go for several years and will make an enormous difference to the movement of vehicles, particularly transports, through our community. It will alleviate

serious problems on Arthur Street and Dawson Road, and for some time has been the top priority for Thunder Bay city council.

Another relatively inexpensive project that would markedly improve public safety on the Thunder Bay Expressway is our long-standing call for a full set of

advance warning lights. Recently, Thunder Bay police chief Bob Herman spoke out publicly on the need for such a system and expressed his amazement that this obvious safety improvement was still not

being supported by the government.

Premier, surely you would agree that if we can save even one life by installing these warning lights, it would be well worth it. You will have the opportunity on

Wednesday to correct years of neglect related to highway improvements in our region. Please, for the sake of public safety, do not let this opportunity pass.

PLANIT MEASURING CO

Mrs Margaret Marland (Mississauga South): I'm very pleased to recognize the pioneering achievements of the PlanIt Measuring Co Inc, a

high-technology engineering firm in my riding. PlanIt won the Toronto Construction Association's 2002 Innovative Product/Technology Award for its exciting invention, the Measuring Board. This new

product delivers real-time digital floor plans that can be combined with virtual tours of residential and commercial real estate. It also received National Research Council support.

The Measuring Board is an engineering integration of a laser measuring tool, a computer-assisted design (CAD) program and the new Scribbler tablet computer

produced by Electrovaya, another groundbreaking company in my riding. Electrovaya won a 2001 Ontario Global Traders Regional Award for innovation.

The Measuring Board is such an accurate measuring tool that some commercial office owners discover over 2% more rentable space. As well, because the Measuring

Board is a CAD file, architects and designers can use it as a basis for renovations and home improvements. The Measuring Board was launched in Canada and France last year, and the company has a

patent pending in the United States.

I would ask members to join me in congratulating Mike Laurie, the company's visionary president and CEO. Mr Laurie, a professional engineer who graduated from

Lorne Park Secondary School in my riding, jointly founded PlanIt with his wife, Odette, in 1994.

I wish PlanIt every success as the company expands worldwide and revolutionizes the real estate world. We are extremely proud of you, Mike Laurie.

ADAMS MINE

Mr David Ramsay (Timiskaming-Cochrane): In September 2002, the Adams mine dump site was sold to a numbered company for $1.8 million. Soon after,

this company began negotiating with the Eves government to purchase over 2,000 acres of crown land that are needed to make this dump deal a reality.

This purchase is being done in secret and without due process for the shockingly low price of $22 per acre. My constituents have been outraged by these secret

negotiations. Hundreds of letters, phone calls and e-mails objecting to the sale of this crown land have been ignored by this government.

I believe the government is trying to rush this fire sale through as a political payoff to powerful land developers involved in the Oak Ridges moraine travesty,

who also happen to be large Conservative Party donors and tied to a sitting Tory MPP. These Tory insiders are actively campaigning to use the groundwater of Timiskaming as a dumping ground for

Toronto waterfront contaminated soils and for urban waste from across the province. To make this deal possible, the government is offering another fire sale: the selling off of the Ontario

Northland Railway to Adams mine dump partner Canadian National Railways.

To show you how cynical the people in the north are concerning the government's abuse of public trust, a newspaper poll in Timiskaming is about to be released

stating that 94% of residents believe that this government is working on a secret backroom deal to revive the Adams mine garbage deal.

Walkerton proved the need to protect groundwater and Smart Growth declared the need for watershed protection, yet this government is willing to trade the

groundwater of Timiskaming as a political payoff to its pals.

AMBULANCE SERVICES

Mr David Christopherson (Hamilton West): I rise in my place today to bring to the attention of the government and the public an existing and

growing crisis that exists within the area of public safety. I'm talking about the ambulance dispatchers. Many government members should know that, right now, we only have a retention rate of 30%

of new ambulance dispatchers. What's happening is, people are being hired by the Ministry of Health and are being trained, but because of the poor wages and the wage differential -- and I'm talking

$10,000 to $20,000 a year now -- what happens is once the Ministry of Health has trained these dispatchers, they then move on to the fire or police world, where dispatchers are paid what they're

worth.

What's happening is that where the guidelines, your guidelines, say there should be a two-minute response, because we're so short-staffed in a lot of these

dispatch centres, it's taking up to six minutes. We have people working in the dispatch centres who are having to have their own emergency personnel come to their workplace because these workers

are dropping because of the pressure and the stress. We have people who are answering 911 phone calls who have been on the job anywhere from 16 to 24 hours. That's a recipe for disaster. In fact,

OPSEU has examples where people's lives have been at risk. In one case, they believe it directly attributed to the shortage of staff.

You have the power to do something. Use that power. Save Ontario lives.

CELTFEST

Mr AL McDonald (Nipissing): Today I rise before the House to personally invite everyone to northern Ontario's only Scottish celebration and

Highland festival, Celtfest 2003, in beautiful Callander, Ontario. In its three years, Celtfest has brought international attention to the town of Callander.

I'm happy to announce that one of Scotland's best-selling authors, David Ross, will be participating in the Celtfest activities. David is well known as being the

leading authority on Braveheart, Scotland's national hero, William Wallace.

Celtfest is also recognized as an important stop on the Scottish games circuit. Other participants in this year's Celtfest games will be none other than Canada's

own Guinness Book of World Records holder Kevin Fast, who holds the record for the heaviest truck pulled over 100 feet, as well as local competitors the Wand brothers of Powassan.

Some of the events at this year's Celtfest will include the Highland and step dance competition, piping and drumming competitions and, new to this year's event,

sheepdog herding. The Metro Toronto police pipe band will be performing in concert. The event organizers are anticipating the biggest battle of the bands in northern Ontario.

I'd like to congratulate and thank Celtfest organizer Tom Mason, founder Colleen Porter, as well as all the volunteers who make this festival a great

attraction.

For further information, you can visit www.celtfest.org or phone 705-752-2112. I invite everyone in the province of Ontario to Celtfest on May 16 and 17.

SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

Mr George Smitherman (Toronto Centre-Rosedale): The Dream Team is in the House. I want members opposite and here to join with me in welcoming a

group of consumer/survivors, their families and community members who advocate for more supportive housing and for dignity for the mentally ill.

I have my own leader of the Dream Team, Neil McQuaid. Neil McQuaid is a resident of St Jude Community Homes in my riding. Last year I had the opportunity to

honour him with the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal because Neil McQuaid stands out to our society as a model for what can be achieved when we offer people appropriate supportive housing in their

communities. He, like these other people, has gone from a point where they were regularly institutionalized, where they were frequent flyers in our medical system, to becoming a contributing member

of our society again.

Their message to you and to all of us today is that if we want to meaningfully deal with the challenges we see in front of us on our streets, it's not enough to

talk as some members of the government party do about sweeping them up, arresting them and putting them in jail. It's to talk about the need to build supportive housing.

Today I bring these people to the Legislature, and they bring their story to the Legislature. It's a story that says when government makes the necessary

investments in supportive housing, individuals whom we all know have an opportunity to restore their capacity to be full-fledged, contributing, committed members of our society. That's the message

of the Dream Team. It's a message that two parties in this Legislature have got, because there are serious commitments in their platforms to building more supportive housing, and we'd encourage the

government to do so.

When the Premier arrives, we'll send these cards across to him as further encouragement from the Dream Team to get behind the need to build more supportive

housing.

KINGSWAY COLLEGE

Mr John O'Toole (Durham): Last Saturday, May 3, I had the privilege of attending a very meaningful and moving event, the 100th anniversary of

Kingsway College in Oshawa. Kingsway College is a Seventh-day Adventist high school in my riding that encourages personal spiritual commitment and fosters academic excellence. It also focuses on

physical fitness, music, service to others, growth in employment and social skills.

Kingsway College has undergone several changes of name over the years; however, its emphasis on service and academic excellence has been constant. When it opened

in 1903, with just eight students, it was known as Lornedale Academy, located in Lorne Park, Ontario. It moved to larger premises in Oshawa in 1912 and it has remained at its present location in

east Oshawa ever since. Recent milestones have included the construction of the A.E. King Memorial Fitness Complex in 1980, the largest facility of its kind in Durham region. Today the school has

close to 200 students enrolled from grades 9 to 12.

I'd like to congratulate principal John Janes, senior pastor Dr Douglas Devnich, guest speaker Gordon Pifher, the alumni chorus under the direction of Dr James

Bingham, and indeed all those who participated in a very memorable Sabbath service of worship and celebration on May 3. This literally was a homecoming with a spiritual impact, including a walking

tour of the grounds and an opportunity to reminisce.

Congratulations once again to students, staff, alumni and friends who contributed to the success of Kingsway College, 100 years with a motto of "Service not

fame."

VISITORS

Mr Raminder Gill (Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale): It gives me great pleasure today to welcome in the member's gallery the honourable Professor

Dalbari Lal, ex-Speaker of the legislative assembly and now Deputy Minister of Education, Punjab state, India, and other prominent members of the Indian community.

Mrs Margaret Marland (Mississauga South): I would like the members in the House to recognize the man whom I was speaking about in my statement

this afternoon, Mr Michael Laurie, the designer of the PlanIt measuring tool, which is the Measuring Board. He's a young man, the kind of person that we need in this province, who designed

something, marketed something and will hopefully have a world patent. He's just the kind of Ontarian that the future holds for all of us -- Mr Mike Laurie.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD

CONSUMER PROTECTION

AND GOVERNANCE ACT, 2003 /

LOI DE 2003 SUR LA PROTECTION

DES CONSOMMATEURS ET LA RÉGIE

DE LA COMMISSION DE L'ÉNERGIE

DE L'ONTARIO

Mr Baird moved first reading of the following bill :

Bill 23,

An Act to amend the Ontario Energy Act, 1998 and the Municipal Franchises Act in respect of consumer protection, the governance of the Ontario Energy

Board and other matters / Projet de loi 23, Loi modifiant la Loi de 1998 sur la Commission de l'énergie de l'Ontario et la

Loi sur les concessions municipales en ce qui a trait à la

protection des consommateurs, à la régie de la Commission de l'énergie de l'Ontario et à d'autres questions.

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry?

All those in favour will please say "aye."

All those opposed will please say "nay."

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

Call in the members. This will be a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1349 to 1354.

The Speaker: All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Ayes

Agostino, Dominic

Arnott, Ted

Baird, John R.

Barrett, Toby

Bartolucci, Rick

Beaubien, Marcel

Bountrogianni, Marie

Boyer, Claudette

Bryant, Michael

Caplan, David

Chudleigh, Ted

Clark, Brad

Cleary, John C.

Clement, Tony

Coburn, Brian

Colle, Mike

Crozier, Bruce

Cunningham, Dianne

Curling, Alvin

DeFaria, Carl

Di Cocco, Caroline

Dombrowsky, Leona

Ecker, Janet

Elliott, Brenda

Eves, Ernie

Flaherty, Jim

Galt, Doug

Gerretsen, John

Gilchrist, Steve

Gill, Raminder

Gravelle, Michael

Guzzo, Garry J.

Hardeman, Ernie

Hoy, Pat

Jackson, Cameron

Johns, Helen

Johnson, Bert

Klees, Frank

Kwinter, Monte

Lalonde, Jean-Marc

Levac, David

Marland, Margaret

Martiniuk, Gerry

Maves, Bart

Mazzilli, Frank

McDonald, AL

McMeekin, Ted

Miller, Norm

Molinari, Tina R.

Munro, Julia

Murdoch, Bill

Newman, Dan

O'Toole, John

Ouellette, Jerry J.

Parsons, Ernie

Patten, Richard

Peters, Steve

Phillips, Gerry

Pupatello, Sandra

Ramsay, David

Runciman, Robert W.

Ruprecht, Tony

Sampson, Rob

Sergio, Mario

Smitherman, George

Sorbara, Greg

Spina, Joseph

Sterling, Norman W.

Stewart, R. Gary

Stockwell, Chris

Tascona, Joseph N.

Tsubouchi, David H.

Turnbull, David

Wilson, Jim

Wood, Bob

Young, David

The Speaker: All those opposed will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Nays

Bisson, Gilles

Churley, Marilyn

Hampton, Howard

Kormos, Peter

Marchese, Rosario

Martel, Shelley

Martin, Tony

Prue, Michael

Clerk of the House (Mr Claude L. DesRosiers): The ayes are 76; the nays are 8.

The Speaker: I declare the motion carried.

The minister for a short statement?

Hon John R. Baird (Minister of Energy, Minister responsible for francophone affairs): We defer to ministerial statements.

STATEMENTS BY THE MINISTRY AND RESPONSES

ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD /

COMMISSION DE L'ÉNERGIE

DE L'ONTARIO

Hon John R. Baird (Minister of Energy, Minister responsible for francophone affairs): On October 7, 2002, the Premier ordered a review of the

Ontario Energy Board. I committed to conduct that review and report back to cabinet within 100 days.

Our consultation process was extensive. We posted a consultation paper on our Web site and sent out more than 1,500 letters to MPPs, stakeholders, consumer

groups and municipalities. We received 78 written submissions, and I personally met with more than 25 different groups.

The government heard from the people of Ontario. We heard their suggestions, their concerns and their points of view. We heard about the need to focus more

attention on consumer protection. I'm proud to say that the legislation being introduced today has incorporated many of the ideas that were brought forward.

The government's proposed legislation would greatly improve and strengthen the Ontario Energy Board. If we are to have a strong energy market, we need a board

that is not only strong but diligent, independent and well resourced.

Since the Ontario Energy Board was established more than 40 years ago, it has expanded, it has evolved, and it has endured changing times and changing

circumstances. The board has talented and dedicated people, but it has not been given the opportunity to modernize and its mandate has not grown as quickly as it could have or should have.

I believe the legislative initiatives being proposed today would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Ontario Energy Board. They would improve

governance and accountability, while ensuring that consumer protection remains paramount.

Je crois que la loi proposée aujourd'hui permettrait d'améliorer l'efficacité de la Commission de l'énergie de l'Ontario. Les réformes

que contient cette loi renforceraient la régie et la responsabilité de la commission et mettraient plus que jamais l'emphase sur la protection des consommateurs.

The legislation contains the following measures. If passed by the Legislature, the board would be self-financing and secure the ability to provide compensation

that is competitive within the existing marketplace. This would lead to more effective decision-making and a better operating climate.

We are proposing to establish a management committee comprised of the chair and two vice-chairs. The committee would oversee the board's performance, its

resource needs and its fee structure. This is significant because the committee would deal with the immediate administrative duties of the board, allowing the other members to focus their full

attention on hearings. This proposed legislation would set board terms for an initial two-year period, with renewal terms of up to five years. Full-time board members would be eligible to receive

pay-for-performance based on the delivery of the board's business plan. Compensation would not relate specifically to the members' respective adjudicative responsibilities.

As well, this legislation, if passed, would establish an advisory committee of stakeholders, industry representatives and of consumers to review the board's

performance measures. We further propose that the board would now be required to establish an annual regulatory calendar with a statement of priorities, thus increasing accountability and ensuring

that stringent timelines aren't just established but met.

Through the proposed legislation, board members would be allowed to delegate decision-making responsibility to officials. This would help speed up the

decision-making process. It is important to note that these decisions could still be appealed to the board, if necessary. It is vital that we streamline the hearing process while ensuring that

consumers have an opportunity for input. We are proposing to develop criteria for consumer protection support that may include grouping together interested parties. The criteria would be

established by the Ontario Energy Board management committee, in consultation with the advisory committee that I mentioned earlier. We propose to harmonize the powers of the Ontario Energy Board to

eliminate duplication and streamline the regulation of natural gas and electricity.

Finally, this legislation addresses the issue of retroactive decisions. This has been an area of significant public interest. If passed, this legislation would

ensure that the board makes decisions within meaningful time frames. Having to pay retroactive amounts is difficult for consumers, and this legislation would effectively eliminate retroactive

charges that sit and accumulate month after month.

This legislation proposes that the recovery of any charges occur in the future by reviewing them more frequently and rolling them into future rates for a short

period of time. Board decisions should be equitable, they should be clear, and they should be consistent. Investors in Ontario must know that they are entitled to both recover their costs and to

earn a fair rate of return.

People must be properly informed and updated on the OEB's decisions and activities. I believe that it's the responsibility of the board to communicate

effectively, to tell people what they're doing and why. The board's decisions can have far-reaching implications. For that reason the board's communications role would be enhanced and improved

through this legislation. Timely information and pertinent data are critical to allow people an opportunity to better plan for themselves and their organizations. The people of Ontario have told us

they want increased consumer protection. I believe this legislation would not only protect consumers even further, but help to improve efficiency, accountability and resources at the board.

As I've said on a number of occasions, I was impressed with the changes that were made at the Ontario Securities Commission. It wasn't change for the sake of

change; it was change that led to a stronger, more effective operation. With our new legislation, we're proposing to adopt many of the aspects of the OSC model. The reforms I have outlined today

are of extreme importance to everyone in the province because energy is not a luxury; it's the lifeblood of both our economy and indeed our entire society.

Les réformes que j'ai présentées aujourd'hui sont d'une importance capitale pour l'ensemble de la province. L'énergie n'est pas un luxe. Au

contraire, l'énergie est absolument essentielle au fonctionnement de l'économie et de notre société. Cette loi, comme les autres lois que nous avons présentées dans le

passé, est nécessaire pour protéger les consommateurs et pour répondre à nos besoins dans le futur.

This legislation, like previous legislation brought before this House, is necessary in order to protect consumers and meet their future needs.

Let me again convey my pride that the government is introducing this legislation after hearing from Ontarians. To those who submitted their ideas, either in

person or in writing, I want to thank you for your time, your effort and your energy.

I would like to conclude by congratulating the Honourable Howard Wetston, the proposed new chair of the Ontario Energy Board. Mr Wetston is an outstanding

individual. He was former head of the Competition Bureau at the federal government, he was a former Federal Court of Canada judge, and he served with great distinction as the vice-chair of the

Ontario Securities Commission. His appointment will be reviewed by a legislative committee tomorrow. I think that any member, seeing his outstanding, non-partisan qualifications would agree that

this outstanding public servant will make an incredible difference in the lives of both enterprise and individuals in Ontario.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

Hon Robert W. Runciman (Minister of Public Safety and Security): This week is Emergency Preparedness Week and the theme is "Prepare now! Learn

how!" I'd like to take this opportunity to remind the House of some of the actions this government has taken to ensure both the safety and security of Ontarians.

I want to pay tribute to the hundreds of people who have responded so heroically to the SARS health emergency. SARS is the first province-wide emergency faced

by this province. Our Commissioner of Public Security, Dr Jim Young, always says that each emergency is unique and requires a unique response, but we can learn from each emergency in order to be

better prepared in the future.

There are many kinds of emergencies, including ones caused by nature, such as the ice storm of 1998. There are accidents, such as the Mississauga train

derailment, and there are disasters, such as the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. An emergency can be anything from a flood to a forest fire to a new virus. Each

situation is unique and each one has one thing in common: the capable and determined response of individuals.

Many of us saw this first-hand in 1998 during the ice storm. I was born and raised in eastern Ontario and knew the resilience and fortitude of its people, but

I was amazed to see their strength in adversity and the generosity of the entire province and beyond.

September 11 was a wake-up call. Before that we thought mainly in terms of natural disasters and accidents. But, frankly, most people didn't think that anyone

could be so evil as to purposely set out to destroy thousands of innocent lives, or that the destruction would hit so close to home. I had the opportunity to see first-hand the devastation the

terrorists caused in New York City, as well as to meet a number of victims' family members and some of the front-line workers who led the response.

During each emergency we saw first-hand the dedication and professionalism of our emergency response teams. But courage, professionalism and downright

intestinal fortitude aren't enough. You have to be prepared. That's why this government has worked so hard to improve the province's ability to respond to emergencies of all kinds.

One of the ways was to amalgamate the former Ministry of the Solicitor General and the Ministry of Correctional Services into the Ministry of Public Safety and

Security. That was done in order to better meet the challenges of a changed world, a world in which global terror is a significant threat and coordinated public security is in the forefront of many

people's minds. The ice storm and September 11 also led this government to introduce and pass the Emergency Readiness Act, which requires all municipalities to have emergency plans and to train

their staff in the best ways to respond to emergencies.

We're investing $30 million a year to increase Ontario's ability to protect itself and respond to emergencies. Thanks to this investment, we have seen the

doubling of staff at Emergency Management Ontario, the establishment of a round-the-clock provincial operations centre, as well as a backup centre. We have also seen the founding of Community

Emergency Response Volunteers Ontario, or CERV Ontario. This is a made-in-Ontario program that will see a province-wide network of neighbourhood-based, multi-functional teams of volunteers trained

in basic emergency management principles and skills. They will act as support to our front-line professionals in the event of an emergency.

We named Dr Jim Young, one of Ontario's most capable public servants, as the Commissioner of Public Security.

We established a security council of experts in emergency management and terrorism, under the chairmanship of Dr Young. The council consists of retired

Major-General Lewis MacKenzie; former RCMP Commissioner Norman Inkster; Dr Colin D'Cunha, Ontario's Commissioner of Public Health; and Scott Newark, former executive officer of the Canadian Police

Association and current vice-chair of the Office for Victims of Crime and special counsel.

Just yesterday, the Premier made policing history in Ontario when he announced that Ontario will add 1,000 new police officers to our front lines. This brings

a total of 2,000 new officers that this government has committed to putting on the streets and highways of Ontario since 1995. That's more than any other jurisdiction in Canada.

The SARS emergency demonstrated that although, as Dr Young says, each emergency is unique, we can apply past lessons to present circumstances. We activated the

provincial emergency operations centre, bringing together experts from a number of ministries to work together in a co-ordinated and effective manner. The fight against SARS has been a truly

collaborative effort, led by the Commissioner of Public Security, Dr Young, and the Commissioner of Public Health, Dr D'Cunha. These two provincial offices, working alongside Toronto public health

and health care workers in facilities across Ontario, have effectively contained the spread of SARS in Ontario.

This government also moved to provide job protection for those people who could not go to work and were required to stay at home or in isolation due to

exposure to SARS. The SARS response act prevents employers from firing employees who were in quarantine or isolation and not able to work due to exposure to SARS.

The government is doing everything it can to make Ontario a safer, more secure place to live, work and raise a family. Emergency Preparedness Week is an

opportunity for all Ontarians to learn about what they can do personally to improve their own and their family's safety. I encourage everyone to check the Ministry of Public Safety and Security's

Web site to see how they can prepare for the unexpected. This is truly a time when we can all learn how to prepare now.

ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD

Mr Michael Bryant (St Paul's): I say to the Minister of Energy, Dalton McGuinty and the Ontario Liberals have been calling for reforms to the

Ontario Energy Board, so we are going to look closely at this legislation, which we have not had an opportunity to look at to date. I can tell you right off the top, though, I did turn to page 1.

We believe that the number one objective of the Ontario Energy Board at present under the legislation is clear. The number one objective of the Ontario Energy Board is -- and we think this is wrong

-- to serve and protect the electricity industry. We on this side of the House believe that the number one objective of the Ontario Energy Board rather ought to be to serve and protect the

consumers of Ontario.

I say to the government, I truly believe that the electricity industry also would agree with that. If we do not have a strong Ontario Energy Board, we will

have a situation where, as the chair of the National Energy Board said this week in a speech, you will get huge consumer price spikes, which in turn will transform into a huge consumer backlash and

a public backlash that results in the entire industry being turned on its ear. That's not in the interests of the industry, that's not in the public interest, and that's certainly not in the

interests of consumers.

We need an Ontario Energy Board which in fact reflects the huge responsibilities that it presently has. The OEB used to be a gas regulator and then it suddenly

was to become an electricity regulator as well. Yet it wasn't given the tools and the resources to address these huge new responsibilities, so instead of undertaking these reforms years ago before

the electricity reforms were undertaken by this government, we're getting this legislation now.

We need not only these legislative reforms, we also obviously need the tools and the resources. Perhaps the self-financing model is the way to do it, but we've

got a long way to go when the Ontario Energy Board is about a third of the size of the OSC, if the OSC is in fact our model. Obviously, in order for the game to work, we have to have enough

officials and the right officials on the ice. If we don't, the game won't work and everybody suffers. This government has learned that lesson when it comes to the electricity regulation marketplace

the hard way.

There is some concern, I think, I say to the Minister of Energy, in terms of overlap between the mandate of the Ontario Energy Board and the independent market

operator that needs to be addressed. We have a great concern that this is just going to be a reform undertaken in isolation. We do not want that to happen because unless we address all the problems

going on in Ontario energy, particularly what's going on in Pickering -- we were supposed to get answers on that, but we have not to date -- this in fact may be a step backward instead of a step

forward.

I say in closing -- it must be said: this bill is an admission of failure by this government. It is in fact something that should have been introduced years

ago. In that sense, too little, too late.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

Mr Dave Levac (Brant): It is a privilege to rise on behalf of Dalton McGuinty and the Liberal caucus to respond to the minister's statement on

Emergency Preparedness Week and the theme, "Prepare now and learn how." He wanted to take an opportunity to talk about what their government does. I wanted to take an opportunity to express my

sympathy to the minister for having the Premier and the Minister of Finance cut his budget by $181 million. I feel badly for him.

By the same token, the minister refers to the ice storm of 1998. Can he explain to us why the ministry sat on the report until April one year later, when we

learned about municipalities that were not prepared? Ninety per cent had a plan, but less than 70% had even practised it because they didn't get any money from the government to try to put these

practices in place. That's not emergency preparedness. Unfortunately, he didn't have a plan then.

He says now that September 11 is a wake-up call. Let's talk about that wake-up call. That wake-up call was responded to immediately by my leader Dalton

McGuinty, who offered us the Ontario security fund. Half of the fund would have been $50 million -- not $30 million -- available to municipalities to update their plans and response and to train

people. So that was quick thinking. That was leadership to help our community instantly.

Let's talk about our growing communities platform initiated a year ago, with 1,000 new police officers in the province of Ontario. But let's also make sure you

understand this: we are going to also include 100 probation and parole officers of a new hire. That would keep our community safer and secure if he were to do that.

The minister also made references to something else that I brought to this House's attention. He established the security council with experts in terrorism.

What we suggested and what I suggested was, why don't you look at architects and constructions workers, work with labour, so that when we build our buildings they're done and made safer. We expect

better action from this government in the future.

ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD

Mr Howard Hampton (Kenora-Rainy River): In response to the Minister of Energy, the Minister of Energy wants people across Ontario to believe

that he's actually doing something today about the degree to which consumers have been ripped off and taken advantage of. I want people to clearly understand what this is really all about. What the

minister is attempting to do is add a little sugar coating to the bitter pill of hydro privatization and deregulation. For that reason, I'm not surprised that the Liberals are voting with him to

support him and that the Liberals stand in support of this bill.

I want to speak a bit from the perspective of the people of Wawa. I'm surprised the member for Algoma-Manitoulin isn't on his feet protesting this, because

under your scheme of hydro privatization and deregulation, the good people of Wawa have no less than five hydro electricity generating dams within about eight kilometres of the municipality. Those

hydro-generating dams generate electricity at about half a cent a kilowatt hour. There are no transmission lines to deliver that electricity to the community; it's so close. The distribution lines

have been there for years, yet under hydro privatization and deregulation, do the people of Wawa effectively pay 50 cents a kilowatt hour for that electricity? Do they pay half a cent a kilowatt

hour? Do they pay three cents? Do they pay seven cents? No. When you work out the math, they are effectively paying what amounts to 11 cents a kilowatt hour to have that electricity delivered five

kilometres to their door. They're paying 22 times what it costs to generate it only five kilometres away.

This government and these Liberals think that's OK. You think that's acceptable. You think it's acceptable when the people who work at the sawmill are laid off

from their jobs. You think it's acceptable when one of the only two food stores in the town closes down. You think it's acceptable when someone who owns a small apartment building gets a $10,000

electricity bill.

Going a little further afield, in Timmins this summer Falconbridge is going to lay off 300 workers at their refinery for three months. Why? Because they can't

afford to pay the excessive cost of privatized, deregulated electricity.

What is the Minister of Energy in this government going to do about it and what are the Liberals going to support? They're going to support this excuse for

legislation, which will do nothing for the hydro consumers in Wawa, nothing for the people who are going to be laid off from their jobs in Timmins, nothing for those people who continue to see

their hydro bills escalate despite the phony rate caps. It will do nothing for those people here in Toronto or Guelph or Burlington who are going to see dirty diesel generators in their communities

this summer because the private sector hasn't built any new supply, and they won't build new supply unless the government allows the price of electricity to go even higher and higher.

I say to the Minister of Energy, shame on you for promoting this sham and I say to Liberals, shame on you for supporting it.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

Mr Peter Kormos (Niagara Centre): For the Minister of Public Security to talk about emergency preparedness and his Conservative government in

the same sentence is the penultimate oxymoron. This government can promise more cops, but until it delivers them, they are nothing but shallow promises. A thousand new cops, my foot. It'll be the

same as it was before, and any new police officers will simply be replacing the rolls of retired police officers. The fact is that you've downloaded so many costs on to communities like regional

Niagara, like every other community in this province, that they can't afford to hire adequate policing, they can't afford to have adequate staffing in their police forces.

You want to talk about emergency preparedness? Talk about ensuring that there's adequate funding and resources for municipalities to ensure minimum staffing

for firefighting services. You've abandoned firefighters just like you've abandoned cops in Ontario.

Only yesterday ambulance dispatchers were here at Queen's Park warning you about the incredible crisis, the risk of loss of life. I say to you that lives will

be lost until you attend to the needs of ambulance dispatchers promptly. The disparity in wages by ambulance dispatchers, members of OPSEU, from dispatchers in other sectors is so extreme that

there's but a 30% retention rate in new hires. Ambulance dispatchers are working 16- and 24-hour days. People are going to die in this province. It's because of this government, and I tell you,

you'd better accept that responsibility, because others are imposing it on you.

Mr Michael A. Brown (Algoma-Manitoulin): On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I would like to ask the House for unanimous consent to give second

and third reading to Bill 7,

An Act to amend the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998. It would end the discrimination against the Great Lakes Power area customers.

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): Is there unanimous consent? I'm afraid I heard some noes.

HEPATITIS C

Hon Tony Clement (Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I'm seeking unanimous consent, with the concurrence

of the other two parties, to have an up to five minutes per side discussion on hepatitis C, statements on hepatitis C.

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): Is there unanimous consent? Agreed.

Hon Mr Clement: I rise in the House today to raise awareness of hepatitis C. This disease is a significant public health concern and I join

with Ontario's health care providers in urging Ontarians to learn more about hepatitis C so they can combat its effects and prevent its transmission.

Hepatitis C, if left untreated, can cause serious liver damage and even cancer. While it can be fatal for most sufferers, it is also debilitating, with

symptoms including extreme fatigue, confusion, abdominal pain and depression. Unlike other forms of hepatitis, there is no vaccine against hepatitis C, but antiviral drugs are an increasingly

effective form of treatment. These drugs can now treat about half of all patients. For those patients who do not respond to the antiviral drugs, liver transplantation can be a life-saving

procedure.

Those most at risk are people who received blood transfusions prior to the onset of screening for the virus in 1990, people exposed to contaminated needles

through tattooing, acupuncture and drug use, and health care workers. It's estimated that up to 2% of the Canadian population carries the hepatitis C virus. However, nearly half of these people are

not yet aware of their infection. In Ontario, we have identified about 60,000 people who are infected with hepatitis C, but there are many more people who still do not know that they have it.

Hepatitis C sufferers represent a wide cross-section of society, but individuals with blood disorders form an important subgroup of all victims. For example,

because hemophiliacs require more frequent access to blood and blood products, the majority of individuals with this blood disorder were infected through the blood system prior to 1990.

Ontario remains committed to ensuring that everyone who was infected through the blood system in this province is treated fairly, regardless of when the

infection occurred. That's why Ontario launched the Ontario hepatitis C assistance plan in November 1998, which provides $25,000 in compassionate assistance to individuals who were not covered by

the federal-provincial-territorial hepatitis C settlement plan. I'm proud to say that no other province provides this level of financial assistance to the pre-1986 and post-1990 victims.

Over the next several years, medical experts anticipate a dramatic increase in the number of hepatitis C sufferers requiring health care services. In addition

to providing compensation, Ontario is committed to ensuring that all blood victims have reasonable access to quality treatment and care. To meet this goal, we established an expert panel, the

hepatitis C advisory committee, to determine what health care system enhancements will be required to accomplish this goal.

I remain proud of our government's actions to help those people afflicted with this terrible disease now and in the future.

Ms Sandra Pupatello (Windsor West): This month is hep C awareness month. We know that hep C is a viral blood infection that can lead to liver

failure. Many of us know people who have contracted hepatitis C. We understand, in the way they live, that sometimes they feel well and sometimes they feel terrible. We know that sometimes they're

able to work, and often they just can't work. We know that, even according to Bill Buckels, the head of HepACT, who's lived with hep C for over 30 years, there is a way to manage this infection.

There is a way to manage and live with hep C.

What help does the government have available, and what role should the government play in making that kind of disease manageable? We know that across the

country 275,000 Canadians are infected with this blood-borne disease, and 70% of those are unaware and could well be contracting it to others.

Even though modern screening techniques have virtually eliminated the risk of contraction through tainted blood, education and awareness are still essential to

curbing the spread of the disease and putting others at risk.

Upwards of 20% of Canadians afflicted with hep C develop cirrhosis of the liver, and between 1% and 5% of those will develop liver cancer. There are many

Canadians who live with hep C and don't meet treatment criteria, and suffer, therefore, because they can't get the best treatments available. Others don't respond to treatment and have to wait for

something new to come along, and that's slow in coming. Without intervention, the death toll from hep C is expected to triple by the year 2010. This can only be stemmed through increased public

awareness and primary care physician utilization of hep C tests. There is currently no broad-based testing for hepatitis in Ontario, and the number of infected persons is rising dramatically,

especially among seniors, many of whom are unaware that they are even infected.

That brings us to how to manage hepatitis C. Primary care is essential for these individuals across Ontario who have to have ongoing care by physicians who are

experts in dealing with hepatitis C. There are people across Ontario who live with hep C with no hepatologist working for them. If you live in parts of Ontario with severe doctor shortages and even

more severe specialist shortages, as in Windsor, where we don't have a hepatologist, I can tell you very sad stories about people with hep C in my own riding and in many other parts of Ontario who

wait up to six to eight months to get an appointment with a specialist in Toronto. One of my constituents has been waiting eight months for an appointment in Toronto, not even receiving so much as

a call to set up the appointment. Meanwhile, the damage to her organs continues.

It can't be stressed enough that funds need to be set aside for early detection and treatment. But in all other aspects of health policy in this province, the

most basic of those is primary care, the very basics of having a family doctor to attend to you and to see that ongoing care continues. Even if you're put on a treatment program with a specialist,

even if that specialist is in another city, you have to have that continuing care in your own community. This is essential for everybody, but especially for those who are combatting hepatitis

All of us now in this House must have met these individuals to understand that we owe them the very basics of care -- let alone that we live in the richest

province in the richest country in the world. Can we not offer these individuals who suffer with hep C that they can live very great lives and can be contributors to society? We owe them the

basics. In some cases that means a family doctor and, in many cases, a specialist who can deal with hepatitis C.

I don't think we ask very much. In this, Hepatitis C Awareness Month, can we not get this government to go back to the basics and provide us with family

doctors across the board, with specialists who are happy to work in this province? Never mind the innovation that they create on their own; we just have to put people in place in personnel

positions in the health system to get them to work for our public.

Let me say out of interest that HepCURE Canada, which works year-round for hep C patients, called the Minister of Health's office for certificates of

recognition in honour of Hepatitis C Month. The ministry said no. Here are some really basic things about people who work for hep C patients who want just that little bit of recognition. I would

urge the minister to reconsider his policy -- that when it comes to us, celebrating the work of staff and volunteers, like we are today, who follow hepatitis C patients diligently year-round, I

think we can do something as basic as offering certificates of recognition.

Ms Shelley Martel (Nickel Belt): Close to 250,000 Canadians are infected with hepatitis C, and thousands of those live in Ontario. In fact,

Ontario has the highest number of infected in all of Canada. Many will die of liver failure waiting for liver transplants. Others will spread the infection back to the community without knowing it,

or they'll suffer for years, and so will their friends, families and co-workers, waiting for a better treatment to be approved. Current treatments are not 100% effective. Still others won't be

found in time to prevent the damage of years of attack by the hepatitis C virus.

Ontarians who live with hepatitis C need our support and recognition of this terrible disease. They need to know that, through awareness, this is a disease

that can be prevented. That was why a letter was sent to Premier Eves and Health Minister Tony Clement on March 4 specifically requesting that the Ontario government issue a proclamation: first,

that the month of May 2003 would be recognized as Hepatitis C Month, and second, that May 1 specifically would be designated as Hepatitis C Awareness Day. In fact, in the letter that was sent to

the Premier, with a copy to the Minister of Health, there were two potential proclamations that this government could use: one from the province of British Columbia and one from the province of

Manitoba, which both issued proclamations last year. We know that other provinces were lining up to actually issue proclamations. Newfoundland and Labrador did this on April 4; Nova Scotia and New

Brunswick did this even before that. PEI was due to issue a proclamation the week of April 4; Yukon already had. Manitoba and British Columbia were due to issue theirs as well the week of April

By April 6, because the government still hadn't responded to this particular request, all of us in this assembly received a letter from Bill Buckels, who was

acting as a representative of three organizations -- the Canadian Hepatitis C Network, the Canadian Hepatitis C Activist Group and the Hepatitis C United Resource Exchange -- encouraging us to

lobby the Premier and the minister to issue the proclamation. I wrote on behalf of our party on April 9. I haven't received a reply.

I appreciate that we are doing a unanimous consent today to raise awareness. What would it have taken for this government to follow the lead of six other

provinces and one territory to actually issue a proclamation and proclaim this as Hepatitis C Month? I don't think it would have taken a whole heck of a lot for the government to do that. I regret

they didn't do that and that we are here with the next alternative, which is unanimous consent.

Given the comments I heard the minister make today about his concern for hepatitis C sufferers, I call on him and the Premier to clearly demonstrate their

compassion and support for hepatitis C sufferers and immediately ensure that life-saving drugs for hep C sufferers are actually covered under the Ontario drug benefit plan to ensure that people who

are not independently wealthy can actually pay for these therapies.

The minister would know that there was a very important media conference held at Queen's Park on January 30. A number of groups were involved, particularly the

hep C society of Ontario. They condemned this government for its failure to ensure that life-saving drug therapies were covered under the Ontario drug benefit plan. In fact, the group said -- and

I'm quoting from their press release -- "The groups were reacting to a series of recent decisions taken by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care which they claim severely restricts

access to badly needed medications. They argued that these decisions have had an immense negative impact on men, women and children living with chronic disease and life-threatening disabilities,

including cancer, HIV-AIDS, hepatitis C, hemophilia and arthritis." In fact, "The groups released a list of medications that have not been approved by the Ontario health ministry and suggested that

the lack of approval was part of a concerted effort by the Conservative government to ration drugs and to incorporate an American-style HMO system into Canada by way of stealth."

The representative from the Hepatitis C Society of Canada said the following: "`It is pretty pathetic when I cannot get treatment now, after living so long

with hepatitis C,' says Alain Courchesne.... `I had hoped to avoid getting sick until a better form of treatment is available. Now it is here, I'm sick but I can't get treated."

The cost of the drug that most interests hep C sufferers now is $16,500 per round of treatment. That is cost-prohibitive for the majority of Ontarians and hep

C sufferers. If this government wants to put its money where its mouth is today and really support hep C sufferers, this government would immediately guarantee that the drugs hep C sufferers need

are covered under the Ontario drug benefit plan.

ORAL QUESTIONS

NURSES

Mr Dalton McGuinty (Leader of the Opposition): My question is to the Premier. Premier, this morning your Minister of Health said he was

sincerely surprised to learn just how many nurses are working two or three part-time jobs at different hospitals. I'm sure that will come as very disappointing news for the fully 50% of Ontario

nurses who are working part-time or casual, not because they want to but because full-time work is not there for them.

Your government's record on nurses was and remains abysmal. Your government fired thousands of nurses and compared them to Hula Hoop workers. We now have the

second-fewest nurses per capita in the country. Can you now tell Ontario nurses how it is that your Minister of Health could be so woefully out of touch with the state of our health care system

that he didn't know that so many of our nurses are working two or three part-time jobs, not out of choice but because they can't find full-time work in Ontario?

Hon Ernie Eves (Premier, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs): I believe the Minister of Health would like the opportunity to respond very

directly to this question.

Hon Tony Clement (Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): I can assure the honourable member in this House that this government has been more

aware than the governments that preceded it when it comes to the struggles our nursing profession has to face. The fact of the matter is that we're the government that created over 12,000 nursing

positions in Ontario, we're the government that moved ahead on nurse practitioners, we're the government that is moving ahead on internationally trained nurses and we're the government that put our

money where our mouth is and said to Ontario's hospitals, "We understand that you have to have a multi-year framework to make your human resource and staffing decisions." We're the ones who said

that we understand that multi-year funding for our hospitals will help our hospitals hire the nurses and keep the nurses and deliver the quality health care that Ontarians expect and deserve.

Mr McGuinty: Minister, yours is the government that fired nurses by the thousands. Yours is the government that compared nurses to Hula Hoop

workers. Yours is the government that spent 400 million taxpayer dollars, not on hiring nurses, but on severance packages when you fired nurses. That's the truth about your record with nurses. Now

Ontario finds itself in a position where we have the second-fewest nurses per capita in the country.

I am sure you will be familiar with the RNAO's study. They canvassed over 3,000 registered nurses worldwide, nurses who have left the province of Ontario. It

turns out that two thirds of them cited downsizing and lack of full-time employment as their reasons for leaving Ontario.

They were asked, would they come back? Here's the good news: fully 78% of respondents said they would come back to Ontario. What would bring Ontario nurses

back? Two thirds said they would return for the availability of full-time work.

When is it, Minister, that you are going to do something to ensure that the 50% of nurses who are working part-time and casual can in fact work full-time in

Ontario?

Hon Mr Clement: Actions speak louder than words. Since 1997 the government on this side of the House has spent on behalf of the taxpayers of

Ontario over $800 million to create new full-time positions and, yes, part-time positions for those who want them -- over 12,833 positions to date.

The honourable member speaks about the nursing profession. He would know that Doris Grinspun at times has to disagree with the government on issues, and that's

her role. But this is what she said just last year: "Nurses are better off today than they were during the period of 1996 to 1998," to be fair to her. "If I look back 25 years ago when I entered

the profession, it's true that we have both won and lost. However, all in all, I think we're doing better."

I could not say it any better than Doris has done. That is the confidence that they have in what we are doing to help ensure that our nurses have a place in

our Ontario, in our health care system, side by side with other medical professionals, delivering the quality health care that Ontarians expect and deserve.

Mr McGuinty: The minister is just confirming how out of touch he is with Ontario nurses and nursing conditions today.

Here are some of the comments collected in this same survey that I just referred to, comments from nurses who are living in other parts of the world but would

like to come back to Ontario.

One of the comments: "The complete disregard and lack of respect for professional RNs and their need to earn a decent full-time income at one place of

employment." That's the reason they weren't here.

Another says, "We left Canada for a more positive work environment, to be treated better by our employers and for better job security."

Another nurse says, "There were no full-time positions available in Ontario, only part-time or casual work. Hospitals and long-term care facilities all offered

poor staffing, increased workload and nurse-patient ratios."

That is what is happening on the front lines of nursing today in Ontario.

We have a plan, Minister, and I'd advise you to take a good, long look at our plan. Our goal is to establish 70% of Ontario nurses working full-time at the end

of four years. We'll give nurses what they want and what they need and what they deserve: respect and full-time work. Why won't you do that, Minister?

Hon Mr Clement: The honourable member talks about plans, but the record of his government and the successor government under the NDP is very

clear. When they were in government for 10 years, we lost more than 10,000 hospital beds in the system. How is that going to secure and retain more nurses in the province of Ontario?

We have more than plans. We are fixing the broken promises of the Liberal and NDP era and we are making a difference for health care in Ontario. We are proud,

on this side of the House, of the progress we have made today.

HYDRO GENERATION

Mr Dalton McGuinty (Leader of the Opposition): I have a question to the Premier. Premier, because of your hydro bungling and fumbling, because

you failed to plan for our electricity needs, you are now going to install filthy diesel generators this summer in a number of Ontario neighbourhoods.

We understand that the communities you are considering putting these diesel generators into include Guelph, Kitchener, Burlington, Toronto, Etobicoke, London

and Ottawa. The people living in those communities are, understandably, very concerned about the fact that you are about to impose on them your filthy diesel generators. Can you tell us whether or

not these generators will be subject to the usual provisions of the environmental assessment legislation?

Hon Ernie Eves (Premier, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs): The leader of the official opposition would be the first one to stand up in

this place and criticize the government for not being a prudent planner and preparing for every possible eventuality as this summer approaches. He was the first one to criticize us for the hot

summer last year. If the hot air being generated in this chamber is any indication, it will be another hot summer again this year. There are certain things that we can't control on this side of the

House, but we are being prudent managers in preparing for them in the worst-case eventuality.

Mr McGuinty: Your handling of the hydro issue in Ontario will make the perfect case study in poli-sci 101 about how to grossly mismanage, in

the most incompetent way, public policy. That's what that's going to stand for. That will be your legacy.

I gather from that, Premier, that you are in fact telling those people living in those communities, and whatever other communities you are considering putting

a diesel generator in, that you're going to exempt those generators from the usual environmental assessment process. What kind of opportunity will you extend to people living in those communities

in those neighbourhoods, what kind of opportunity will you be granting them to comment publicly on your plans to put a generator in their community, and what efforts are you going to make to make

them aware of the impact on their health and the quality of their air as a result of you putting your generators in their neighbourhoods?

Hon Mr Eves: First of all, the leader of the official opposition is entertaining his favourite sport: fearmongering. If you don't have the

facts, make something up. These proposals, on page 15 of the document, "must demonstrate that they will be compliant with any assessment, inspection, certification, approval, or other licensing

that may be required by any authority having jurisdiction, including but not limited to federal, provincial, regional or municipal governments." With respect to your fearmongering, the odds are

overwhelming that these generators will not be necessary, but we are doing the prudent thing and planning for every eventuality, as it is incumbent upon us to do, and act responsibly.

The true solution to the generation of hydroelectric power in this province lies in the long-term generation capacity of the province of Ontario. The minister

has already started, with respect to the budget, responding to some of the initiatives that we are taking to bring more generation of power on-stream. Some are proceeding, are very near and are at

completion as we speak. There will be more to come in the not-too-distant future, so stay tuned.

Mr McGuinty: I gather what you just told me was that the diesel generators will indeed be subject to environmental assessment legislation. I

gather that's just what you told me.

What you'll want to do is take a look at page 16 of the Ontario Electricity Financial Corp RFP for your dirty diesel generators. You might want to do this as

well, Minister. It says that, "OEFC is seeking a declaration order from the Minister of the Environment requesting that the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act not apply to the use of

short-term temporary generators."

Maybe you can tell us now: do you intend to grant that request, the one sought by the OEFC, or will you stand up for those neighbourhoods and those residents

of Ontario, and act on their behalf and say yes to a full environmental assessment for your plans to put your generators in their neighbourhood?

Hon Mr Eves: There's going to be an environmental process that will be followed. But going back to the issue of generation of more power,

there will be 2,500 megawatts of additional power available by this summer. I think that surely the leader of the official opposition will be happy with that, and he'd like to actually stand up and

compliment the government on doing something, and on our future initiatives. I look forward to you voting for that on the floor of this Legislature.

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): New question?

Mr Howard Hampton (Kenora-Rainy River): My question is for the Premier. Today is World Asthma Day. About a million Ontario residents suffer

from asthma, including 100,000 children. Over 150 people will die this year in this province as a result of it. Your latest scheme, Premier, to cover up your disaster of hydro privatization -- that

is, dirty diesel generators in Toronto, London, Kitchener, Burlington and Guelph -- will make that problem even worse. It will increase the number of smog days. It will increase the number of

people who suffer from respiratory illness. It will result in more deaths. Premier, will you stop this insane scheme to generate electricity in the dirtiest way possible before more people die?

Hon Mr Eves: If he was listening to the response to the previous question asked, he would know that there will be 2,500 megawatts of

additional power available for Ontario consumers this summer. That is certainly a step in the right direction. It's an increase of approximately 11% of the power available to the consumers in the

province of Ontario, and we will do everything we possibly can to make sure that we continue along those lines and to continue to generate more clean power in the province of Ontario than ever

before.

Mr Hampton: Well, Premier, you can go on making your predictions of more power supply just as your former Minister of Energy did and your now

Minister of Energy does, but the reality is, you want to put in place, in neighbourhoods where people live, dirty diesel generators. In California when this proposal was brought forward, they noted

that it increases the cancer risk for people by 50%. It's five times dirtier than the dirtiest coal plant.

I think I understand why you don't want it subject to the Environmental Assessment Act, because if you have to go through the Environmental Assessment Act you

would have to put forward a case as to why this is necessary and you'd have to allow people to examine it and you'd have to allow people to put forward alternatives.

Premier, are you so desperate to cover up the hydro privatization fiasco that you don't want people to be able to ask questions, you don't want people to be

able to demand that you make the case? Is that how desperate you are, that you want to deny even that level of accountability and you're willing to pollute people's air that much?

Hon Mr Eves: The leader of the third party will know that an adjudicator has been appointed in this matter. It is not for the government, and

I'm sure he wouldn't want the government, to politically interfere with that adjudication process.

But I wish he would get back to the issue of the generation of 2,500 megawatts of new power available for Ontario consumers this summer, enough power to take

care of 1.8 million homes in the province of Ontario. He's the same political person who last year at this time stood in his place and said that we would have all kinds of blackouts all across the

province of Ontario; we would grind to a halt. Guess what? He was wrong. He will surely do the decent thing now and stand up and apologize for those ridiculous fearmongering statements he made last

year.

Mr Hampton: Premier, it's you who should be apologizing to the people of Ontario, first of all for driving the hydro rates out of sight, then

for the brownouts and the risk of blackouts, and now for polluting their air more than ever.

This is a puffer. It's used by asthma sufferers. If you walk into any classroom in the province, you'll see children using puffers like this. Their asthma is

made worse by the very scheme, the very strategy, of using dirty diesel generators. You don't seem to understand that we've already got a very bad smog situation. Diesel generators will make it

worse.

What will it take for you to understand that this involves the health of hundreds of thousands of people and tens of thousands of children? Will we have to

bring in hundreds of these puffers, because that's what's going to result from your scheme? That's the natural health result of your scheme. Will we have to bring in hundreds of puffers like this

to make the case to you that you're wrong and you should withdraw this now?

Hon Mr Eves: The leader of the third party might want to have a whole box full of those on hand when he tries to drive his diesel bus at this

year's International Plowing Match, as he tried to do last year. You might want to think about that, in terms of polluting the environment, before you start going down this road.

The solution to the future in the province of Ontario lies with the generation of new, clean power, and we are delivering 2,500 megawatts of new, clean power

in this province this summer and we will continue to do things to do that until we are at 20% above the needs of the province of Ontario.

PUBLIC HEALTH

Mr Howard Hampton (Kenora-Rainy River): Again to the Premier. Premier, first there was Walkerton and then SARS. I think it's fair to say that

in the last few years the people of Ontario have really learned how valuable our public health units are.

Last year, when we demanded that you provide immediate funding to health units so that they could prepare for the West Nile virus, you said it wasn't

necessary, but then at the very last minute you provided 100% of the funding. But it was too little, too late.

This year, after health units in many parts of the province have already been dealing with the SARS virus, they're already overextended, you send out this

glitzy, glossy thing telling the people of Ontario what your government is doing about West Nile. But then we find out that you'll only provide 50% of the money that the health units need for a

West Nile program.

After Walkerton, after SARS, after all of the public health challenges that our public health units are facing, do you still think you can only pay to get half

of the job done?

Hon Ernie Eves (Premier, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs): To the leader of the third party, the Ministry of Health has a very

aggressive seven-point plan to provide $100 million toward dealing with the issue of West Nile virus in this province over the next five years. I have talked to your friend in the province of

Manitoba, Premier Doer, and received advice from him on how that province dealt with an extreme outbreak of West Nile virus, on a per capita basis more serious than the one here in the province of

Ontario, last year. We are taking advice from everywhere we can get it to contain and deal with the West Nile virus in the province of Ontario, and we have not abdicated this responsibility at

all.

I have never said that we were doing nothing about the West Nile virus. We are doing $100 million worth of assistance to make sure that communities are able to

cope with the West Nile virus in a method that suits them and their needs at a particular time in their geographical location and climate, because no two places -- you coming from the northwestern

region of the province will certainly know that the needs in Kenora are not the same as they are in downtown Toronto.

Mr Hampton: Public health units are now having to take money away, for example, from the fight against tuberculosis; they're having to take

money out of their budget to deal with sexually transmitted diseases; they're having to take money out of mandatory program budgets to prevent West Nile. Why? Because after all your advertising,

you're only going to provide 50% of the money to get the job done. After all your government has done, downloading on to municipalities, putting more and more costs and responsibilities on to

municipalities, you want to say that you're doing the job on West Nile, but in fact you're only providing 50% of the money and you're saying to the health units, "Go to the municipality and get the

other 50%."

I ask you again, Premier, after what happened at Walkerton, the deaths of people, after what's happened with SARS, do you really think it's adequate to make

all kinds of announcements, send out the propaganda and then only provide half of the money to get the job done?

Hon Mr Eves: Surely the leader of the third party is not going to stand in his place in this Legislature and say that the reason why a SARS

outbreak occurred in the province of Ontario was because of any funding or lack of funding to public health units in this province. He knows very well how the particular SARS incident in this

province started. He knows how it got here with one individual and he knows how the health care professionals in this province responded as well as anybody in the world could have responded to

contain what could have been a very serious outbreak.

The leader of third party does those health care professionals no justice and he is serving no useful purpose other than standing in his place and

fearmongering. You're really criticizing the health care professionals, the very nurses that we talked about earlier, the doctors, the lab technicians, the paramedics, the people who put their

lives on the line every day for you and I and for the benefit of the people of Ontario. To play cheap political theatrics with this is surely even above you, Howie, on the floor of this

Legislature.

Applause.

ONTARIO ECONOMY

Mr Dalton McGuinty (Leader of the Opposition): Thank you very much, Premier. Some people whistle when they're going by the graveyard; others

stand up and applaud. We can make the comparison here.

My question is to the Premier. The Dominion Bond Rating Service reports that you're running a $2-billion deficit. The chief economist at TD Canada Trust

agrees. Even a respected columnist for the Report on Business says that you are employing Enron-like accounting to cook the books and hide your deficit. Premier, what public asset will you be

selling so that you can give corporations another giant tax cut?

Hon Ernie Eves (Premier, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs): Last Thursday, the leader of the official opposition stood in his place and

made some sarcastic comment about me referring to nurses as Hula Hoops. He hasn't had the common decency to stand in his place and apologize for that.

Mr McGuinty: Who said that?

Hon Mr Eves: Not me. That's all you need to know.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): Order. Premier, continue please.

Hon Mr Eves: Today the leader of the official opposition stands in his place and arrogantly, smugly and sarcastically refers to Conservative

members of this Legislature talking about the very serious issue of SARS and talks about them whistling by the graveyard.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Order. Premier, you may continue.

Hon Mr Eves: You might do well to return to Chicago at your expense and get some more media training.

Mr McGuinty: I can understand why you don't want to address the issue that I raised. The chief economist at TD Canada Trust says you're

running a $2-billion deficit. DBRS says you're running a $1.9-billion deficit. The Report on Business says you're running a $2-billion deficit and refers to your accounting as being Enron-like.

When are you going to be straight with the people of Ontario, Premier? When are you going to have the courage to tell them that you cannot promise them $5

billion in tax cuts and at the same time put the $2 billion back into public schools that Rozanski said you took out and that you have to put back in, that you cannot at the same time fix the

double cohort mess that you created, that you cannot at the same time hire back the thousands of nurses that you fired, that you cannot at the same time hire back the water inspectors that you

fired, that you cannot at the same time build the hydro generation you neglected to build during the course of the past eight years and balance your budget?

Why won't you have the strength and the courage, Premier, to stand up here today and say to Ontarians, "I'm going to be straight with you. We cannot do all

those things and balance the budget. So instead I've chosen to run a $2-billion deficit"?

Hon Mr Eves: A Liberal talking about a balanced budget is certainly an oxymoron. Liberals don't balance budgets. The very person --

Interjections.

The Speaker: Order. Premier, take your seat. Premier, you may continue.

Hon Mr Eves: We have a track record that is second to none. For the first time since 1908, five balanced budgets in a row have been produced

in the province of Ontario.

There were many times over the six and a half years that I was finance minister in this province that DBRS and other bond rating agencies, both in New York and

Toronto disagreed with the path this government was taking. They, like you, failed to grasp one simple fact: if you allow millions of Ontarians to keep their own money, they spend it. That has

generated 1.15 million jobs and $16 billion a year more in revenue so we can do all of the things that you talked about in your question.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

Mr Raminder Gill (Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale): My question today is to the Minister of Labour. In my previous career as a manufacturing

specialist, I used to belong to IAPA, which is the Industrial Accident Prevention Association. I understand, Minister, that you attended a major event with IAPA last month, involving over 1,000

youth, where you made an important announcement. Can you please tell us what that announcement was all about?

Hon Brad Clark (Minister of Labour): I want to thank the honourable member for the question. We had a conference at the IAPA last month. Over

1,000 young people came out to this conference. It was really quite remarkable, because we had 1,000 young people, union leaders, corporations, CEOs, board members and volunteers. Everyone came out

together for one thing, and that was to lower the number of incidents of young worker injuries in the province of Ontario. We launched at that conference WorkSmartOntario. It's something that I'm

sure my Liberal colleagues would like to look up. WorkSmartOntario -- it's a great Web site. It's in the Ministry of Labour Web site. This teaches our young people how to be safe in the workplace,

the questions that they should ask, what they should look for and how to refuse work if they feel that they're at risk. There is ample information there. We're helping young people prepare

themselves to come home safely every single night.

Mr Gill: I want to thank the hard-working minister for this enlightenment. Can you please tell us about that exciting new Web site that the

youth are so interested in? Can you please give us the address of the Web site?

Hon Mr Clark: That's an easy one: worksmartontario.gov.on.ca. This Web site -- and I know that the Liberals and the NDP all support us on this

-- very clearly shows young people how to protect themselves on the job. This Web site actually provides them not only with occupational health and safety information, but it also provides them

with employment standards information. It gives them the answers to the frequently asked questions that I'm sure the member for St Catharines gets all the time. As a matter fact, he could probably

enlighten himself by logging on to WorkSmartOntario, and actually find out the answers so that he can hand them off to the young people in his community.

PUBLIC HEALTH

Ms Sandra Pupatello (Windsor West): My question is for the Minister of Health. More and more questions are being raised about your lack of

commitment to public health units across Ontario, which has put families in Ontario at risk. Your cutbacks to hospitals have eliminated any surge capacity to deal with a crisis. Your firing of

public health scientists leaves Ontario with none, while New York has some 150.

You have said in this past week that you've given public health units more. But if you look at your own public accounts and statements over the last four

years, it's very clear from your own documents that public health units across Ontario have, over the last four years, $50 million less.

I ask you: why would you not tell everyone the facts about your funding of public health units and how you have cut their funding over the last four years by

$50 million?

Hon Tony Clement (Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): It's just not true. It's just not true what the honourable member is saying. I will

give the honourable member the actuals -- if you can read a balance sheet -- versus the estimates. The actuals for 1998 were $304.4 million; for 1999, they were $337.7 million; for 2000, $355.9

million; for 2001, $394.6 million; and the actuals for 2002 were $435.9 million. The increase from 1998 to 2002 for public health in the province of Ontario, municipal and provincial, both went up

by 43%. Both went up. The total additional public health resources is an increase of 43%.

Ms Pupatello: You're trying to suggest that numbers you make available to the public are inaccurate. I don't believe you. It looks like you're

prepared to make up whatever numbers work for you at the time.

Let me read you a quotation, a position statement from the Association of Local Public Health Agencies pleading for more funding: "Boards of health currently

lack the resources -- both financial and human -- to effectively address these recent developments. Due to underfunding, boards have had to use funds allocated to other programs, which already do

not meet compliance, toward these new developments." It goes on to say that, according to their latest survey, your cutbacks to public health care funding in Ontario means that "no board of health

is fully compliant with the Mandatory Health Programs and Service Guidelines."

Right now, you keep cutting their funding. The number of public health units complying with the guidelines is zero. I think you should tell the public the

truth about your funding of public health units.

Hon Mr Clement: The truth is that since 2000, the overall public health funding has increased by over $100 million. The truth is that our

overall laboratory funding has increased by 33% since 2001, providing an extra $62.6 million this year. That's the truth.

If the honourable member is interested in quoting, I have a quotation from a letter to the editor by Dr Don Low, microbiologist in chief at Mount Sinai

Hospital. He said:

"We have learned a great deal about SARS during the last eight weeks, an outbreak that could not have been prevented whether or not a hospital or the province

had reacted more swiftly or if there had been different public health and infection control infrastructures in place. The fact is that we have been lauded for our control measures and the swift

response of public health that turned the SARS epidemic in Ontario from an event that might have had 200,000 victims to one not likely to have more than 320."

That's from the microbiologist in chief. We are committed to our front-line health workers, we are committed to our public health officials and that commitment

will only grow under an Ernie Eves government.

DUFFINS ROUGE

AGRICULTURAL PRESERVE

Mr John O'Toole (Durham): My question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Minister, on April 21, 2003, you announced that you

had signed a minister's zoning order under the Planning Act to protect the Duffins Rouge agricultural preserve. This indeed was welcome news at the time. Back in 1999, Durham was promised that this

land would be preserved for agricultural use forever. We were told that this agreement signed at the time between the town of Pickering, the region of Durham and the province would ensure that this

land would be theirs for future generations.

Recently it seems that this promise is in doubt. The city of Pickering was starting a growth management study, a study funded by developers, that some worried

could lead to the development of this land. Now I hear that Mayor Wayne Arthurs of Pickering is disputing the acts of the province. For example, in today's Toronto Star, "He says he never

considered the agricultural designation to be permanent," if you can understand that. Minister, can you provide some clarity for the House today on this important issue?

Hon David Young (Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing): I thank the honourable member for his question. I too was surprised to read the

comments of Mayor Arthurs in the Star today. I didn't think there was any doubt about what was intended in relation to this land. I say to you that this government, the Ernie Eves government, took

action to make sure that the promise made by three levels of government was a promise that would be kept.

The honourable member a moment ago, when asking the question, referred to an agreement that was signed in May 1999 by the town of Pickering, the region of

Durham and the province of Ontario. It was an agreement that made clear that this land would remain agricultural forevermore.

I think the best way to clear up any doubt is to actually quote from the agreement that Mayor Arthurs signed on behalf of Pickering. He said at that time, "It

is the intention of the parties that the covenants and easements herein shall run with the property in perpetuity." It could not be any clearer.

Mr O'Toole: Clearly, Wayne Arthurs has drunk from the Liberal Kool-Aid, it appears. Certainly, Minister, there is no ambiguity in your answer.

I gather that some people do not share this view. I read with great interest that some members of Pickering council put on black armbands and claimed that this was the death of democracy. I know

this decision was made after careful and thorough review, and so I'm hoping you can share with me some of the advice that you received prior to making this commitment to keep this as a permanent

agricultural preserve for the people of Durham and indeed the people of the province of Ontario.

Hon Mr Young: I think democracy means listening to people. I think democracy means living up to one's word. I think democracy means keeping

one's promise. The people of Pickering were very clearly promised that the land in question would be protected -- not protected for a month or two when it was politically convenient, but protected

forevermore. If there was any doubt about it, that doubt was cleared up when David Crombie prepared his report and once again confirmed in his advice that this land should be agricultural

forevermore.

We didn't make this decision lightly. We listened to the people of Pickering. We heard their advocate, the Minister of Finance, stand up and speak on behalf of

the people of that area. We heard David Crombie. I say to you that we remembered that there was written commitment to the people of that region. It was a good idea then; it's a good idea today.

This government believes that a promise made is a promise kept.

SOFTWOOD LUMBER

Mr Howard Hampton (Kenora-Rainy River): A question for the Deputy Premier. Deputy Premier, four times over the last 20 years, the softwood

lumber barons in the United States have imposed punishing duties and penalties on Canadian softwood lumber, much of it produced by sawmills in northern Ontario. Each time this has happened, a

review of the factual evidence has disclosed that the duties and the penalties are completely unfounded.

Now this has happened again. We understand that your government is currently in a back room in Washington secretly negotiating a deal that would result in

Ontario caving in to those same softwood lumber barons. It would result in many small sawmills essentially losing their allocation of crown timber and eventually being forced to close, large tracts

of crown forest essentially being put up for sale and potentially being sold to mills in Michigan or Minnesota at the expense of jobs and communities in Ontario.

Minister, are you caving in to those softwood lumber barons in the United States? If so, why?

Hon Elizabeth Witmer (Deputy Premier, Minister of Education): In response to the question from the leader of the third party, I just want him

to know that the Ontario government continues to work diligently in order to continue to support an all-out challenge of the US softwood lumber duties, both at the World Trade Organization and

under the North American free trade agreement. We remain open to consideration of a reasonable alternative to litigation, and certainly we are doing everything we possibly can.

Mr Hampton: It was that last part, the "but" part, that worries us, Minister. As you know, Ontario forest policy for the past 50 years has

essentially said that if a sawmill or a paper mill wants access to crown timber, they must tie that timber to a mill which produces jobs and economic activities for communities. In other words, no

jobs, no wood. What we're told now is that your government is essentially prepared to sever that relationship, that you are negotiating in Washington to essentially allow a company to purchase

crown timber without any guarantee of jobs, without any guarantee of economic activity.

Minister, will you guarantee the people of northern and central Ontario that you will not sign on to any deal like that without holding public hearings in the

communities that may be affected?

Hon Mrs Witmer: I can assure the member opposite that our government will do everything we possibly can in order to protect the interests, and

we will do everything we can to protect the lumber industry and the workers in the lumber industry.

HOSPITAL FUNDING

Mr Ernie Parsons (Prince Edward-Hastings): My question is for the Minister of Health. Minister, in 1998 your government forced the hostile

amalgamation of the hospitals in Trenton, Belleville, Picton and North Hastings. Since that time, they have had to implement cuts to patients each and every year. The ultimate is this year, where

because of a $2-million shortfall they are being forced to cut nursing hours substantially. Cutting nursing hours means cutting nurses, means cutting patient care. I contrast that with the throne

speech in which you had input, which says that "To increase the number of nurses practising in Ontario, your government will launch an aggressive nurse recruitment and retention program."

Minister, you can't have it both ways. You can't be laying off nurses quietly while at the same time claiming to want to increase the number of hours. I'm

going to ask you to intervene into the business plan for Quinte Health Care. Provide them with the proper funding.

Will you assure the people of the Quinte area that there will be no reduction whatsoever in nursing hours or hours of service care to patients in that

community?

Hon Tony Clement (Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): I'd certainly be happy to review any situation, but I must tell the honourable

member that last year alone the increase to base operating funding for hospitals approached $1 billion, and certainly Quinte Healthcare received its fair share of the total.

This year, of course, there will be a 5% increase, which was announced in the budget announcement, and in terms of capital funding, an additional budget which

is in an increase of 44% to base funding since 1995. So on both the operating and the capital side, we are building and rebuilding our hospital sector to provide wonderful new modern facilities

that help us recruit and retain our medical professionals, including our nurses. I mentioned earlier in question period the $800 million of spending for nurse recruitment and retention, and

certainly Quinte Healthcare is no stranger to that. So they have our continued support and commitment.

Mr Parsons: Minister, this is a very simple situation. Approximately 30 nurses will lose their jobs because of the $2 million in underfunding.

These hospitals that you joined together are 150 kilometres apart. They experience far higher costs than two hospitals that are next to each other. Quinte Healthcare, in their business plan to you,

says that they will be reducing nurses and nursing hours. Your rhetoric says that you'll be attracting more nurses. We have, as a Legislature, thanked the doctors and nurses, the RPNs, for their

service during SARS. This is a heck of a thank you, when nurses will be losing their jobs. I ask you for a very simple commitment. Based on the throne speech, will you commit that no nurses in

Ontario will lose their jobs?

Hon Mr Clement: Let me bring the honourable member up to date. We are aware of a number of plans that have been filed by a number of

hospitals, of course, and those become a topic of discussion between ministry officials and the local hospital authorities. That will be the case in Quinte Healthcare as well. I can certainly

assure the honourable member that in terms of health care, in terms of access to health care in his riding, our commitment is second to none. We've proved it through our funding; we've proved it

though our interest in accountability; we've proved it in our interest in priority funding, to make sure that priority services are funded regardless, and that kind of commitment will continue.

NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

Mr Bert Johnson (Perth-Middlesex): My question is for the tireless, hard-working, effective Minister of Agriculture and Food, renowned in

rural Ontario, I want you to know, and building on her reputation as a very effective minister representing Huron and Bruce. Minister, as you know, farmers in my great riding of Perth-Middlesex are

very interested in the ongoing consultations and discussions under the Nutrient Management Act. They have strongly supported widely consulting with all parties and providing an open process for the

protection of both rural water wells and the competitiveness of Ontario's agriculture industry, the second-biggest in the province. They've appreciated the opportunity to meet with you to share

their concerns about the regulations under the act.

I understand the changes to the previously proposed regulations were announced recently. Could you provide the Legislature and the farmers right across Ontario

with the details?

Hon Helen Johns (Minister of Agriculture and Food): I'd like to thank the member from Perth-Middlesex for the question and thank him for his

support for his agricultural community. He's done a fabulous job in that area.

As a result of a lot of consultations that happened over this intersession, if you will, on March 21 we responded to the consultations that we had had out in

the communities. We decided that we needed to have a balanced approach that provided more clarity to the agricultural community and flexibility that would allow the community to come up to the

environmental needs that we had for them, but allow them the opportunity to do it in different ways depending on if they were in eastern Ontario or western Ontario. We put into place and we kept as

the basis of our regulations the important requirement of ensuring environmental protection; we made restrictions on the application of nutrients on the land; we clarified very carefully the

requirements of a nutrient strategy and a nutrient plan; and we also talked about minimum setbacks from municipal wells and surface water, because that's important --

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): The minister's time is up. Supplementary?

Mr Johnson: Thank you very much for that answer, Minister, and for the hard work you put into the process for the people of rural Ontario. I

heard back from many farmers after your meeting in Stratford at the Victorian Inn in early February, and they were impressed with you as minister representing them.

One issue that was of particular concern for the farmers in my riding and across Ontario was the availability of cost-shared funding to assist with the

implementation of the regulations. Could you explain how our government has addressed these concerns --

Interjection: Where are those regs?

Mr Johnson: I'm sorry. Am I interrupting somebody in the opposition?

Minister, could you please explain how our government --

Interjection.

Mr Johnson: Does the member from Kingston and the Islands have the floor or do I?

Minister, could you please explain how our government has addressed this concern and what proposals have been advanced to financially assist our food growers,

the farmers?

Hon Mrs Johns: I want to say that we are very proud on this side of the House about the consultations we have done with nutrient management.

We're also very proud of the comments that were made in both the budget and the throne speech to alleviate concerns the agricultural community may have had. We're very clear that when we implement

regulations along the line, when we come along and bring a new category into the regulations, that we will certainly have the funding to be able to move that category along, that we will work with

the agricultural community to decide what that funding should look like. The farm groups have a number of different ideas that we are starting to consult on. We will work to make sure we have that

benefit there.

We understand on this side of the House that these changes benefit all of society. They benefit the environment of all Ontarians. We're going to work with the

agricultural community to make sure that those costs are borne appropriately.

HYDRO GENERATION

Mr David Caplan (Don Valley East): I have a question for the Minister of Energy. Minister, Don Valley East residents were shocked and appalled

to hear that you're considering putting a giant diesel generator at the Leslie transformer station. I'm sure you're aware that this station is in the middle of a residential neighbourhood only a

couple of hundred metres from literally thousands of residents living in the Finch and Leslie neighbourhood.

I've spent all last week and this weekend since then literally talking to the community residents and listening to their concerns. They're very clear. There is

already bad air quality in our city, both from pollution and from cars on Finch Avenue. Having this compounded by your dirty diesel generators is simply not acceptable.

Let me tell you what just one resident said. This is a letter from Karima Dhanani, who told me how her husband is suffering from chronic respiratory illness.

She says, "It is difficult for him to step out of the house due to smog. Premier Eves will sacrifice him, the father of my two small children, to meet his objective."

So, my question to you, Minister, on behalf of Don Valley residents is this: I want your commitment today that the Leslie transformer site will be removed from

your request for proposal so that my neighbours' health and well-being will no longer be threatened by your dirty diesel generators.

Hon John R. Baird (Minister of Energy, Minister responsible for francophone affairs): In addition to the 2,500 megawatts of new, clean

electricity that'll be coming on to the grid in the province of Ontario this summer, we felt it was prudent for two reasons: one, to try to encourage less reliance on high-cost imported power, and

two, to take some prudent measures to ensure that there was adequate electricity supply in the province of Ontario --

Hon Brad Clark (Minister of Labour): A contingency plan.

Hon Mr Baird: -- a contingency plan, as one of my colleagues says.

We are looking to the private sector to ask what opportunities might be available. There could be opportunities with respect to large natural gas portable

generation or from some small diesel-powered generation. I would suspect with the latter that it would be fair to say there are more than 4,500 of them today, probably hundreds in residential

environments like his own community; that, for example, if we'd had this policy in place last year, it might have been required for 14 minutes.

Mr Caplan: The minister's answer is simply not good enough. This is your request for proposal: on page 7, June 15, 2003, is when you want to

have the diesel generators come on-stream, and on page 16 it's very clear that you'll want to exempt them from environmental assessment legislation. That is simply not good enough for the people of

Don Valley East. They know that these generators will be running during peak demand hours. This means that in late afternoon and early evening when they're getting home from work, when they want to

be outside and enjoy a summer evening, that's going to be impossible. They know that these machines generate sulphur levels almost 50 times greater than cars on Finch Avenue. They know that because

of the geography in the area. Seneca Hill is the highest point in the city of Toronto, and with the nature of the generation, the emissions will be staying in the community and will not dissipate

into the atmosphere.

Minister, it's your company. Ontario Electricity Financial Corp is run by Michael Gourley, formerly Premier Eves's right-hand man. Residents in Don Valley East

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): I'm afraid the member's time is up. He's well over the time.

Hon Mr Baird: The member opposite stood in his place and said, "I know, I know, I know" -- they know, they know, they know. Well, he doesn't

know. We haven't made any decisions. What we've said is that we want to go to the private sector and ask what requirements might be able to be offered. They could be clean-burning natural gas which

could help reduce our reliance on high-cost imported power. In the unlikely event, despite the 2,500 megawatts of new, clean electricity coming on-line --

Interjection.

Hon Mr Baird: The member for Don Valley East might want to listen to the answer so you can take this news back to your constituents. Had we

had this plan in place last year, and if it had been fully subscribed, in addition to the 4,500 such generators which are already operating in the province, which are already operating in the

member's own constituency, it would have been required --

Interjection.

Hon Mr Baird: In residential neighbourhoods. They're operating today. The member opposite asked a question; he might want to listen. Last

summer, had this plan been employed, it would have been 14 minutes. It's disappointing the member opposite doesn't want to listen --

The Speaker: I'm afraid the minister's time is up.

WINE INDUSTRY

Mr Bart Maves (Niagara Falls): My question is for the Minister of Consumer and Business Services. As you know, Ontario is home to some of the

greatest wines produced in the world --

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon Gary Carr): Order. Stop the clock so the member can have the time. Come to order, please. The member for Niagara Falls has

the floor to ask a question. Sorry for the interruption.

Mr Maves: My riding is home to Reif, Vincor, Hildebrand Estates, Chateau des Charmes, and many others. It seems that every time we open the

food and wine

section of the paper we read about another great Ontario wine that has just won international acclaim. Just a few weeks ago, one of Ontario's wineries became the first Canadian winery

to win the top overall award, the Grand Vinitaly Award 2003 in Verona, Italy. This industry is still growing and there are many people who aren't aware of the great products that we offer here in

our province.

This government and its previous ministers have a strong track record of support for this industry through new marketing initiatives, passing VQA legislation,

investing money and developing partnerships with Ontario wine industry, resulting in new jobs. Minister, what are you doing to support this important Niagara industry?

Hon Tim Hudak (Minister of Consumer and Business Services): I appreciate the member's question, and I congratulate him as well on his

outstanding support for the Ontario wine industry. He's been a very strong advocate. By coincidence, the member asked me at a very good time because earlier today, I was present at a new initiative

to help promote Ontario's award-winning VQA wines. Believe it or not, to the member for Stoney Creek, it actually involved the Toronto Star. We don't often agree with the Toronto Star, but we do

agree on the high quality of Ontario award-winning wines.

A very interesting and exciting new initiative called the Wine Connection, the first of its kind in all of North America, like a newspaper wine club, is a

partnership between the Toronto Star and the Ontario Wine Council to promote Ontario VQA wines. Already, in its first week, it's planning on selling out its initial stock of wines that are driving

VQA sales.

I'm happy to report to members of the assembly that in the past year alone through the LCBO, we've seen an increase of 21% year over year in Ontario VQA wine

sales, which means jobs in the industry, it means investment in agribusiness and agri-tourism, and it means good things to the province of Ontario.

PETITIONS

SOINS DE LONGUE DURÉE

M. Jean-Marc Lalonde (Glengarry-Prescott-Russell): J'ai ici une pétition avec plus de 4 000 noms provenant de 104 communautés,

dont celles de Plantagenet, L'Orignal, Sturgeon Falls, Timmins, Elliot Lake, Chelmsford, Port Colborne, North Bay, Cornwall, Larker Lake et plusieurs autres.

« Pétition des aînés et des retraités francophones parrainée par la Fédération des Aînés et

retraités francophones de l'Ontario.

« À l'Assemblée législative de l'Ontario :

« Attendu que notre président, Jean Comtois, a clairement pris position en notre nom, dans ses lettres du 16 juillet au 16 août 2002 contre

l'augmentation de 15% des frais de résidence imposée aux personnes recevant des soins de longue durée en Ontario;

« Attendu qu'aucune réponse, pas même un accusé de réception, n'a été reçu du ministre de la Santé et des

Soins de longue durée;

« Nous, soussignés, rappelons à l'attention du ministre Clement, le message de notre président et confirmons que nous sommes contre

l'augmentation, même graduelle, de 15%, des frais imposés aux personnes recevant des soins de longue durée en Ontario »

J'y ajoute ma signature avec fierté.

SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

Ms Marilyn Churley (Toronto-Danforth): I am standing, Mr Speaker.

It's my pleasure to present petitions to the House provided by the Dream Team, a group of extraordinary people who are fighting for supportive housing for

people with mental illness. They've provided me with thousands of cards which I will present to the Premier tomorrow.

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas the Conservative government's failure to provide supportive housing for people with mental illness has left thousands of Ontarians homeless or living

in squalid, substandard conditions; and

"Whereas 5,000 units of supportive housing are needed in Toronto and an estimated 14,000 are needed province-wide;

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

"To increase the supply of affordable and supportive housing across Ontario so that people facing mental illness can rebuild their lives and contribute to

society."

I will proudly affix my signature to this petition and I thank this tremendous Dream Team for the incredible work they are doing on behalf of people with

mental illness.

EDUCATION TAX CREDIT

Mr Joseph N. Tascona (Barrie-Simcoe-Bradford): I'm very pleased to present a petition to the Legislature of Ontario with 39 signatures. It

reads as follows:

"Whereas the province of Ontario has delayed the second phase of the equity in education tax credit for parents who choose to send their children to

independent schools; and

"Whereas prior to the introduction of this tax credit, Ontario parents whose children attended independent schools faced a financial burden of paying taxes at

home to an education system they did not use, plus tuition for the school of their choice; and

"Whereas the equity in education tax credit supports parental choice in education and makes independent schools more accessible to all Ontario families;

"Therefore we, the undersigned, respectfully request that the government of Ontario reintroduce the second phase of the tax credit forthwith and continue --

without delay -- the previously announced timetable for the introduction of the tax credit over the next five years."

POST-SECONDARY

EDUCATION FUNDING

Mr Michael Gravelle (Thunder Bay-Superior North): I have a petition that is related to tuition fees, signed by hundreds of students from the

Lakehead University Student Union. It is to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

"Whereas average tuition fees in Ontario are the second-highest in Canada; and

"Whereas average undergraduate tuition fees in Ontario have more than doubled in the past 10 years; and

"Whereas tuition fees for deregulated programs have, in certain cases, doubled and tripled; and

"Whereas Statistics Canada has documented a link between increasing tuition fees and diminishing access to post-secondary education; and

"Whereas four other provincial governments have taken a leadership role by freezing and reducing tuition fees;

"Therefore, we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:

"Freeze tuition fees for all programs at their current levels, and

"Take steps to reduce the tuition fees of all graduate programs, post-diploma programs and professional programs for which tuition fees have been deregulated

since 1998."

I am in full agreement with this. I am passing it off to Brian Donohue, our page from Marathon, in my riding of Thunder Bay-Superior North. Thanks, Brian. It's

great to have you here.

SERVICES FOR THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED

Ms Shelley Martel (Nickel Belt): I have a petition that has been signed by hundreds of workers of associations for community living, their

families and friends in Sudbury, Manitoulin Island and Espanola. The petition is addressed to the Legislature of Ontario and reads as follows:

"Whereas in June 2001 the Honourable John Baird, in his address to the Ontario Association for Community Living annual conference, acknowledged the funding

crisis in developmental services related to staff salaries and benefits by stating, `...the challenge of high turnover and staff burnout must be addressed. It must be addressed now with the

existing services and it must be addressed for the standards next year. So in our first year we will commit to almost $32 million to help address the quality of care and help revitalize this

sector.'

"Whereas in September 2001 Minister Baird repeated the commitment he made in June for new funding for developmental services in a variety of initiatives

including $31.7 million to address the high staff turnover and burnout by directing these funds to improve salaries and benefits and offer more staff training and development; and

"Whereas the $31.7 million, although welcomed, will only scratch the surface of the salary and benefit crisis for workers in this field and additional funding

on a multi-year basis is necessary to address this crisis;

"We, the undersigned, petition the Legislature to ensure the government of Ontario honours the commitment made in June and September by the Honourable John

Baird to continue to direct additional funds for staff salaries and benefits over a multi-year period so that the high turnover and hiring difficulties are resolved and that people with

developmental disabilities are offered the quality service they deserve, delivered by staff who make this work their career."

I agree with the petitioners. I've affixed my signature to this.

ABORTION

Mr Gerry Martiniuk (Cambridge): I have the pleasure of introducing a petition signed by 568 good citizens of Cambridge addressed to the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario and Parliament assembled.

"We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, draw to the attention of the House the following:

"That Ontarians are being asked to consider alternative forms of health care delivery due to escalating costs; and

"That 65% of Ontarians surveyed in October 2002 objected to the public funding of abortions on demand; and

"That almost all abortions are done for `socio-economic' reasons in Canada; and

"That the Canada Health Act imposes no duty on the provinces to fund any services other than those which are medically necessary; and

"That there are no legal impediments preventing provinces from de-insuring abortion;

"Therefore your petitioners call upon the Parliament of Ontario to enact legislation which will de-insure induced abortion."

HEALTH CARE FUNDING

Mr James J. Bradley (St Catharines): I have a petition that reads as follows:

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas long-term-care facilities in this province are understaffed, underfunded and ignored by the current government;

"Whereas many residents of St Catharines and of other communities in Ontario are unable to find a family doctor as a result of the growing doctor shortage we

have experienced during the tenure of the Harris-Eves government;

"Whereas cancer patients in Ontario requiring radiation treatment face unacceptable delays and are often forced to travel to other jurisdictions to receive

medical attention;

"Whereas many prescription drugs which would help patients with a variety of medical conditions such as macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis, arthritis,

diabetes and heart failure are inadequately covered by OHIP;

"Whereas long waiting lists for diagnostic tests such as MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds are jeopardizing the health of many individuals already facing serious

illness;

"Whereas the Harris-Eves government has now spent over $250 million on blatantly partisan government advertising in the form of glossy brochures and television

and radio ads;

"We, the undersigned, call upon the Conservative government of Ernie Eves to immediately end their abuse of public office and terminate any further expenditure

on political advertising and to invest instead in health and long-term care in the province of Ontario."

I affix my signature. I'm in agreement with this.

CREDIT UNIONS

Mr Bob Wood (London West): I have a petition which I wish to present on behalf of the member for London North Centre. It has 225 names and was

given to her by the Kellogg Employees Credit Union.

"Whereas Credit Union Central of Ontario's (Central) 208 members represent 90% of Ontario's credit unions, have over one million members, manage assets in

excess of $12 billion and have branches in communities across Ontario; and

"Whereas Credit Union Central of Ontario and Credit Union Central of British Columbia are planning to merge the finance and treasury functions of both

operations into one interprovincial council; and

"Whereas 98%, on a proportional basis by assets, of Central's members voted in favour of the merger resolution presented to them on November 23, 2002; and

"Whereas legislative and regulatory changes are required to the Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, 1994, before the merger can be completed;

"We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to call on the Minister of Finance to make the necessary legislative changes so that the

merger can be finalized."

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Mrs Leona Dombrowsky (Hastings-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington): "To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas we strenuously object to the proposed Richmond landfill expansion by Canadian Waste Services; and

"Whereas fractured limestone is an inappropriate location for a landfill; and

"Whereas the town of Greater Napanee produces less than 1% of the waste sent to the Richmond landfill, and has indicated that it is not a w