Ontario Hansard — 26 January 2009 (39th Parliament, 1st Session)

2009-01-26

Ontario — Debates (Hansard)

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January 26, 2009

39th Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

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Hansard Transcripts 2009-Jan-26 (PDF)

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L'ONTARIO

Monday 26 January 2009 Lundi 26 janvier 2009

INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS

ORAL QUESTIONS

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

UNIVERSITY FUNDING

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

EMPLOYMENT SUPPORTS

RENEWABLE ENERGY

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

NURSES

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

MANUFACTURING JOBS

FOREST INDUSTRY

EDUCATION FUNDING

PUBLIC TRANSIT

SKILLS TRAINING

HOSPITAL SERVICES

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

PUBLIC TRANSIT

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

PETITIONS

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

TUITION

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

ORDER OF BUSINESS

HOUSE BUSINESS

ORDERS OF THE DAY

YORK UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTES

RESOLUTION ACT, 2009 /

LOI DE 2009 SUR LE RÈGLEMENT

DES CONFLITS DE TRAVAIL

À L'UNIVERSITÉ YORK

The House met at 1030.

Prayers.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): We will pause for a moment of inner thought and personal reflection.

INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS

Mr. Peter Shurman: I would like to recognize some visitors in the west members' gallery from yorknothostage.com: Malcolm Morum; Nora Kharouba; Tina Temoche; Peter Temoche; Cindy Valdes; one of the original organizers of the group, Catherine Divaris; Matthew Geigen-Miller; and Christina Chewchuk. Welcome to the Legislature.

Ms. Cheri DiNovo: I'd like to introduce my husband, who's a contract faculty teacher, Gil Gaspar.

ORAL QUESTIONS

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Peter Shurman: My question is to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. Minister, we are here today because you and your government have failed to put the students of York University first. In November when the strike started, the parties had already been negotiating for months and a mediator had already declared a virtual deadlock. Both parties knew it; the students knew it; their parents knew it; we knew it. How could you not have known it? The time to "bang heads together," in the Premier's words, was back in November. Why didn't you send in a top mediator then?

Hon. John Milloy: I appreciate the honourable member's question. Like all members in this House, we're concerned about the situation at York, but we also respect collective bargaining. Our government took every action to allow the collective bargaining process to proceed, including a vote that was held a week ago as well as the assistance of a mediator, and finally a top mediator who went in in the last few days. When it became apparent that there was a deadlock, we took the action of recalling the Legislature.

We call on all members of the Legislature, particularly those in the New Democratic Party, to not hold up the education of 50,000-plus students.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary?

Mr. Peter Shurman: Minister, your useless excuses do not get students back into class and will not save their academic careers.

I told you back in November that you weren't doing enough to save their education. On December 2, I introduced a bill to get you to pass back-to-work legislation by December 11. If you had done that, we would not be here today and the students would have been back in class three weeks ago at the latest. Why didn't you act to pass my bill? Why didn't you put students first? Did you figure that they hadn't suffered enough by that point?

Hon. John Milloy: You can't have it both ways.

We believe in the collective bargaining system. Having both parties at the table to negotiate an agreement is the best way forward. We allowed the collective bargaining system to proceed until we were informed Saturday morning that there was a deadlock and we took immediate action to recall the House.

We are as anxious as the members across the way to see 50,000-plus students back in the classroom, and we call on all members, particularly those in the New Democratic Party, to stop blocking access of those students to post-secondary education.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Final supplementary?

Mr. Peter Shurman: You don't know the meaning of the word "immediate." You hid behind excuses of university independence and autonomy. All the while you forgot that the students are dependent on the university for their future and that the students are dependent on you to protect them from becoming the victims of labour disputes. This one had broken down months ago. Your mismanagement took them from being pawns of the university and the union to being pawns of the Liberals and the NDP. For that shameful political posturing, the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities should resign. When can we expect your resignation?

Hon. John Milloy: The honourable member does not have a monopoly on concern for university and college students in this province. I'm very proud to be part of a government which has made post-secondary education one of the cornerstones of our mandate, having to clean up the mess that was left by that government when they were in power. How dare he, as part of a party that slashed funding to universities, cut student aid and allowed tuition to balloon, stand here today and claim that he's talking on behalf of students?

We allowed the collective bargaining process to run its course, which is the proper role of a government. We have reached an impasse, and we call on all members of the Legislature, particularly the New Democratic Party, to make sure that York students can get back to the classroom as quickly as possible.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Jim Wilson: My question is also to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. I would say to the minister: Look into the galleries. You'll see there are a number of students there. These are the same students who have been held hostage for the last 12 weeks. They want to know why you allowed that to happen, and they're here today because they want some answers. They want to know if you will compensate them for what the strike has cost them and why, as the Premier suggested, they should take on even more student debt because of your incompetence. Will you answer that for them, Minister?

Hon. John Milloy: Our concern has always been for the students. We call on all members of the Legislature, particularly the New Democratic Party, whom I hear heckling, to move forward to allow students to return to the classroom as soon as possible.

We have a system, the Ontario student assistance program, which offers support to students through a variety of loan and grant programs. We have committed–and in fact, we are working very closely with York University to allow the OSAP program to be extended to those students if and when the school year is officially extended at York University. Our officials were working with York University yesterday, on Sunday, and continue to work with them to allow students to have access to additional assistance.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary?

Mr. Jim Wilson: Minister, the fiasco that you've created at York University is also very bad news for some 300,000 other students at the rest of Ontario's universities. At least 10 Ontario universities will be negotiating new contracts with their faculty before the end of this year. If you mess those talks up like you did at York, Ontario will be faced with massive province-wide strikes. Again, only the students will suffer, and they too will be looking for compensation from this government. So I ask: Will this government commit today to stepping into those contract negotiations before they end up in protracted strikes, just like what happened at York University?

Hon. John Milloy: Over here, we have respect for the collective bargaining process. We allowed the collective bargaining process to proceed until a deadlock took place.

I find it strange that a member who was part of a government which watched a strike go on at York University for 75 days and did not recall the Legislature would stand up and give me lessons about how we should manage these situations.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Final supplementary?

Mr. Jim Wilson: I say to the minister: You messed up. You should have acted before Christmas. You should have followed the advice of our colleague from Thornhill.

You know that what's really behind the strike at York is the fact that CUPE wants to ensure that the contracts of all universities that are under their belt will all come up at the same time so they can put on one massive, province-wide strike in the middle of next year. What are you going to do now to make sure that that doesn't happen? If you don't do that, the young people will suffer again. You're forewarned; you know it's going to happen. So we are asking you, as a matter of common sense, to at least stagger the contracts, put timelines on when strikes do happen.

Do something so we don't have a massive province-wide strike. Either that—resign, because you're completely frigging incompetent.

Hon. John Milloy: I appreciate the honourable member's dramatics, but as I say, 75 days a strike went on at York University under his watch and they failed to bring back the Legislature.

We believe in the collective bargaining process. One of the unfortunate by-products is that strikes and lockouts occasionally happen. It's one of the strengths of the system. It also, at times, can be an unfortunate by-product, as I say. We allowed the process to continue on at York University. We recalled the Legislature on a Sunday afternoon as soon as we heard word of a deadlock. And we call on all members, particularly those in the New Democratic Party, to remove the obstacle so that we can bring 50,000-plus students back to the classroom as soon as possible.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Howard Hampton: My question is to the Deputy Premier. York University's CUPE Local 3903 reduced its contract demands to just four items. The local had accepted York's salary proposal, and most of the major benefits articles had been agreed to. The local was prepared to negotiate on the two remaining issues. With a negotiated settlement so close, why is the McGuinty government resorting to back-to-work legislation?

Hon. George Smitherman: I want to say to the honourable member that today is a day where the questions are to be put to him and to his party. Today, the honourable member stands in this Legislature and he speaks about the workers. But we note that in his question, there was not one reference to the 50,000 students and to their families who have been impacted through this very long period.

We believe in collective bargaining; otherwise, there's no explanation for the amount of time that was on offer to allow these two sides to come together in a fashion that got the job done for the students. We say to today's NDP: Will they take action today to get these students back into the classroom, to allow other means of arbitration etc., to take hold in a way that gets this issue resolved? Will they act today in a decisive fashion on behalf of the students?

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary.

Mr. Howard Hampton: The McGuinty government claims to care about university students—the McGuinty government that is 10th out of all the provinces in Canada in terms of funding university education. But the government's own head mediator, Reg Pearson, made it clear last week that the York administration had no intention of bargaining and were just waiting for legislation. I want to quote him: "Everything that I've seen has been not quite there, and quite frankly they're"—meaning York University administration—"not prepared to move out of their ballpark. That could be because they're waiting for government to fix the problem."

In view of those statements from Reg Pearson, your own mediator, will the minister admit that this was not a deadlock but the unilateral refusal on the part of York University to negotiate, and as such, the government's actions may be illegal?

Hon. George Smitherman: We know that the honourable member, a learned lawyer, wants to fall into matters of legality. But at the heart of the question, for one minute he was unable to answer why he stands today with his party in opposition to getting these students back into the classroom. That is the objective that we must all address. We allowed, for 80 days, the opportunity between these two groups to resolve the matters at hand. In fact, the honourable member raises the issue of funding while in his first question he submitted that there was agreement on the matters of funding.

At the heart of it, we have an opportunity to act in a decisive fashion which places these students, 50,000 of them, and their families, first and foremost, after having allowed due process the opportunity to work. Today we ask today's NDP: Will you resolve to take the decisive actions necessary, in as timely a way as this Legislature allows, to get these students back into the classroom?

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Final supplementary.

Mr. Howard Hampton: I notice once again that the McGuinty government doesn't want to answer the question. If the McGuinty government wanted to do something decisive for students, Ontario wouldn't be 10th out of 10 provinces in terms of funding for university education.

Again, I want to quote the government's own mediator, appointed by the government. This is what he said: "Everything that I've seen has been not quite there, and quite frankly they're"—meaning York University administration—"not prepared to move out of their ballpark. That could be because they're waiting for government to fix the problem."

Here's the reality: The senate of York University cancelled classes. There were 77 days; they agreed to meet on only 11 of those days. For the last week, they refused to bargain at all. This doesn't sound like deadlock; this sounds like a university that says, "We're not going to bargain because we know the McGuinty government"—

Hon. George Smitherman: No, what's happening here today on the floor of the Ontario Legislature is a tactic on the part of the New Democratic Party to stand in the way as the last remaining barrier to getting these students back into the classroom.

The honourable member can make up all of the storylines that he wants, he can find all of the process reasons, but at the heart of the matter, this honourable member cannot, as a matter of principle, tell us why it was possible for them to stand in their place and support back-to-work legislation related to the TTC but they are unprepared to recognize the needs of these students. They're unwilling to recognize the essential nature of education for these 50,000 students.

Since we came to office, York University has received a 52% increase in funding. The agreement that was on offer included income adjustments to the tune of about 4% a year. In the circumstances that we face, most Ontarians looking in—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Thank you. New question.

UNIVERSITY FUNDING

Mr. Howard Hampton: Again to the Deputy Premier. The McGuinty government would be quite happy to legislate this, quick and dirty, because the McGuinty government doesn't want to have its own sorry record known by the people of Ontario.

Here is the sorry record. Who does the president of the student federation at York refer to as at the heart of this problem? He says, "Who do I blame? I blame Dalton McGuinty for underfunding." Or Jim Coyle in the Toronto Star: "As one professor from another Ontario university put it, the issue for York, and all schools, is underfunding that does not allow the hiring of permanent faculty and the resulting reliance on cheaper contract labour."

My question is this: How much longer is the McGuinty government going to underfund our universities and victimize the students and the workers?

Hon. George Smitherman: The honourable member wants to throw all of these things up but doesn't explain his own behaviour.

Over the last five or six years, funding for York University has increased by 52%. In the last election campaign, in the NDP's 2007 platform, they called for increasing post-secondary education funding by $200 million a year over four years, between 2007 and 2011. We look at the 2008-09 budget increase: In that single budget, our government increased expenditures for the university and college sector by $400 million.

The honourable member, in his history in this Legislature, does not have a good grasp of numbers—but even more so, we wonder why the honourable member yet again fails to address the question that is before us today. Will he act in a fashion which for once puts these students first and allows them the opportunity—50,000 strong—to get into the classroom, to resume learning—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary.

Mr. Howard Hampton: I say to the students and I say to the McGuinty government, we'd be happy to compare what we were prepared to invest in our universities with what you have failed to invest in our universities any time.

The minister wants to refer to numbers. Here are the numbers that really count: Ontario is 10th out of 10 provinces in terms of its per capita funding for universities. Ontario has the worst student-faculty ratio in Canada and is amongst the worst in North America. Ontario students experience the largest class sizes, often in the hundreds and the thousands, and now, Ontario students are going to have the highest tuition fees—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Thank you. Response.

Hon. George Smitherman: The honourable member yet again fails to answer the essential question: Why is today's NDP, which came into the Legislature on the first day's notice and voted back the TTC, unwilling to take action today to allow 50,000-plus students to get back in the classroom? He says he's happy to compare, but then he ducks the issue.

I raise the issue again with the honourable member. Your campaign platform in 2007 suggested a level of increase for the post-secondary sector that our recent budget eclipsed by two to one—dare to compare, Mr. Speaker. The NDP campaigned and said one thing; today they bring another message to the Legislature, and they refuse to answer the question. Why are you standing in the way of the opportunity for 50,000 deeply impacted students, and their families, to get back into the classroom? Why?

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Final supplementary.

Mr. Howard Hampton: It's not just the figures which tell the story, but here is York's Dean of Arts, Bob Drummond, who confirms that when professors retire, fewer faculty are being hired because of consistent provincial underfunding. So what happens? Professors retire, they're not replaced and the responsibility falls on these contract workers who do more work for less pay.

Again, I say to the McGuinty government: You're not only responsible for what has happened at York, but you're going to be responsible for what happens at other universities. When are you going to stop merely talking about proper funding for our universities and actually start to properly fund our universities in Ontario?

Hon. George Smitherman: That's another opportunity on the part of the leader of the New Democratic Party to talk about students, and yet he fails to do so.

We have approximately 100,000 more students in post-secondary education today, and a 52% increase in funding over those years to York University. Compare that to the record of the honourable member when he sat as a senior member in cabinet. They cut up-front grants to students. They cut student aid by 48%. They increased tuition by 50%.

Today, after more than 80 days of due process, the Legislature comes together. Within its powers, it has the opportunity to act on behalf of students. We repeat the most-asked question in Ontario today: Why does Howard Hampton and today's NDP stand in the way of getting these students at York University back into the classroom? We ask you: Why is it you're doing this to the students of Ontario?

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Peter Shurman: My question is for the Deputy Premier. It has been 12 weeks that the students have been held hostage by the CUPE strike amid government excuses. This government has had 12 weeks to get back-to-work legislation passed, to negotiate with the House leaders of opposition parties, but you chose to do nothing. Now, while students should be in class moving forward with their education, you are presiding over yet another deadlock that you created by playing political games—and you still are, with the NDP—because we are the only party that has put the interests of the students first.

Deputy Premier, we are prepared to sit here until midnight to get this bill passed. Are you?

Hon. George Smitherman: I want to say to the member, who is relatively new to the Legislature, that he has certainly managed to put himself front and centre. But, at the heart of it, we're putting the students front and centre. We think that the matter at hand here is to allow due process, the rule of law as established in the province of Ontario, the collective bargaining process to have all opportunities to resolve matters of labour dispute.

Interjections.

Hon. George Smitherman: On the one hand, they yell and they heckle that it's not long enough. On this side, they yell and they heckle that we waited too long.

But here in the Legislature today, the matter before us is the opportunity to use the rules of this place to get the students back into the classroom. The politics associated with that are clear. One party stands in the way of that. They are over here, and we encourage them to give way so that the students can get back to learning.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary.

Mr. Peter Shurman: Gee, I thought my question was about sitting until midnight. This isn't about me, and it's not about you. It's about them.

The Premier himself has said that he expected the NDP to oppose this bill. Knowing that, he should have introduced this legislation weeks ago. Because you've screwed up this thing so badly, the strike has now made international news, sending the message to all the world that the post-secondary education of Ontario is not a priority to this government. No wonder we're on the have-not list.

Is the Deputy Premier willing to commit in this Legislature that future labour disruptions of education will not be tolerated and that you will step in each and every time to put students first?

Hon. George Smitherman: It's only possible for a new member of that caucus to stand up in this Legislature and talk about post-secondary education and say that for our government it has not been a priority. The sorry record of your party is clear to all.

On the matter, very, very clearly—

Interjection.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): The member for Timmins—James Bay.

Hon. George Smitherman: The putative leader of the New Democratic Party should try and work himself onto the question list.

What I would like to say to the honourable member on the matter of sitting until midnight is that if the matter is brought forward for unanimous consent on whether we will sit to midnight, the Liberal Party will say yes, but I doubt that they will.

EMPLOYMENT SUPPORTS

Mr. Paul Miller: My question is to the Minister of Economic Development. Minister, the Legislature was recalled to strip away the collective bargaining rights of York workers. It should have been recalled to deal with job crisis and job losses in our province. Over the past five weeks, 60 jobs at Tembec in Spruce Falls; 200 at Ube Automotive, Sarnia; 40 jobs at Canwest; 61 at Lakeside Steel—the list goes on and on throughout our province, Minister. The list grows by the day, yet this government still, Minister, has no plan. When will we finally see a plan?

Hon. Michael Bryant: During the intersession between the end of last year and this year, there have been a number of announcements—I'm sure the member is aware of them—all of them increasing the investments that the government has made through both the Next Generation of Jobs Fund and the advanced manufacturing strategy.

The plan is for the government to jump in to jump-start businesses, to allow them to jump ahead of their global competitors. This government has done that over the past three weeks, increasing the numbers of investments to the tune of almost half a billion dollars that have been leveraged as a result of the McGuinty government's investments directly into businesses, businesses that will be the leaders in the future.

I know that the member would want to stand up and congratulate those businesses which have in fact put together a plan that has allowed them to jump ahead of their competitors in the months and years to come.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary.

Mr. Paul Miller: I'd like to thank some of the people, but unfortunately there are not a heck of a lot of jobs coming to Hamilton.

Ontarians are look for bold, aggressive action to sustain and create jobs, but the McGuinty government still has no plan. Here is what Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley had to say about the government's handling of the job crisis: "There is absolutely no leadership coming out of Queen's Park."

The NDP has a jobs plan. It includes new investments in infrastructure, a MUSH-sector energy retrofit, thousands more affordable housing units and an expanded Buy Ontario program. Our plan will create thousands of jobs while making important social investments. The McGuinty government is welcome to borrow from us. We're more than happy to work together and share. Why won't you do it now?

Hon. Michael Bryant: In fact, the investments in Hamilton in particular have been quite significant, not only with respect to the investments directly in the community through the $400,000 communities in transition fund, but the skills training centre, McMaster Innovation Park, investments through AMIS to Dofasco and so on.

But the question is, why won't this member do it now? I can't imagine a greater impediment to the growth of our economy than to stall the continued education of our finest, of our students. I think about the businesses around York University, the impact on the students, the impact on their careers, and the impact of all this through this particular strike.

If this member wants to stand up and talk about economic development, then he should stop standing in the way of resolving this issue as quickly as possible and putting the students first.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Mr. Pat Hoy: My question is for the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. Minister, I'm a strong supporter of adding more clean, green energy to our electricity supply mix. You will know that there are a number of renewable energy products in my riding. In fact, the Premier and I attended the opening of the Kruger Energy Port Alma wind power project in November of last year. This project is a 44-turbine wind farm that will produce enough clean electricity for 30,000 households.

On Friday you made another announcement about the government's commitment to renewable energy by releasing the names of the winning bidders in the Ontario Power Authority's renewable energy supply III procurement. Would the minister tell us how this latest announcement will support job creation and create greener energy?

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Minister of Energy and Infrastructure.

Hon. George Smitherman: At the heart of the RES III, the renewable program III announcements that I had the privilege of making on Friday, is the opportunity to green our economy, and at the same time our electricity system, to the benefit of employees and certainly to the benefit of Ontarians who breathe the air. Green energy ensures a sustainable future. Cleaner, greener power will clean up the air and shrink our carbon footprint.

The projects that have been completed in the member's riding have created more than a thousand direct jobs in many Ontario communities and added benefits by way of municipal tax revenues, the purchase of local products and services, and payments to land owners who have leased their properties to wind farms.

Recently, the OPA has awarded six contracts under the renewable energy supply directive. Once built, these six wind projects will generate enough green power for another 120,000 homes in the province of Ontario. These private sector investments total $1.3 billion in Ontario.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary?

Mr. Pat Hoy: I'm very excited that these three new wind farms will be located in my riding of Chatham—Kent—Essex. This latest announcement will see a new 101-megawatt Kruger Energy wind farm, a 99-megawatt Renewable Energy Systems wind farm and a 78-megawatt energy wind farm.

I have seen first-hand how wind projects help support our local economies, from jobs to build the wind farms to local farmers leasing their land. These benefits are essential to our rural communities. Would the minister tell the House how this latest announcement will benefit my local community and the many communities across this province?

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Minister?

Hon. George Smitherman: We see the opportunity for continued investments in green energy to deliver those important carbon benefits and to deliver very, very important economic benefits as well. The six new wind power projects, three in Chatham—Kent and one in each of Essex, Prince Edward county and Thunder Bay, total more than 492 megawatts, and as I said, enough power for about 120,000 homes.

On the job front, 716 jobs will be created in Chatham—Kent and Essex, 308 jobs expected in northwestern Ontario and 108 jobs related to this in southeastern Ontario. In addition, about $3 million a year in annual lease payments will be paid to land owners who will host turbines. I met several of those land owners on Friday who are very, very enthusiastic. Municipalities will benefit from at least an additional $1 million in property tax assessments. Our government is going to continue to vigorously look for opportunities to apply even more green energy going forward.

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

Mrs. Joyce Savoline: These are uncertain economic times, Minister, for the people of Ontario, and families are unsure of what the future holds. Their uncertainty is compounded by the lack of leadership, the inaction and the ineptitude of the McGuinty government on so many fronts: the economy, the York strike, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario negotiations, and I could go on and on. This government has a track record of ignoring uncomfortable situations that lead to conflict. You ignored our call to end the York strike weeks ago.

Minister, can you assure the parents of public elementary students across Ontario that their children will not have to suffer the same interruption that the York students have?

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Minister of Education?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Contrary to what the member opposite has said, I'm very proud of this government's record in its relationship with employee groups. To compare with the party opposite's 26 million days of school lost under their regime—there is no comparison. In fact, as of this month there are 394 agreements that are covered by provincial agreements in my sector, in elementary and secondary. Of those 394, 365 agreements have been signed. They are finalized. We have been successful.

I understand that there are some questions about the Elementary Teachers' Federation and their relationship with their boards. There is a process that has to unfold, but because of our positive working relationship with employee groups, I am confident that we will get there.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary?

Mrs. Joyce Savoline: Well, the words are fine, but I think the action just isn't there. You and your Premier have promised Ontario families that they will have stability in the education system. Minister, the students of York are unfortunately at your government's mercy and now the elementary students are at risk too. Will you break with your government's pattern of acting too late or will you take action on the ETFO negotiation and call someone in to bang heads together now?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I began working a year ago with the federations and with the boards to come to agreements, which is why of the 23 potential provincial agreements, we have 22 in place. It is laughable that the member opposite is accusing us of not being proactive, of not taking pre-emptive action to make sure that stability is in place for our students. We have five years of labour peace and stability in this province in our elementary and secondary schools. I'm confident that will continue.

The only question in the Legislature today is why the third party will not remove the barrier to get York students back to school.

NURSES

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. There are already too few workers in our hospitals and more are needed, but the government simply doesn't deliver. Last week, the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care admitted that this government's promise to hire 9,000 more nurses has fallen off the agenda for another three or four years. Why did the McGuinty government break its promise to voters by delaying the hiring of 9,000 nurses until 2012 or 2013, well after the next election?

Hon. David Caplan: I don't think this is very much news, because the Minister of Finance, as a result of the economic statement back last fall, rose and shared with this House, and indeed with Ontarians, the fact that we would be in a position of having to lengthen out.

We are still very committed to hiring 9,000 nurses. In fact, I can inform the member today that Ontario has hired over 10,000 nurses into hospitals, into communities and long-term care to help right across the province. It's that kind of effort that is in stark contrast to my friends opposite. The record of the New Democratic Party and Mr. Hampton when he was in government: less nurses. According to the College of Nurses, the number of registered nurses in Ontario fell by 3,000 during the five years that the New Democratic Party was in—

Interjection.

Hon. David Caplan: In fact, there was a shift from full-time to casual. The percentage of nurses working full time fell 3%—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Thank you. Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: This minister should know that empty commitments don't provide health care for people in Ontario. Ontarians across this province see a crisis in our hospitals. Last week in Hamilton, 250 hospital workers were laid off. Niagara, London, Kitchener, Waterloo and others are bracing for similar staff cuts. Pat MacDonald, president of the Ontario Nurses' Association local at Hamilton Health Sciences, said it's an accident waiting to happen.

What is this government's excuse for ignoring the understaffing problems in Ontario's hospitals?

Hon. David Caplan: In fact, as I've mentioned, we've seen an increase in the number of nurses—10,000 in the province of Ontario to date—and we're going to continue with that.

But I would note that some of the students who are not in classes because of the NDP are nursing students. If the member opposite truly cared about getting these people back into practice, helping them, this member in particular would ensure that we had quick passage so that those students could be back to work.

What does this member have against nurses? What do the members of her caucus have against them? In fact, in the case of Hamilton Health Sciences, there was a $117-million increase in base funding, over 23%. That's in addition to $60 million for the aging-at-home strategy, which is seeing that nurses, personal support workers and registered practical nurses all have an opportunity to practise where previously they did not. The member opposite knows this full well. In fact, she has some explaining to do.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

Ms. Sophia Aggelonitis: My question is to the Minister of Research and Innovation. Minister, in Hamilton—a great community—a fast-growing tech company named C2C Link is quickly establishing itself in the global marketplace. C2C Link is a McMaster University start-up making optical crystal chips that convert laser light from one colour to another. This company's technology can be used in laser displays, biomedical instrumentation, sensing and telecommunications. This is just one example of the many innovative companies and fresh thinking which comes from Hamilton, Ontario.

Could the minister please explain what the Ministry of Research and Innovation is doing to help start-ups such as C2C Link bring their world-leading innovations to market?

Hon. John Wilkinson: I want to thank my good friend from Hamilton Mountain for the question. I know how very proud she is of the innovation that is happening in the Hamilton area. I had the privilege of being with the Premier and my good colleague Minister Best at Centennial College earlier this month to announce funding for eight companies under the investment accelerator fund. You'll recall that we created the Ideas to Market strategy, some $160 million, and of that, $29 million went to IAF. There are eight brilliant companies.

I want to talk about C2C Link. They have made a globally significant breakthrough when it comes to science, and that happened at McMaster University. This young company is already developing prototypes for, first, a whole new brand—a green, efficient television screen, a new monitor that uses laser light. But beyond that, it has the potential to drive something called photonic computers that would accelerate our computers to the speed of light. That is happening in Hamilton. So there are great opportunities in the city of Hamilton, and at McMaster, where the students were at school today.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary?

Ms. Sophia Aggelonitis: Hamilton and Ontario have the people, they have the talent and they have the commitment to continue to create leaders in research and innovation like C2C Link. It is clear that this type of investment is fundamental to helping young and innovative companies get off the ground. I know that companies like C2C Link recognize our commitment to their success. As the president of C2C Link stated, "The Ontario government is well-known for its support of high-tech companies. Thanks to this investment from the Ontario government, C2C will be able to develop our prototype, attract customers and create new jobs."

Could the minister outline other innovative companies where the innovation accelerator fund is helping to create Ontario's industries and jobs of the future?

Hon. John Wilkinson: You know, on this side of the House, our colleagues believe that great jobs come from great ideas.

Interjection.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, come to order.

Hon. John Wilkinson: It is ensuring that we are fostering those great ideas that is the best way in the 21st century to drive the creation of new jobs. So it's important for us to make those investments in these great new start-up companies. C2C Link is just one of the companies that received funding.

I would just like to share with the House some of those companies. One of them is REGEN Energy. I want to thank my friend Dr. Qaadri for bringing this company to our attention. REGEN is at the cutting edge of new green technology that allows us to reduce energy demand. It's a wonderful new marriage of hardware and software with a tremendous global market.

Every one of these companies has to be able to show us that they have a $20-million global market opportunity and that they're committed to creating jobs right here in Ontario. That's why we're funding C2C—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Thank you.

MANUFACTURING JOBS

Mr. Tim Hudak: A question to the Minister of Economic Development. Minister, since the House rose on December 11, at least another 1,800 well-paying manufacturing jobs have left our province: Navistar in Chatham, 679 jobs; FNX nickel in Sudbury, 307 jobs lost; and Wescast Industries in Wingham, 140 jobs lost, just to name a few. Your high taxes, runaway spending and high hydro rates are chasing over 200,000 well-paying manufacturing jobs out of our province.

Minister, given your dual capacity as the Minister of Economic Development and as House leader, will you support continuing this legislation with a focus on the economy?

Hon. Michael Bryant: I do want to say to the member that I appreciate the attention that he has put with respect to the investments that the government has made and the manufacturing investment strategy. The strategy, of course, is to provide assistance either by way of loans or grants to leverage, in the case of the Next Generation of Jobs Fund, greater investments, which in turn produces jobs and more production from the companies and revenue for the taxpayer.

In particular, he cites one job number. I would say that in this program that has been in existence for less than a year, it has itself generated almost 2,000 new jobs as a result of these investments. In fact, in exchange for the $67 million that has been invested by the province, it has leveraged almost half a billion dollars in investments.

This is a strategy of jump-starting the companies to allow them to jump ahead in the global economy, and we'll continue to do that.

I look forward to his—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary?

Mr. Tim Hudak: Minister, Ontario is being lambasted with increasingly unfortunate economic news of layoffs—even the 1,800 jobs since this session ended back in December. Minister, we'll deal with the York bill, and then we have the opportunity to continue this session with a focus on the economy.

In light of these job losses, in light of Ontario being dead last in Confederation in growth, Dalton McGuinty is absolutely paralyzed by the economic situation. Premier Campbell has acted to reduce business taxes. Premier Wall in Saskatchewan has reduced taxes on income, as well. In the UK, they brought forward a loan program to help out small businesses. Dalton McGuinty has done nothing.

Minister, you have the opportunity to extend this session of the Legislature and bring forward a new plan, because your tax-and-spend and red tape policies have brought Ontario's economy to its knees.

Hon. Michael Bryant: Well, hardly. In fact, even before this crisis unfolded, particularly in the fall, after Lehman Brothers went down, this government already had in place a stimulus package, a robust investment package, and in fact was ahead of the curve in terms of the investments that we were making. We had the programs already in place that many governments are contemplating now. That's why in the member's own region there was a $10-million investment, through the advanced manufacturing investment strategy loan, to Stanpac. I've seen the member's smiling face at that announcement.

It was a great investment at a great company that leveraged more investment and more jobs. There have been investments in the Fort Erie Economic Development and Tourism Corp.; also to the region of Niagara, the Niagara Economic Development Corp.

Contrary to what the member said, the McGuinty government has been ahead of the curve, making those investments, jumping in in order to allow—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Thank you.

FOREST INDUSTRY

Mr. Gilles Bisson: My question is to the Deputy Premier, and it's a pretty simple one: Can you tell me if your government has been approached by AbitibiBowater about the sale of their power dams or any amendments to their water lease agreements?

Hon. George Smitherman: I do want to say to the honourable member that the Minister of Natural Resources has been dealing directly with the company on those matters. I have been in conversation, as have my deputy minister and other leading officials in the government of Ontario, with AbitibiBowater on a number of other matters, including ones related to electricity overall and electricity pricing.

The government takes the approach that the forestry sector is an essential one. It's obviously in a really bad spot on a worldwide basis. We're working very vigorously with a number of programs designed to enhance the efficiency of Ontario-based operations and we're going to continue to do so with as much energy as is necessary to sustain, as much as possible, that sector here in the province of Ontario.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: I'd like to thank the minister for the answer to that question. He has confirmed in fact that AbitibiBowater has contacted the government. Could you then tell me why the Minister of Natural Resources is denying that's the fact and has said to people in northern Ontario that she has not been contacted and neither has her government?

Hon. George Smitherman: The honourable member will want to read back the answer that I gave. I can speak much more precisely about the things that I was involved in related to AbitibiBowater on issues of energy pricing.

Abitibi sent us a letter very recently asking us to implement a program called Demand Response 2. Demand Response 2 is a mechanism by which, if Abitibi shifts its production and therefore its electricity use to lower-demand periods of time, a substantial reduction in the energy price overall can be felt. We've responded by implementing that program, and we've indicated to the company that we will continue to work with them, point by point by point, to do all that we can to make their operations here in the province of Ontario more efficient to sustain that labour force, something that I know all members in the Legislature agree is very, very important.

EDUCATION FUNDING

Mr. Dave Levac: My question is for the Minister of Education.

Parents in my riding understand the value of reading, especially starting at a young age. As a former educator, I know from first-hand experience that in order for students to do well in school, those students need a strong foundation in reading and writing.

My constituents know that in order for students to develop a love of reading and to become successful in school, they need preschool support and they must have access to quality books.

Minister, can you tell us, please, what you are doing to ensure that there are appropriate resources in our elementary school libraries, which are underbooked at this time?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I'd like to thank the member for Brant for his question, but also for his years of service to education in this province.

Last week we confirmed a $15-million investment for library books in Ontario's publicly funded elementary schools, and for the first time ever we're using a bulk purchasing of library books. By doing that, we're securing significant discounts in price, ranging from 5% to 50%, which is very significant. What it means is that we're going to be able to make a double investment: We're going to be able to buy more books and to support Ontario's book vendors, which is absolutely essential to stimulating that part of the economy. This investment will provide a minimum of $1,500 for every elementary school in the province, with a typical school of 300 students receiving over $3,000.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Response?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Through this initiative—what it means is that Ontario's elementary schools will have 750,000 books that will inspire and encourage kids to read for years to come—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Thank you. Supplementary?

Mr. Dave Levac: That amount of money quoted will go a long way in an elementary school—witness the underbooking that I was talking about—and I know that having well-stocked libraries is important to student access, but it's only one part of the equation. I know that parental involvement also plays an even larger role in developing young minds. I note that tomorrow is Family Literacy Day and I know that events are being set up to mark this event all over the province and especially in my riding. Unfortunately, I missed the Sunday kick-off.

Established by the ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation, Family Literacy Day promotes the importance of reading and learning together as a family. In Brant we have the Family Literacy Committee, the public libraries, Kids Can Fly, Launch Pads, early years centres and other school boards working as partners to support reading and learning together. In keeping with this important event tomorrow, Minister, can you share with us what parents and guardians can do to instill the love of reading with their children?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Without a doubt, the most important thing that parents, guardians and family members can do is to read with the children in their lives. To spend time reading, whether it's in the morning or before bed, whenever you have that opportunity, to read with the children in your life is the most important thing you can do. What we're trying to do as a government is to put in place opportunities for families to connect with schools.

The parenting and family literacy centres that we've set up—123 across the province—mean that families can come into the school, can have an opportunity to work with professionals in the school but can have opportunities to borrow resources, can help little kids, before they're ready for school, to start to learn the routines of school—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Response?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: —start to learn the value of reading. That means that families then take that knowledge home.

So we encourage, as a government—I hope all members will take

part in family literacy activities and that, in every community, parents—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Thank you. New question? The member for Ottawa—Orléans—no. Nepean—Carleton.

PUBLIC TRANSIT

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Mr. McNeely's happy I'm not in Ottawa—Orléans, I'm sure.

My question is to the Deputy Premier. Is the Premier going to respond to my request yesterday to help those who are suffering as a result of the 48-day-old OC Transpo strike by offering one-time emergency social service funding to the city of Ottawa so they can expand or sustain existing provincial programs as a result of the humanitarian consequences of this strike?

Hon. George Smitherman: To the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Hon. Jim Watson: I thank the honourable member for her question and her concern. There is no question in my mind or, I believe, in her mind, that the strike is hurting an awful lot of people—the entire city—whether you're a young person, a student, family members, workers, the disabled, the most vulnerable in our community. The local social services agencies in Ottawa do have the authority to provide emergency assistance to those individuals who are facing an extreme financial crisis as a result of this prolonged bus strike.

We are providing, as a province, 80% of the funding for social services, and we hope that those individuals who do need that help are approaching the local social services office in the city of Ottawa to seek that financial assistance. So I thank the member for the question, and the province is there as a result of paying 80% of the costs.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Unfortunately, it's not enough right now. The city of Ottawa has had to invest over $700,000 of its budget as a result of this strike.

Interjections.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I understand that the Liberals would like to heckle me. But the member from next door to my riding understands that we're getting people from ODSP, we're getting people from Ontario Works and we're getting people who are the working poor, the poorest of the poor in our city who are being affected by this strike—and I hear them. They want to blame the federal government; they want to blame the municipal government. But this isn't about blame; it's not about jurisdiction.

It's about helping people who are well within our mandate as provincial legislators to look after the existing provincial programs that we have to offer. So I'm asking again: Will the Premier call the mayor of Ottawa today and offer one-time emergency funding for the rising cost of social services as a result of this strike?

Hon. Jim Watson: The fact of the matter is that this matter, if it's going to be resolved by legislation, has to be done at the federal level. It's the federal government that has that responsibility. I would encourage all members of this House to contact the federal transport minister, Mr. Baird, and encourage Mr. Baird and the labour minister, Rona Ambrose, to take the appropriate action.

I'd also call on the two parties, the ATU and the city of Ottawa, who I understand are back in informal negotiations, to continue negotiating until you get a deal, because this strike is hurting the retail sector; it's hurting the most vulnerable; it's hurting far too many people. The city claims that it is saving $3 million a week on this strike. So I'd encourage them, if they need additional funds for social assistance, to take it from those savings. We also provided $77 million in one-time funding to the city of Ottawa. They're more than able to take that—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Thank you.

SKILLS TRAINING

Mr. Michael Prue: My question is to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. Ten months after its launch, it's time to admit that the government's Second Career retraining program has failed. The proof is that after spending more than $5 million in advertising and retooling costs, the government has only 4,000 registrants in the entire program. As the employment rate continues to skyrocket under the McGuinty government, this amounts to a disaster. Will the minister stand here today and finally come clean and admit what Ontarians from one end of this province already know, that the Second Career program is an abysmal failure?

Hon. John Milloy: I will do no such thing. The fact of the matter is, in last March's budget we announced a new program to add to the suite of programs available for Second Career. We announced 20,000 spots over three years. We are six months into the program and we already have 4,000 people who have come forward to it. I know that the honourable member would in no way want to leave the impression that Second Career is the only program available for laid-off workers, so let me share some statistics with him.

Let's talk about short-term training: Last year 12,000 people enrolled for short-term training. Let's talk about the rapid re-employment and training service: 53,000 workers were assisted last year. Let's talk about the 1,203 job creation partnerships that were launched in the last year.

Through Employment Ontario we have a variety of services that are available to laid-off workers. Second Career is one—an important one, but only one of many.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Supplementary.

Mr. Michael Prue: My question was about Second Career, and I'd like to ask about it again. The heart of the problem with Second Career is that there is simply too much red tape. After filling out endless forms and going to countless meetings, the ministry is denying approval to many applicants because they don't have enough employers testifying that they won't be hired in their former positions.

Why does the minister refuse to admit that Second Career is badly designed and that it's the wrong program at the wrong time? Will this government admit that it has no comprehensive economic plan and no idea how to deal with the devastation facing Ontario's economy and those who find themselves unemployed?

Hon. John Milloy: As I said, we committed to 20,000 long-term training programs over three years, and we are on track to meet that. I have continually made the commitment that as the program moves forward, if we find obstacles, we will remove them, and we are constantly reviewing the program. But this program is about individuals, not statistics. Let me share some stories with the honourable member.

Veronica is 32 years old and was laid off from her job as an office administrator at a software developing company. The application process for Second Career confirmed that there were good prospects in her chosen field as a career counsellor. She started work at George Brown in the career, work and counselling program. Let me quote what Veronica said: "Without the financial support, I would not have been able to go back to school. Through the application process, I learned about my own strengths and interests, and now know exactly what I want to do."

Veronica is not a failure, and neither are the 3,999 other people who have come forward for this program—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Thank you.

HOSPITAL SERVICES

Mr. Yasir Naqvi: My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Minister, I know that the McGuinty government has made tremendous progress in reducing wait times across the province. However, I continue to hear from my constituents in Ottawa Centre about wait times in our nation's capital. My constituents were disappointed to learn back in June that Dr.

Alan Hudson, the man charged with reducing wait times for essential health services in Ontario, told the Champlain Local Health Integration Network that wait times in the Ottawa area were "the worst ... in the province." He said that while wait times had decreased in other areas of the province, the Champlain LHIN had failed to keep up. Dr. Hudson told the LHIN, "You need to sort it out quite quickly."

Since it has been over seven months since Dr. Hudson made this statement, my constituents in Ottawa would like to know, Minister: Has the LHIN made any improvements? Are Ottawa residents seeing shorter wait times for key surgeries?

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Minister of Health and Long-Term care.

Hon. David Caplan: I'd like to thank the member for Ottawa Centre for the question and for his advocacy on behalf of Ontario patients. I'm pleased to tell him that, since June, the Champlain LHIN and area hospitals have steadily lowered wait times for cataract surgery, cancer surgery and joint replacement. In some cases, the improvements are very dramatic. Since June, 90% of patients in the Champlain LHIN have seen hip surgery wait times drop by 19%. That's a reduction of 66 days.

Cancer surgery wait times are down by more than 16%; wait times for cataract surgery have declined by 44 days, or nearly 22%,;and the waiting period for knee surgery has dropped by 85 days, more than 24%—all this in just over six months.

Hon. David Caplan: I'm pleased to tell the House that the Ottawa area wait times are moving closer to the provincial average. I want to thank the Champlain LHIN and local hospitals for their hard work and I want to encourage them to continue lowering wait times in the—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Thank you, Minister.

Deferred votes: There are none.

This House will recess until 1 of the clock.

The House recessed from 1133 to 1300.

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Ted Arnott: Yesterday, Sunday afternoon, I was in this House to vote for Bill 145,

An Act to resolve labour disputes between York University and Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 3903. I was in this House to support immediate passage of this legislation, to stand with the many hundreds of students from Wellington—Halton Hills enrolled at York University. Their education has been interrupted and their futures put on hold because of a strike that has gone on for 80 days.

It was disappointing that the New Democrats refused to give their consent for swift passage of Bill 145—disappointing, but not entirely surprising, because they want to be seen as supporting their union constituency and because they're in the midst of a leadership contest. But let's remember who is ultimately accountable for this mess: It is this do-nothing government, which waited far too long to step in to allow the students back into their labs and lecture halls.

It is characteristic of this government. Too often, this government has ignored real problems, hoping they would simply go away. This lack of effective and principled leadership has made Ontarians worse off. They should have listened to the MPP for Thornhill, the MPP for Simcoe—Grey, the rest of the PC caucus—to all of us who called before Christmas for legislation to put an end to this strike.

Students want to be learning. It's a shame that this government still hasn't learned.

PUBLIC TRANSIT

Mr. Phil McNeely: We're now in the 47th day of the transit strike in the city of Ottawa. The continuation of this dispute and the resulting disruption for public transit users and commuters is causing serious concerns in my community. E-mails, phone calls and letters from my constituents keep pouring in every day, each of them asking for an end to the transit strike so they can live their lives without these unnecessary burdens and disruptions. Ottawa's most vulnerable residents cannot get to work and no longer have access to their doctors, grocers, churches or even schools, colleges and universities.

Storefront businesses and malls have suffered devastating losses during the Christmas period.

Ottawa—Orléans has one of the highest public transit riderships of all ridings in the city of Ottawa. This strike is causing severe congestion on our roads in my community and across the entire city. A drive from my riding to the train station takes 15 minutes, but with the strike it now takes over an hour. Car accidents have drastically increased.

Residents across Ottawa are suffering in a cold winter, and this is unacceptable. The economic hardships and damages this strike is causing have gone on too long. I call on the Amalgamated Transit Union and the city of Ottawa to put their differences aside and come together for the betterment of all residents of Ottawa, and particularly for those who have put their faith in public transportation for so long.

Our city is in a state of urgency, and it's high time the federal government did more to end it. Transportation Minister John Baird should act. I implore them to see the severity of the situation and intervene on behalf of the tens of thousands of public transit users in the city to end this dispute.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Jim Wilson: For 80 long days, this Liberal government and the self-styled education Premier refused to do anything to bring an end to the strike at Canada's third-largest university, resulting in the longest university strike in Canadian history. Because of the inaction of this government, the education of 50,000 York University students and their school year were put under threat of being entirely wiped out because of the education Premier's refusal to step in and help out until the 11th hour.

These students have lived in fear as they've watched their financial resources dwindle and employment opportunities disappear, while education and graduation plans teetered on the brink of destruction. Students are suffering because the Liberals refused to put an end to the strike when the PC caucus was calling for that back in November. Now, after a 12-week-long strike, all that this government has to offer students is a promise of additional OSAP loans, a promise of more student debt.

Students are facing an extra month of rent, less time for summer jobs and less instructional time for the tuition that they paid for. John Tory and the Progressive Conservative Party believe that the students of York University should be supported by their government through some form of financial compensation; it's only fair. It's high time that the McGuinty Liberals find a real solution to help students who've been adversely affected by the incompetence of their government and the horrible inaction of their government.

CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

Mr. Peter Tabuns: As everyone in this House knows, the York University dispute has come to a head and we'll be debating that this afternoon, but out there another issue is brewing. Our correctional facilities have been badly overcrowded for a generation—an issue that has never been tackled successfully. The Auditor General recognized this in his last and previous reports. Correctional officers and other occupations in jails are exposed to all manner of inmate sickness and already have high-stress jobs; they get sick. The government has the opportunity now to negotiate a reasonable resolve to this at the bargaining table in a way that effectively addresses the problem of absenteeism.

OPSEU bargaining teams have reached an unprecedented agreement with the government for 45,000 public employees at the central OPS table. The government should be willing to use that reserve of goodwill to achieve a win-win with the corrections bargaining unit by dropping its intransigence on this issue. It's time to obtain a fair deal with those who help keep our community safe and not put them through the agony of what this government has done to York University.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mrs. Laura Albanese: I would like to share with this House the sentiments of numerous students, their families and local residents of the riding of York South—Weston who have called, e-mailed, written and spoken to me about the record-breaking strike at York University.

After more than 80 days, the students fear that their academic year will be in jeopardy. Many of them count on summer jobs to sustain their university expenses and are worried about how, if the strike is allowed to continue, this will affect their plans for the summer and their future in general. Students who are in their final year worry about whether they will be able to apply for law school or other postgraduate programs. Many of their families are enduring sacrifices to help their children achieve a post-secondary education by contributing to the expenses. These parents have expressed to me vivid frustration with the situation.

I have the utmost respect for workers' rights, rights that so many people in this country have fought so hard to gain. The bargaining process has been respected, but the two sides have reached a deadlock. It is time for all parties in this Legislature to support this legislation so we can get York students back into class.

The future of about 50,000 students is at stake. In the context of the difficult economic times we are facing, their chances to effectively compete in the workforce will be compromised and consequently reduced. It is the right time to intervene.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: I rise in the House today to talk about the York University strike. I received a letter from a constituent who is a parent of a first-year student at York University. She writes: "I am a working-class mother of a first-year student who goes to York University.... My daughter has struggled to even get used to being away from home and settle in there, and now is going to lose her semester, and" maybe "even her year, with no offer of any funds back to the students or parents. We work very hard for these dollars to send our children to post-secondary education facilities."

She's right: Parents and students work hard to afford post-secondary education. The McGuinty government had the opportunity months ago to end the strike and get students back to class. Not only did they deprive the students of an education but they may have even forced students and parents to pay for the government's lack of action.

Premier McGuinty said that the students who were financially disadvantaged by the strike would have their OSAP extended to help pay additional living and tuition costs, but some students do not qualify for OSAP in the first place, and so their parents scrape by to help pay tuition, and they simply cannot afford to dish out any more. Students who do qualify for OSAP would have to pay even more for their education, not to mention the additional interest they will incur through absolutely no fault of their own.

By delaying bringing an end to this strike, the McGuinty government has robbed hard-working Ontarians. This self-proclaimed education Premier certainly isn't living up to the image he has painted for himself.

PETITIONS

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Jim Wilson: "To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas the strike by CUPE Local 3903 at York University has resulted in classes being cancelled, affecting more than 50,000 students across the greater Toronto area; and

"Whereas the members of CUPE Local 3903 show an unwillingness to bargain in good faith and bring an end to this strike; and

"Whereas York University has offered to resolve this labour dispute through binding arbitration;

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

"Enact back-to-work legislation requiring the termination of any strike or lockout action and requiring this labour dispute to be resolved through binding arbitration."

That was sent to me by students from York University. Obviously, it's a bit old, but still relevant.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Gilles Bisson: I have a petition here addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

"Whereas enacting back-to-work legislation for CUPE 3903 sets a devastating precedent for the hard-won right to collectively bargain across this and other sectors; and

"Whereas workers have a right to collectively bargain and the employer has the duty to come to the table and negotiate in good faith;

"We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to vote against back-to-work legislation and send a strong signal of this Legislature's commitment to the collective bargaining process and to reject back-to-work legislation as a bargaining strategy employed by the administration at York University."

It's signed by some number of people who are affected by this particular issue.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Reza Moridi: A petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas negotiations to end the strike between York University and CUPE 3903 have reached a deadlock; and

"Whereas the strike has kept almost 50,000 students out of class for weeks; and

"Whereas the NDP is blocking attempts by the government to get the students back in class and learning again; and

"Whereas the NDP's actions are harming the education of York University students and are a slap in the face to parents and students; and

"Whereas students and parents are concerned that the NDP's continuing opposition to resolving the strike could threaten the academic year for York University students;

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

"That the Ontario New Democratic Party put students and education ahead of ideology and politics, immediately stop their attempts to prolong the York University strike, and support legislation to end the strike."

I sign this petition and pass it over.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Ms. Andrea Horwath: The petition is to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and it reads as follows:

"Whereas enacting back-to-work legislation for CUPE 3903 sets a devastating precedent for the hard-won right to collectively bargain across this and other sectors; and

"Whereas workers have a right to collectively bargain and the employer has the duty to come to the table and negotiate in good faith;

I agree with this and sign my name to it and send it to the table by way of Shae.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Kuldip Kular: This petition is to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

"Whereas negotiations to end the strike between York University and CUPE 3903 have reached a deadlock; and

"Whereas the strike has kept almost 50,000 students out of class for weeks; and

"Whereas the NDP is blocking attempts by the government to get students back in class and learning again; and

"Whereas the NDP's actions are harming the education of York University students and are a slap in the face to parents and students; and

"Whereas students and parents are concerned that the NDP's continuing opposition to resolving the strike will threaten the academic year for York University students;

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

"That the Ontario New Democratic Party put students and education ahead of ideology and politics, immediately stop their attempts to prolong the York University strike and support legislation to end the strike."

I agree with the petitioners, so I put my signature on it as well.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Paul Miller: "To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas enacting back-to-work legislation for CUPE 3903 sets a devastating precedent for the hard-won right of collective bargaining across this and other sectors" in our province; and

"Whereas workers have a right to collectively bargain and the employer has the duty to come to the table and negotiate in good faith;

I agree with this and sign my name to it, and Shae will bring it up.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Jeff Leal: I'm very pleased to present a petition today on behalf of Dianne Slater, who lives in beautiful Blenheim, Ontario, and Peterborough, the home of Fleming College and Trent University.

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas negotiations to end the strike between York University and CUPE 3903 have reached a deadlock; and

"Whereas the strike has kept almost 50,000 students out of class for weeks; and

"Whereas the NDP is blocking attempts by the government to get students back in class and learning again; and

"Whereas the NDP's actions are harming the education of York University students and are a slap in the face to" both "parents and students; and

"Whereas students and parents are concerned the NDP's continued opposition to resolving the strike could threaten the academic year for York University students;

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

I agree with this petition and will happily affix my signature to it.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Ms. Sophia Aggelonitis: I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

"Whereas negotiations to end the strike between York University and CUPE 3903 have reached a deadlock; and

"Whereas the strike has kept almost 50,000 students out of class for weeks; and

"Whereas the NDP is blocking attempts by the government to get students back in class and learning again; and

"Whereas the NDP's actions are harming the education of York University students and are a slap in the face to parents and students; and

"Whereas students and parents are concerned the NDP's continuing opposition to resolving the strike could threaten the academic year for York University students;

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

I agree and sign my signature.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Petitions? The member for—

Mr. David Zimmer: Willowdale.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Willowdale.

Interjection.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): The member for Willowdale was up, and I was about to recognize him, before the member for Toronto—Danforth got up, but I'll get back to him.

The member for Willowdale, please.

Interjections.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Go right ahead with your petition, please.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. David Zimmer: I am pleased to present the following petition.

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas negotiations to end the strike between York University and CUPE 3903 have reached a deadlock; and

"Whereas the strike has kept almost 50,000 students out of class for weeks; and

"Whereas the NDP is blocking attempts by the government to get students back into class and learning again; and

"Whereas the NDP's actions are harming the education of York University students and are a slap in the face to parents and students; and

"Whereas students and parents are concerned the NDP's continuing opposition to resolving the strike could threaten the academic year for York University students;

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

I'm happy to affix my signature to this.

TUITION

Mr. Jim Wilson: To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas undergraduate tuition fees in Ontario have increased by 195% since 1990 and are the third-highest in all of the provinces in Canada; and

"Whereas average student debt in Ontario has skyrocketed by 250% in the last 15 years to over $25,000 for four years of study; and

"Whereas international students pay three to four times more for the same education, and domestic students in professional programs such as law or medicine pay as much tuition as $20,000 per year; and

"Whereas 70% of new jobs require post-secondary education, and fees reduce the opportunity for many low- and middle-income families while magnifying barriers for aboriginal, rural, racialized and other marginalized students; and

"Whereas Ontario currently provides the lowest per capita funding for post-secondary education in Canada, while many countries fully fund higher education and charge little or no fees for college and university; and

"Whereas public opinion polls show that nearly three quarters of Ontarians think the government's Reaching Higher framework for tuition fee increases of 20% to 36% over four years is unfair;

"Therefore, we, the undersigned, support the Canadian Federation of Students' call to immediately drop tuition fees to 2004 levels"—the Mike Harris years—"and petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to introduce a new framework that:

(1) Reduces tuition and ancillary fees annually for students.

(2) Converts a portion of every student loan into a grant.

(3) Increases per student funding above the national average."

I agree with that petition. I will sign it, and I thank the Canadian Federation of Students.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Peter Tabuns: "To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas enacting back-to-work legislation for CUPE 3903 sets a devastating precedent for the hard-won right to collectively bargain across this and other sectors; and

"Whereas workers have a right to collectively bargain and the employer has the duty to come to the table and negotiate in good faith;

I affix my signature thereto.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Petitions? The member for Timmins—James Bay.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Little ol' me got recognized? Oh, wow; nobody got up. That's cool, I gotta say.

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition here—

Interjections.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: No, no. I was surprised nobody else got up. That was the only point. I need my glasses. You caught me totally by surprise.

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas enacting back-to-work legislation for CUPE 3903 sets a devastating precedent for the hard-won right to collectively bargain across this and other sectors; and

"Whereas workers have a right to collectively bargain and the employer has the duty to come to the table and negotiate in good faith;

"We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario"—that's us—"to vote against back-to-work legislation and send a strong signal of this Legislature's commitment to the collective bargaining process and to reject back-to-work legislation as a bargaining strategy employed by the administration at York University."

I sign that petition.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Dave Levac: This is to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

"Whereas negotiations to end the strike between York University and CUPE 3903 have reached a deadlock; and

"Whereas the strike has kept almost 50,000 students out of class for weeks; and

"Whereas the NDP is blocking attempts by the government to get students back in class and learning again; and

"Whereas the NDP's actions are harming the education of York University students and are a slap in the face to parents and students; and

"Whereas students and parents are concerned the NDP's continuing opposition to resolving the strike could threaten the academic year for York University students;

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

"That the Ontario New Democratic Party put students and education ahead of ideology and politics, immediately stop their attempts to prolong the ... strike and support legislation to end the strike."

I sign this petition and hand it to our usher William.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Michael Prue: I have a petition that reads as follows:

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas enacting back-to-work legislation for CUPE 3903 sets a devastating precedent for the hard-won right to collectively bargain across this and other sectors; and

"Whereas workers have a right to collectively bargain and the employer has the duty to come to the table and negotiate in good faith;

"We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to vote against the back-to-work legislation and send a strong signal of this Legislature's commitment to the collective bargaining process and to reject back-to-work legislation as a bargaining strategy employed by the administration at York University."

I'm in agreement and would sign my name thereto.

UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTE

Mr. Dave Levac: I have a petition from another part of the province which goes as such:

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas negotiations to end the strike between York University and CUPE 3903 have reached a deadlock; and

"Whereas the strike has kept almost 50,000 students out of class for weeks; and

"Whereas the NDP is blocking attempts by the government to get students back to class and learning again; and

"Whereas the NDP's actions are harming the education of York University students and are a slap in the face to parents and" those "students; and

"Whereas students and parents are concerned the NDP's continuing opposition to resolving the strike could threaten the academic year for York University students;

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

"That the Ontario New Democratic Party put students and education ahead of" their "ideology and politics, immediately stop their attempts to prolong the York University strike and support legislation to end the strike."

I sign this petition and hand it again to William, our usher.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): I would remind members to stay alert in here because the Chair doesn't know who the next person is who might rise. The rule, of course, in petitions is rotation necessarily, but not necessarily rotation.

Orders of the day.

ORDER OF BUSINESS

Hon. Michael Bryant: I have a couple of points of order.

I seek unanimous consent for motions for second and third readings of Bill 145 to be put immediately in succession and to be considered this afternoon and voted upon without amendment and without deferral of either vote.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): You're seeking unanimous consent, and I heard a no.

HOUSE BUSINESS

Hon. Michael Bryant: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker: I seek unanimous consent for the House to meet past 6 p.m. today to as late as midnight, if required, for the purpose of considering Bill 145.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Do we have consent? I hear a no.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

YORK UNIVERSITY LABOUR DISPUTES

RESOLUTION ACT, 2009 /

LOI DE 2009 SUR LE RÈGLEMENT

DES CONFLITS DE TRAVAIL

À L'UNIVERSITÉ YORK

Mr. Fonseca moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 145,

An Act to resolve labour disputes between York University and Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 3903 / Projet de loi 145, Loi visant à régler les conflits de travail entre l'Université York et la

section locale 3903 du Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Mr. Fonseca, the floor is yours.

Hon. Peter Fonseca: Today I rise to speak to the legislation that would require an end to the deadlocked labour dispute between York University and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 3903. If passed, this legislation would restore normal operations and instruction at York University.

This is an unfortunate situation. However, we are here to deal with the clear deadlock between York University and CUPE that has come about in this 12-week strike despite extensive attempts at mediation. Ministry of Labour conciliation officers and mediators have been working with the parties to achieve a negotiated agreement. The Premier sent in our top mediator, Reg Pearson, to see if he could help the parties. Even he could not break this impasse.

Throughout all of this, more than 45,000 students have been unable to continue their learning. For these students, their academic year is in jeopardy. The burden of this labour disruption is falling acutely and severely upon them. There remains a clear deadlock.

Our government respects and believes in the collective bargaining process. It is only in special circumstances that government intervention should occur. This is one of those circumstances. In fact, during the time of this government, more than 97% of all negotiations have been successfully resolved without work stoppage.

Under the legislation before the House, all outstanding issues that have not been resolved would be referred to binding arbitration. The continuation of this dispute and its corresponding effects gives rise to serious public interest concerns. If passed, the bill introduced yesterday would require an end to the ongoing work stoppage at York University immediately on royal assent. Employees would be required to resume their duties without delay, and York University would be required to resume normal operations. There would also be a prohibition on any further strike or lockout with respect to this round of collective bargaining.

If the parties have not executed a collective agreement before the day that the act receives royal assent, all outstanding issues and disputes between them would be referred to binding arbitration. They would have five days following royal assent to agree on the appointment of an arbitrator and to notify my office. If they were unable to agree, an arbitrator would be appointed. The final award would be binding on both sides. In the meantime, York students will be back in class.

That is why I'm asking the members of this House to grant speedy passage of this legislation. We're doing this reluctantly; however, the public interest demands that we do this expeditiously.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank all of those who have worked tirelessly on this situation.

First of all, my thanks and gratitude to the staff at the Ministry of Labour's dispute resolution services who have worked with the parties for many weeks to help them hammer out an agreement. They are highly skilled professionals, and the province is lucky to have them in its service.

Many political and public servants have worked jointly to bring us together here in this chamber, including staff of the Ministry of Labour, Cabinet Office, the Ministry of the Attorney General, the Clerk of the House, and you and your staff, Speaker. And to the opposition members who realize the importance of this extraordinary session of the Legislature—to all of you—our heartfelt thanks.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Andrea Horwath): Questions and comments?

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: It is a pleasure to be here to support this bill, Bill 145.

The minister was remiss. We are here today because of the relentless efforts of one MPP in particular, someone who brought in Bill 135, not Bill 145, and that is Peter Shurman, the MPP from Thornhill. He saw early on the importance of bringing these children and putting them back into the classroom. We hear daily how important this is. I am a little angry with the Liberals, because they could have supported the private member's Bill 135 in December to put the kids back to school. Instead, here we are today needlessly wrangling over procedure rather than wondering what day this week those kids will be back in the classroom.

But this is not the only strike that is affecting the province of Ontario. My municipality, the city of Ottawa, has been engaged in a 48-day transit strike with OC Transpo, and while the jurisdiction in those labour issues doesn't relate to provincial matters, the human interest does. The humanitarian issues are affecting people on ODSP, Ontario Works, the working poor—those people who are trying to scrape two dimes together, who can't afford to put gas in their car because they have to put food on the table. Many people have lost their jobs. The economic impact is $280 million.

Thousands of people have lost their jobs. I have been asking this government, if they really cared, to help the working poor, to help the folks on ODSP and to help the people who need Ontario Works. But they have not done a thing. They continue to dither and delay.

What I find striking in not only the issue with OC Transpo and how we need the Liberal government's help in Ottawa is the fact that the York University strike has continued to drag on, because that is the way they do business.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Andrea Horwath): Questions and comments?

Mr. Paul Miller: I must say, as I look across the room, there might be some ex-union people there; there might be some even on this side here. I guess what this government is doing is sending a message to the people of Ontario and the workers of Ontario: "We don't respect collective bargaining." That's what they're doing. What they are doing here is forcing people in a legal strike position, and what we're doing here is creating a new system in Ontario—

Interjections.

Mr. Paul Miller: Speaker, could I ask for quiet?

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Andrea Horwath): Can I please ask the members to have some respect for their colleague, in terms of their opportunity for questions and comments? We have a long afternoon ahead of us, and I'm hoping that we listen to each other through the process of the afternoon. Thanks very much.

Member for Hamilton East.

Mr. Paul Miller: I'd like to continue with my line of thought. The fact is that unions in this province have fought for years and years for the ability to have a collective bargaining system. It is under attack. This is the first university to go down the road. There are going to be many more, after this, in the same position. Now we are going to create a system here that forces people in a collective bargaining system to go back to work. Everything is going to become unnecessary. Next it'll be, I don't know, the garbage collectors. Next it'll be all the other types of unions.

Every union in this province is going to be under attack for their right to strike, their ability to stand up for themselves.

They might want to ask the CEOs of York University what they make. Maybe you might want to ask why they let 100 people, including professors, go last year. A hundred people retired and they're replacing them with fourth-year students to do the work of a professor. Are you getting quality education? They're doing the best they can and they're underpaid. Some of them are making less than $20,000 a year. Would you work for less than $20,000 a year at a university? I doubt it very much.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Andrea Horwath): Questions and comments?

Mr. Michael Prue: The Minister of Labour had a full hour in which to speak and spoke for four minutes. I guess everything he had to say was said in those four minutes. I listened intently to what he kept saying over and over again. I know he must be very mindful of the Supreme Court of Canada decision upon which all of this hinges, because he used the selfsame words. To quote that decision, it says: "Even where a s. 2(

d) violation is established, that is not the end of the matter; limitations of s. 2(

d) may be justified under s. 1 of the charter, as reasonable limits demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society." And here's the big point: "This may permit interference with the collective bargaining process on an exceptional and typically temporary basis, in situations, for example, involving essential services, vital state administration, clear deadlocks and national crisis."

It's very clear what the minister had to say. He is not saying that this is an essential service, he's not saying it's vital state administration, and he's not saying it's a national crisis. What he is hinging everything in this bill upon is the clear deadlock. I think the minister has an obligation to explain where the clear deadlock arises. He has an obligation to say—if it is the ministry's person who went in there for one day, the ministry person made it very clear that it was York University's refusal to bargain that was causing this, not a clear deadlock between the two sides.

I have no doubt in my mind, with the Liberal majority over there, that this bill will eventually succeed. Nobody in this room is doubting that and the press is not doubting that. But in the end, this will have to bear the scrutiny of the courts, and I do not believe the minister was able to define that clear deadlock in his statement.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Andrea Horwath): Questions and comments? Response from the minister? Further debate?

Mr. Peter Shurman: I will be sharing my time with the member for Simcoe—Grey and the member for Kitchener—Waterloo.

I'm pretty sure the following McGuinty quote is accurate: "Who says you can't be effective in opposition?" For weeks now, I have been trying to get the McGuinty government to recall this Legislature to pass back-to-work legislation. I have implored, I have cajoled, I have been downright mouthy on this, and we're finally here.

I want to say that I appreciate the fact that leadership is not always easy, that tough decisions have to be made, but I did not and still do not understand why the Premier could not bring himself to call us back earlier. We could have dealt with the strike immediately. To me it was a no-brainer: 50,000 students were unfairly bearing the brunt of an irresponsible job action. Without having some special gift or being any more intelligent than anyone else here, I did what normal people do: I went to visit the students. I attended a rally, I weighed the information coming from all sides and I concluded that this was going nowhere fast.

Now, literally millions of lost dollars later; now, literally millions of lost lecture hours later; now, with countless lost jobs, a compromised academic year for thousands and sabotaged graduate plans later, we are finally here. Am I supposed to feel good now? In view of all these things, that would be inappropriate. So I am not going to say that I'm happy to be here. Suffice it to say that I am more relieved to be sitting across from the McGuinty government in this Legislature than I ever thought I would be.

On November 18, 12 days after the beginning of the strike, I made a statement in the Legislature asking the government for action, and I posed a question. I asked that we get the striking CUPE 3903 local back to work, get an objective bargaining process going, lose the unreasonable union demands and work towards a fast and responsible agreement so that students could do what they were supposed to be doing, which is getting an education.

On January 24, Premier McGuinty conceded that the sides are "in a clear deadlock, and despite our best efforts to bring the sides together, that has not changed." It took only four attempts at mediation for the government to realize that they weren't doing enough.

The day before I made my first statement in the Legislature regarding the York University strike, I attended a rally organized by a group of students who banded together under the name YorkNotHostage. Students representing that group were in the Legislature yesterday and again in the Legislature here today, and what a tenacious, remarkable group they are. They have been outspoken activists fighting to return to their classes, and I would like to recognize them and commend them for the work they've done to bring their message to the government. We all owe them a debt of gratitude.

They, like their fellow students that I met at that rally, recognized the writing on the wall in the first days of the strike, and so did I, not because I or they had any special information but just because we paid attention. I went out there and talked to the kids. We in the opposition could see the potential for disaster. We could see the propensity for a prolonged strike and the consequences that it would carry for 50,000 students and their parents. We could see it, with clarity, right from the onset.

I've warned this government for months that the strike needed the attention of decisive leadership; that my office was receiving hundreds of calls, e-mails and letters from students, parents and even faculty members who were part of the striking union, asking me to get the government to pass back-to-work legislation. I've even had constituents from ridings represented by Liberal MPPs call my office to ask for help because they were being given only excuses and platitudes by their own members. What is that about? Don't we all have the same responsibility to those who elect us?

In this Legislature, all those constituents were represented, all their concerns were put before the Premier, but he persistently declined to act. He answered my primary question on November 18 himself, when I asked him about his office using moral suasion by way of a couple of phone calls. After that, it was always deferred to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities or the Minister of Labour, who now must surely hold the world record for repeating themselves.

They repeated, right to the bitter end, any number of variations of, "Let's leave it to work itself out." We knew it couldn't, and so you delayed. You delayed.

So while I am relieved to be able to speak to a bill that is meant to get students back to their classrooms right away, my relief is tainted by the knowledge that the Premier did not act in time to ensure a full quality of education, which York University students and their parents have paid for, together with the taxpayers of Ontario. He did not act in time to make sure that summer jobs that students depended on were not put in jeopardy. He did not act in time to make sure that graduate plans were not sabotaged. He and his government did not put students first. They did not put education first. They didn't even put the union or the school first. They put politics first.

This is not an education government, and this is not an education Premier. Liberal members should be ashamed of themselves for twiddling their thumbs as thousands were suffering the consequences of their so-called neutrality. York has been choking on that neutrality for 11-plus weeks, and this government is as responsible for the loss of income, education and employment opportunities as any CUPE 3903 member who voted to continue that strike.

You've put the future of these students in jeopardy, Premier. You didn't rise to the challenge; you didn't step up when they looked to you. Instead of standing up for students, this government has given us more than 11 weeks of excuses, platitudes and stonewalling. As I've said to the students, your education this year has been a tough lesson. You have learned that there's always a victim, and it's you.

We were told that the government would not get involved because of the autonomy of universities. This is the same government that can't seem to wait to tell us what we should eat, what type of dog we can own, who can and who cannot be a passenger in our cars, how we take care of our lawns and what types of car seats we use for our children—never even mentioning the idea of individual autonomy and the dignity of each person as being fit to make his or her own good decisions.

"Mediator" was the government's answer to everything. Even after the striking CUPE 3903 rejected the last university offer, the Premier's solution was to send a mediator again. The Einstein definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result.

This from the individual charged with the responsibility of getting our province through one of the most significant economic challenges that we have experienced; this is the Premier of Ontario, who is supposed to be implementing innovative and creative solutions to get our province back on track, to push it again to be the front-runner in this country.

Seven months of negotiations, five university contract offers, five union counter-offers and three failed attempts at mediation, and still, when push came to shove, the Premier's idea of a speedy resolution was to implement a method that had repeatedly failed to produce any results.

There's been no movement on this dispute since November. I suspect that after each mediation attempt, the mediators reported as much to the Premier. The parties were clearly in a deadlock, and yet the Premier refused to move. Even earlier this week, after students had already wasted 10 weeks of their year, he was content to wait. The students are beyond apoplectic and the published numbers of prospective students for first-year university are up in all Ontario universities except for one that's down, and it's York. We knew that a week ago.

The Premier's reasons for not acting at this very critical stage were many and diverse, each as unfounded as the other. First, there was the notion of autonomy and neutrality. Then, this past week, at one point he pointed to the possible opposition of the NDP, much to the surprise of my NDP colleagues, I'm told, who had not at that point even been approached by the Premier's office regarding back-to-work legislation, any more than our party had. A couple of hours later, he was using a court decision to hide behind. Now he seems to be afraid of the union taking him to court over the legislation we are now considering.

I would remind members that this Premier had no qualms about dragging parents of autistic children through court, trying to get them to pay for government legal costs simply because those parents dared to demand the services, some of which were actually educational and which Dalton McGuinty had promised them. Why is Premier McGuinty so afraid of unions?

Interjections.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Andrea Horwath): I'd like to remind the members that we're here for debate, and debate can only happen when we listen to each other in this chamber. So please, keep order. Thank you.

Mr. Shurman.

Mr. Peter Shurman: I say again, why is Premier McGuinty so afraid of the unions? Is it because unions are behind Working Families? Is he concerned that those unions won't be there to support him in 2011? Is this the real reason behind his obvious dithering?

This Premier has done nothing but preach about how Ontario had to prepare for a knowledge-based economy and the importance of post-secondary education for Ontario's future workers. Why, then, would he allow this strike to go on so long? Why would he allow students and their parents to suffer and be the unwitting and left-out victims in this dispute?

I want to ask the people of Ontario if they are really willing to put their faith in a Premier who has turned every stone looking for excuses not to take action to protect 50,000 futures. If this Premier and this government were serious about creating a better Ontario, they would listen to the people in this province and they would work with this opposition.

When we hear the government members screaming at us to stand up for Ontario every time we ask a question that pertains to the economy, we want to shout that we've never sat down. Doesn't the Premier listen to experts and shouldn't he be paying attention to knowledgeable sources? If he were serious about a better Ontario, he would have listened to us and he would have listened to experts as we warned of approaching economic storms that now lash us individually and as a province. Instead, the Premier was content to do nothing and to say, "This too shall pass."

The York situation was no different. This government ignored students, it ignored MPPs calling on them to take action, and it ignored the opinions of people directly involved with the university. Who are you listening to?

On January 15, 12 deans of York in an open letter urged the striking union to accept the latest university offer, calling it reasonable and most responsible given the economic crisis. We read that, and all of you read that, 11 days ago. Still the Premier's office stayed silent and refused to get off the sidelines, satisfied to let things just work themselves out, until we hit 11 weeks and the maximum potential for damage was achieved. They've had 11 weeks to prepare for back-to-work legislation.

While I will be voting to send students back to school, the bill we are discussing here today is not the optimal solution to the problem that we face. It does send York students back to school now, but what about next time? How long before these students are again faced with the threat of a strike? With this legislation there is no protection for those students in their first or second year who may very well have to experience another strike in 2010 if the union isn't required to sign a minimum three-year contract.

We had asked for that, and those kids need it—yet another example of a band-aid approach to problems, with the government not thinking further than its nose into the future to be proactive and to prevent similar disastrous disputes.

Many contracts in many universities across this province expire at the same time in 2010, with hundreds of thousands of students at risk. How will those negotiations go? I don't expect that anyone should want York's contracts expiring at that same point. As we speak, the CUPE local at U of T may be preparing for its own job action. Is the government willing to admit that they've made a mistake in waiting so long to end the York University strike? Will the Premier commit to protecting U of T students when he failed to protect York's student body?

How many universities will have to prepare for a strike in 2010, and how will the province get ready for a possible lockout of over 300,000 university students? Will we punish administrations for trying to be responsible with their money, the government's money, our money, by making them subject to irresponsible union demands by threat of strike?

Some media reports have suggested that York's applications have dropped by 15%. How can we expect any of our universities to be financially responsible, especially in these economic times, when they are faced with falling admission numbers due to uncertain labour conditions? Earlier, the Premier said that York sustained a black eye. What he didn't say is that while the punches were being thrown, he was the bystander. He did nothing.

At a time when we need a skilled, trained and educated workforce, the government is especially responsible for protecting education. It is as vital a resource to Ontario going forward as we could possibly have. These are the challenges that I expect a government to answer to and right now the challenges that I expect this government to answer to.

I, with the backing of my colleagues, want to know how this government will protect education from being hijacked by strikes, because the York issue is not the first and not the last labour dispute on the horizon. I mentioned U of T, I mentioned other universities that will find themselves in bargaining territory in 2010—all at the same time—but I want to take this opportunity to highlight an even more imminent threat.

We've been given the indication that, come March, elementary teachers may be considering a job action of their own that would leave thousands of children without school. I need each and every parent in Ontario to pay attention to this, to write, to e-mail, to call, to contact their MPP, to contact the education minister, to contact the Premier, to make sure that they understand that waiting 11 weeks to protect education is not an option for this government anymore.

Mr. McGuinty and his ministers took York University students and their parents to the very brink in this strike. We cannot allow them to repeat the same mistake with our elementary schools. This is not to suggest that I am opposed to collective bargaining. I respect the process, but sometimes things just don't work out.

This situation, more than anything else, has shown how it can be used irresponsibly and with serious consequences. The people who had the most at stake, who bore the brunt of the strike, who were in fact held hostage by it, had no voice at the table. The striking workers, whose responsibility is to be looking out for the education of the students enrolled in their university, didn't take them into consideration. Students are instead being used as pawns, first in the dispute between CUPE and the university and now between the Liberals and the NDP, and they continue to pay dearly.

The message I want all bargaining units to hear is that the right to bargain should not be considered arbitrary. The right to bargain extends only so far as the rights of those affected by the bargaining process. Once those rights are infringed upon, it is the government's responsibility to step in to protect them. This I believe with no apology. So the message that I'm sending to you is not "no collective bargaining" but "responsible collective bargaining."

Premier McGuinty, you are not here to protect us from ourselves, as much as you would like to continue to play dad to Ontario. You are here to protect us from each other, a job you've never more clearly failed at than in the York University example.

To those who are considering job action, I urge you to consider not only your wish list, but the circumstances around you: the economic conditions and the impact that your demands will have on your organization.

To my colleagues on the NDP benches, I urge you to lend your support to allow this bill to be put to a vote as quickly as possible so that students have a chance to salvage what is left of their year. That trumps all other considerations.

Just reading student comments on the discussion boards, you can appreciate the devastating impact that the cancellation of classes has had on them, and I would like to read just a few.

"After months and months of my life being putting on hold I will be glad to get back," writes Shannon.

"What I would like to see is Mr. McGuinty be held accountable for his inaction. We as York students have been asked to put our lives on hold. We had to sit on the sidelines and have our education stolen from us, our careers ruined, and face economic hardship. Those who sought election to represent us within and outside of the university remained silent. I ask that when York and Ontario return to the polls we as students remember this, remember who sat on the sidelines and let this happen, remember who stood up for us and who played politics.

As was once so famously said, a government that seeks another mandate seeks to do nothing. I can finally move on with some certainty in my life," writes Mario.

From Anisa: "I am so happy that my life will be back."

Again, I hope that while you may feel inclined to not vote in support of this legislation, you will feel compelled not to stand in the way of students getting back to their classrooms at the earliest opportunity—this to my friends in the NDP. Delaying a vote will only succeed in creating additional hardships for students who, as you can see, have already suffered more than their fair share.

Finally, I want to send a special message to all the students that I had the chance to meet and speak with during the course of the strike.

Aside from attending the rallies and joining students at media interviews and other events, last Monday our leader, John Tory, our critic for training, colleges and universities, Jim Wilson, and I had the opportunity to sit down at the campus and speak with some of the students, as well as a parent or two, to discuss the impact of the strike and the options open to them to salvage their year. I want to reassure the members of this House that if these are the people looking to lead us in the future, there is much reason for optimism.

Lyndon Koopmans, Catherine Divaris and Matthew Geigen-Miller: You and your fellow students have been instrumental in getting the Premier of Ontario to this Legislature, and while I know that this wasn't the type of education you were setting out for when you started your year, I hope that you are able to take something away from it. My thanks to all the students for their continued support and kind messages. I, along with the members of the PC caucus and, I am certain, MPPs from all parties, wish you all the very best of luck in your studies and all your future plans.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Andrea Horwath): Thank you. Member for Simcoe—Grey.

Mr. Jim Wilson: It's with regret that I rise, actually, as the critic for training, colleges and universities for the Progressive Conservative Party. I regret having to be here today; it was so unnecessary. But I will share a few thoughts about Bill 145.

Before I do that, I do want to thank John Tory and our colleague from Thornhill, Peter Shurman, who, right from the very beginning, way, way back just a few days after the November 6 strike began, introduced his private member's bill. The government, of course, refused to deal with it, but he stuck with it. He's been persistent day after day, hour after hour, not only representing all 50,000 students and their need to get back to their education, but also the thousands of students and faculty who live in his riding, as the riding of Thornhill abuts the campus of York University.

So he was best suited and on his own initiative took the leadership of this issue, along with John, and for that we are truly grateful.

We're here today because for 80 long days the Liberal government and the self-styled education Premier refused to act to bring an end to the strike at Canada's third-largest university, shutting out about 50,000 students in the thick of a major economic crisis, resulting in the longest university strike in Canadian history. Because of the unashamed inaction of this government, the education of those 50,000 students and their school year were under threat of being entirely wiped out.

For over 80 days now, the students have lived in fear as they've watched their financial resources dwindle and employment opportunities disappear while their education and graduation plans teetered on the brink of destruction. This is and was unacceptable.

The Progressive Conservative caucus wants an end to this strike immediately. We believe in putting students first. This strike has been devastating for students and their parents, which is evidenced by the thousands of e-mails that they have sent almost daily to all MPPs in this House, pleading for action. Most of the e-mails went like this:

"To whom it may concern:

"I feel like I am being held hostage for months since November 6, 2008. I am a student at York University and CUPE 3903 is on strike. Against my will, I (and about 50,000 other students) have not been able to attend classes. I am asking for your assistance in bringing an end to this unfortunate situation. Please do not ignore my plea. Help me. I want to return to my classes.

"Your assistance in this matter will be viewed most positively during the next election."

This same e-mail was sent thousands of times to members of the Liberal government dating back to November, and all that these innocent students got in response from the Liberal government was shoulder-shrugging indifference. The Liberals have repeatedly refused to act in the best interests of students.

There were more e-mails and pleas for help. Some of them went into greater detail about their particular situation, like this one from my constituent Darlene, from Collingwood:

"Dear Mr. Wilson:

"I am writing you in response to today's overwhelming rejection of York University's latest contract offer by the members of the CUPE union. As you are aware, this strike has been ongoing since November 6, 2008. I am appalled that this strike has been allowed to continue for this period of time. It appears to me that the members of this union are not aware of, nor care about, the financial constraints that the entire country is facing at this time. Many contracts throughout Ontario have been settled with raises of 1% to 3%, yet these students and faculty members are asking for over 15% in the next two years. I am wondering how many of these students on strike are collecting OSAP.

"My son is currently enrolled at York and he has paid over $12,000 in program and residence fees. The university is now saying that they will make up the time by extending the school year. My son has always worked over the summer as his contribution to his fees and for his spending money. Extending the term into the summer will place a hardship not only on my family, but also on those students who

Document details

Collection	Ontario — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	2009-01-26
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	p39 s1 2009-01-26 hansard html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	c99feb1246e1aa51f1dbe48009479eaa59228879

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