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May 1, 2006

38th Parliament, 2nd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

vol. A

Hansard Transcripts

vol. B

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2006-May-01 (PDF)

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L'ONTARIO

Monday 1 May 2006 Lundi 1 er mai 2006

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

HARRY JEROME AWARDS

CLASS SIZE

PHYSICIAN APPRECIATION WEEK

ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH

EDUCATION WEEK

NURSES

DEFIBRILLATION EQUIPMENT

DARFUR GENOCIDE

JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH

OF HAMILTON ACT, 2006

MOTIONS

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

HOUSE SITTINGS

STATEMENTS BY THE MINISTRY

AND RESPONSES

HOME CARE

SOFTWOOD LUMBER /

BOIS D'OEUVRE

WORKPLACE SAFETY

NATIVE LAND DISPUTE /

REVENDICATION TERRITORIALE

DES AUTOCHTONES

HOME CARE

SOFTWOOD LUMBER

NATIVE LAND DISPUTE

SOFTWOOD LUMBER

NATIVE LAND DISPUTE

HOME CARE

ORAL QUESTIONS

HEALTH PREMIUMS

HEALTH CARE

TENANT PROTECTION

SOFTWOOD LUMBER

NURSES

NUCLEAR ENERGY

YOUTH SERVICES

ENERGY RATES

CHILD CARE

REGIONAL CENTRES FOR THE

DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED

WASTE DIVERSION

HOSPITAL FUNDING

AGRICULTURE PROGRAMS

PETITIONS

LANDFILL

IDENTITY THEFT

LANDFILL

COMMUNITY MEDIATION

HIGHWAY 26

LONG-TERM CARE

RECYCLING

LONG-TERM CARE

COMMUNITY MEDIATION

LONG-TERM CARE

PROPERTY TAXATION

ORDERS OF THE DAY

GREATER TORONTO

TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

ACT, 2006 /

LOI DE 2006 SUR LA RÉGIE

DES TRANSPORTS DU GRAND TORONTO

The House met at 1330.

Prayers.

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

HARRY JEROME AWARDS

Mrs. Julia Munro (York North): On Saturday I was very pleased to attend the 24th annual Harry Jerome Awards with a number of my PC caucus

colleagues. The awards are given out every year by the Black Business and Professional Association, honouring members of the black community for their achievements and the inspiration they provide

Her goal is to be a winner of a Harry Jerome Award. I wish her the best of luck, and if she wins, she will be in good company.

The winners this year include: Simone Samuels, Dr. David Burt, Dr. J. Douglas Salmon, Jaleesa Rhoden, Nadija Cheavon Anderson, Stephen Lewis, Joyce Ross, Icilda

Elliston, Larry Gibson, Louis Mercier, Edward Ndububa and Winston Stewart.

CLASS SIZE

Mr. Khalil Ramal (London-Fanshawe): I have some very exciting news that I want to share with the House today. The Thames Valley District School

Board is helping the McGuinty government reach the goal of having class sizes of 20 students in junior kindergarten through grade 3 by 2007-08.

I want to congratulate the Thames Valley District School Board for making significant progress. In the 2005-06 school year, grades 1 through 3 classes averaged

around 20.8 students, and in the 2006-07 school year, classes will average 20.4 students. Class sizes are also decreasing in grade 4 to grade 8.

More than 2,100 schools have reduced their primary class size. Educators understand, as the government does, that children learn better in smaller classes with

more individual attention. This is more good news for a government that has successfully taken on the task of restoring confidence and health to an education system that was decaying after years of

the previous Conservative government's neglect.

Not only are class sizes getting smaller, there is also peace and stability in the education sector, because for the first time, four-year collective agreements

are in place, guaranteeing no strike during that period. And more good news: Test scores have gone up. Students are making real progress.

Again, I want to congratulate the Thames Valley District School Board for small classes --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Thank you.

PHYSICIAN APPRECIATION WEEK

Mr. Cameron Jackson (Burlington): Halton region has selected the week of May 1 as Physician Appreciation Week. This morning, I joined our mayor,

Rob MacIsaac, in celebrating and honouring the hard work and commitment made by the doctors at Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital. Throughout this week, the Halton hospitals are holding celebratory

events in honour of their committed teams of professionals. On Wednesday evening, a special tribute dinner will be held to recognize over 600 Halton physicians.

Physician Appreciation Week also highlights another key area of concern, and that is the shortage of family doctors throughout Halton region. Now, Burlington,

Halton Hills and Milton are designated as underserviced by the ministry. However, Oakville is in a similar circumstance, but has not yet received this designation. In all, another 30 family doctors

are needed in Halton due to rising patient need as our community continues to grow. According to the GTA/905 Health Care Alliance, Burlington is growing at a rate almost three times faster than the

provincial average. However, despite a commitment from the health minister, JBMH has yet to receive a funding commitment earmarked for growth. It has been almost four years since the Health

Services Restructuring Commission, implemented by the previous government, recognized that high population growth in Burlington would require an expansion of services both at the hospital and with

the local family physicians.

As we celebrate Physician Appreciation Week in Halton, I urge the health minister to address high-growth areas like Burlington. Our hospital expansion is still

pending approval, in spite of the Premier's telling us that it's pretty hard to find a community in Ontario where there's not some kind of hospital expansion --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Thank you.

ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH

Mr. Tony C. Wong (Markham): Today is a very special and important day for Asian Canadians in Ontario, as May 1 marks the beginning of Asian

Heritage Month. I am both proud and honoured to recognize that this is the first official year that we are celebrating Asian Heritage Month in Ontario after my private member's bill, Bill 113, An

Act to proclaim the month of May as Asian Heritage Month, gained royal assent last spring.

For me, the passing of Bill 113 demonstrates a commitment from this government to encourage a deeper appreciation of the people of Ontario's cultural, ethnic and

religious diversity. Since making Ontario their home, 1.5 million Asian Canadians have played and continue to play an integral role in the economic growth and success of this province. This month

symbolizes our appreciation of their many accomplishments and contributions in the arts, culture, science and technology, business and education, and in politics.

This month, I invite and encourage you to share in the festivities of Asian Heritage Month in your community to learn more about the traditional foods, music,

and literature of south, east, west and far east Asians alike. As our Premier has said on many occasions, our greatest resource is our people. Asian Canadians are one of many groups that make up

and have helped shape our rich and diverse province. Please join me in celebrating Asian heritage today.

EDUCATION WEEK

Mr. Frank Klees (Oak Ridges): I rise today on behalf of the official opposition to acknowledge Education Week in Ontario. Public school boards

across Ontario are celebrating this week with the theme Making Every Student Count. Catholic school boards are celebrating Catholic Education Week with the theme And God Saw that it Was Good.

This week has been set aside as a week to honour and recognize those who work with Ontario's education system, and we join in acknowledging the dedication of all

who contribute to the acquiring of knowledge, the building of character and the development of responsible citizens. This includes teachers, principals, administrative and support staff, and

parents, who must always be embraced as key partners in education.

In keeping with the theme of Education Week, we must also acknowledge the significant contribution to our province that is made through the province's

independent and faith-based schools. Just as Ontario's Catholic schools celebrate the unique identity and distinct contribution that Catholic education makes to Ontario's education system, we

cannot ignore the petitioning of those who are calling on this Legislature to treat all faith-based schools in Ontario fairly and equitably and without religious discrimination, to ensure that

indeed we make every student count.

NURSES

Ms. Shelley Martel (Nickel Belt): Today, registered nurses came to Queen's Park to deliver 8,000 signed postcards as part of the Ontario Nurses'

Association's Still Not Enough Nurses campaign. I want to recognize the president of ONA, Linda Haslam-Stroud, who is in the members' gallery today, and thank her for ONA's ongoing commitment to

reminding the McGuinty Liberal government that it has fallen far short of meeting its promised target of hiring 8,000 new nurses. The failure to meet this election promise is of greater and greater

concern as up to 30,000 registered nurses will be eligible to retire by 2008.

We know that Ontario's registered nurses provide valuable, high-quality health care in hospitals, long-term-care homes, community health centres, home care,

public health units and other community-based agencies. But these nurses are working longer and harder than ever before, and they know that conditions in their workplaces are not improving.

ONA has provided 12 solutions to the government that would improve conditions for registered nurses and ensure there are enough of them to provide the

high-quality care their patients deserve. But the government is not listening, and the working lives of Ontario's registered nurses are becoming more difficult, more stressful and more challenging.

Changes are required immediately to improve working conditions for Ontario's RNs so they can provide the quality of care they want and need to to provide Ontario patients.

This government has to recognize the potential for 30,000 registered nurses to retire by 2008. It's a looming health care crisis that will have a major impact on

patients and patient care. At a time when the McGuinty government had a $3-billion windfall in its most recent budget, it had the money to --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Members' statements?

DEFIBRILLATION EQUIPMENT

Mr. Bruce Crozier (Essex): I'm proud to stand today and introduce for his first visit to the Ontario Legislature Joan's and my grandson,

Benjamin Allen Crozier, along with his father, our handsome and bright son David, and our beautiful daughter-in-law, Jolean. They're visiting from Calgary.

At the same time, I want to remind members of a bill I introduced earlier in the session, Bill 71, which is

An Act to promote the use of automated external heart

defibrillators. I want to encourage the House leaders and other powers that be that it would be a great step forward in the province of Ontario for the health of our citizens and the well-being of

those who are found in a cardiac arrest emergency if we were to pass this bill, which protects those who place defibrillators and those who use them from any liability.

Thank you very much, Speaker, for the opportunity to cover two very important projects: one that I am enthusiastic about, and the other, three that I love.

DARFUR GENOCIDE

Mr. Tony Ruprecht (Davenport): Yesterday I attended a rally organized by Canadian high school and university students right here at Queen's

Park. Over 1,000 people attended. The essence of this demonstration was best expressed by the Honourable David Kilgour.

The 21st century's genocide has now entered its third year, while the world watches. According to an analysis of United Nations data, fully 215,000 Darfuri

civilians have been murdered since early 2003, with approximately 200,000 more dead from disease and malnutrition.

With more than 400,000 Darfurians already dead, will the international community allow this to increase to half a million before acting? To 800,000, as in the

case of Rwanda? To one million? At what point will we find the political will to stop the killing, burning and raping in Darfur?

Here is a three-point intervention proposal:

(1) Establish a no-fly zone over Darfur; (2) hold an assembly of representative leaders and stakeholders from across

Darfur and establish a legitimate and functional regional government for this area; and (3) create an implementation force of international peacemakers, hopefully coordinated by the African Union

and the United Nations.

All of this of course will require hard work and focused determination. If successful, however, this genocide could finally be halted and Darfuri villages can

begin to rebuild their shattered lives in peace.

JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH

Mr. Jim Brownell (Stormont-Dundas-Charlottenburgh): John Kenneth Galbraith was one of the defining intellects of the 20th century. His recent

loss will be felt both in his adoptive country and here in his homeland of Canada. His influence has permeated the globe; his concepts of governance and economic policy will be studied for

generations to come.

Born in Iona Station, Ontario, Mr. Galbraith served in the administrations of four American presidents as well as serving as John F. Kennedy's ambassador to

India. He is one of the few two-time recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Mr. Galbraith understood that government plays an essential role in ensuring the equal development of all aspects of a society. His book, The Affluent Society,

outlined how the American government in the post-war era was growing in private sector wealth, while suffering from poor social and physical infrastructure, perpetuating income disparities.

This situation is not unlike the one this government found in 2003. The previous Tory government had ignored the wisdom of Mr. Galbraith, to the detriment of all

Ontarians. We are correcting the Tories' mistakes by investing in Ontario's infrastructure and ensuring that its hospitals, schools, roads and social programs are strong.

Mr. Galbraith was correct: Good government ensures that all elements of a society progress equally. This government is proud to carry on that tradition. We

express our condolences to the family of John Kenneth Galbraith and thank them for his legacy of ideals.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH

OF HAMILTON ACT, 2006

Mr. Levac moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr25,

An Act respecting The Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton.

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

Pursuant to standing order 84, this bill stands referred to the standing committee on regulations and private bills.

MOTIONS

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

Hon. James J. Bradley (Minister of Tourism, minister responsible for seniors, Government House Leader): I seek unanimous consent to put forward

a motion without notice regarding the membership of certain committees.

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Agreed? Agreed.

Hon. Mr. Bradley: I move that the following substitutions be made to the membership of certain committees:

On the standing committee on estimates, Mr. Delaney replaces Ms. Di Cocco; on the standing committee on finance and economic affairs, Mr. Arnott replaces Mr.

O'Toole; and on the standing committee on social policy, Mr. O'Toole replaces Mr. Arnott.

The Speaker: Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

HOUSE SITTINGS

Hon. James J. Bradley (Minister of Tourism, minister responsible for seniors, Government House Leader): I move that, pursuant to standing order

9(c)(i), the House shall meet from 6:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Monday, May 1, 2006, for the purpose of considering government business.

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry?

All in favour will say "aye."

All opposed will say "nay."

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

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

The division bells rang from 1351 to 1357.

The Speaker: Order. I need the members to take their seats.

Mr. Bradley has moved government notice of motion number 121. All those in favour will rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Ayes

Arthurs, Wayne

Balkissoon, Bas

Bartolucci, Rick

Berardinetti, Lorenzo

Bradley, James J.

Broten, Laurel C.

Brownell, Jim

Bryant, Michael

Cansfield, Donna H.

Caplan, David

Chambers, Mary Anne V.

Chudleigh, Ted

Cordiano, Joseph

Craitor, Kim

Crozier, Bruce

Delaney, Bob

Dhillon, Vic

Duguid, Brad

Dunlop, Garfield

Elliott, Christine

Flynn, Kevin Daniel

Fonseca, Peter

Gerretsen, John

Hardeman, Ernie

Hoy, Pat

Hudak, Tim

Jackson, Cameron

Jeffrey, Linda

Klees, Frank

Kular, Kuldip

Lalonde, Jean-Marc

Levac, Dave

MacLeod, Lisa

Marsales, Judy

McMeekin, Ted

McNeely, Phil

Miller, Norm

Milloy, John

Mossop, Jennifer F.

Munro, Julia

O'Toole, John

Orazietti, David

Ouellette, Jerry J.

Parsons, Ernie

Peters, Steve

Peterson, Tim

Phillips, Gerry

Qaadri, Shafiq

Racco, Mario G.

Ramal, Khalil

Ramsay, David

Rinaldi, Lou

Runciman, Robert W.

Ruprecht, Tony

Sandals, Liz

Smith, Monique

Smitherman, George

Sorbara, Gregory S.

Sterling, Norman W.

Takhar, Harinder S.

Van Bommel, Maria

Watson, Jim

Wilson, Jim

Wong, Tony C.

Yakabuski, John

Zimmer, David

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

Nays

Bisson, Gilles

Horwath, Andrea

Kormos, Peter

Marchese, Rosario

Martel, Shelley

Murdoch, Bill

Prue, Michael

Tabuns, Peter

The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr. Claude L. DesRosiers): The ayes are 66; the nays are 8.

The Speaker: I declare the motion carried.

STATEMENTS BY THE MINISTRY

AND RESPONSES

HOME CARE

Hon. George Smitherman (Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): This morning I had the privilege of releasing a report which will be crucial

to our government's efforts to transform health care, specifically home care services. Home care is a vital part of our health care system, and it's crucial that people know they're getting the

best services possible and that the quality of service will continue for as long as needed.

To help make this happen, we needed an independent review of the competitive bidding process used by CCACs to select service providers to deliver home care

services. The person we asked to conduct this review was the Honourable Elinor Caplan. Elinor, of course, is well known to many members of this assembly, having served with great distinction as

Minister of Health as well as holding other senior cabinet posts in the provincial and federal governments. It would be difficult to identify someone more qualified in this role than Elinor Caplan,

and she did not disappoint.

The report she produced, Realizing the Potential of Home Care: Competing for Excellence by Rewarding Results, is indeed a comprehensive review of Ontario's

community care access procurement process -- the process used by CCACs to obtain everything from medical supplies and equipment to the services of a broad range of health care and support

professionals, including nursing, professional support, personal support and homemaking, and therapy services for their clients.

Elinor Caplan and her staff consulted with 37 CCACs, 1,000 members of the public and 500 home care clients. They also conducted 200 interviews with groups and

organizations and reviewed more than 80 submissions. From that, they analyzed a mountain of information to determine the impact of the current procurement process, and they made recommendations for

improving the process. I'm delighted to announce that our government completely supports the recommendations for improving the working environment for those dedicated personal support workers and

other home care workers who make such an invaluable contribution to the quality of our health care system.

We will be moving forward on three key areas: stabilizing the workforce, client-focused quality home care, and strengthening procurement practices.

We'll increase the minimum base wage for personal support workers under CCAC contracts from $9.65 an hour to $12.50 an hour -- a 30% increase -- and we will

enhance their compensation for travel time and mileage.

We will work with the home care sector, requiring agencies to show increases in full-time and regular part-time positions for personal support workers. This

new funding will give more workers better employment benefits, such as increased access to statutory holiday pay, severance and termination provisions and improved compensation, as I mentioned, for

travel time and mileage.

We'll ensure better job security for everyone who works in home care by permitting the extension of CCAC contracts for up to nine years. Enhanced job security

for home care workers is obviously beneficial to those employees, but continuity of employment also results in continuity of care, which benefits patients; and better patient care is, of course,

the primary motivation behind the changes that we're introducing.

Other reforms include improvements to the way CCACs arrange for services for clients, including rewarding outstanding service providers by designating them as

preferred providers and giving them longer contracts. We'll also streamline the procurement process by centralizing and coordinating the prequalification process, simplifying their procurement

documents and standardizing the evaluation tools and processes to enhance consistency and transparency.

We're committed to ensuring that people who need home care receive client-focused, quality services. To this end, we'll establish new capacities for local

health systems to target improvements in home care, including providing an annual report card for Ontarians. We'll promote quality home care services by identifying, validating and sharing best

practices, developing performance indicators and setting performance benchmarks.

In addition, our government will support the report's recommendation that there needs to be a research chair specific to home care to ensure that research

continues to improve and inform the quality of home care services.

We'll also support a third-party case management review that will consult key stakeholders, including the Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres

and the CCACs, to ensure that the system has common

definitions and takes a more consistent approach to system navigation and case management.

The acceptance of these recommendations is aligned with our government's ongoing efforts to build a high-performing health care system through streamlined

accountability and performance measurement.

Client satisfaction is an integral part of quality. To ensure open and transparent communication with clients, we'll expand the present ministry's

long-term-care action line to provide the public with access to an independent third party to hear home care complaints. To this end, we'll hire independent complaint coordinators to hear client

complaints and address their concerns.

Home care isn't a faceless, anonymous business; it's the most fundamental provision of help, from one person to another.

These actions are part of the $117.8 million in additional funding the government is providing for home care and community services in 2006-07.

In closing, I want to say that I'm proud of this report. It gave me great pleasure to move forward on these recommendations on behalf of Ontarians.

SOFTWOOD LUMBER /

BOIS D'OEUVRE

Hon. David Ramsay (Minister of Natural Resources, minister responsible for aboriginal affairs): It is a pleasure for me to rise in the House

today to inform the members that Ontario welcomes the announcement last Thursday of a framework leading to the resolution of the softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the United States.

Les membres de l'Assemblée savent que le conflit a imposé un lourd fardeau sur les entreprises ontariennes et avait mis en danger le gagne-pain de

milliers de travailleurs forestiers de l'Ontario.

The members will know that this dispute has imposed a considerable burden on Ontario companies and posed a threat to the livelihood of thousands of Ontario

forestry workers.

It has dragged on for far too long. We now have a long-term agreement that will bring greater stability and predictability.

A tremendous amount of work went into the negotiations that finally led to the framework.

Tout au long des négociations, nous avons défendu les intérêts de l'Ontario avec une résolution inébranlable.

Throughout this process, we have steadfastly defended Ontario's interests.

When we first heard some of the details of the proposed framework, it was just not acceptable to Ontario. It put Ontario at a distinct disadvantage and would

have meant widespread job loss in the softwood industry.

I said that day that Ontario would not agree to a deal that threatened Ontario's softwood producers unfairly and I lived up to that commitment. We urged the

federal government to re-examine it so it would better reflect our historical export volume. I am pleased to say that they listened to us and did so.

The McGuinty government fought hard for our softwood producers and northern communities and was able to bring about a deal that was better than the original

framework. We stood up for Ontario and were able to secure a fair deal.

Nous avons défendu l'Ontario et réussi à obtenir un accord équitable.

The framework announced on Thursday takes into account Ontario's principal objective of recognizing our historic trading volumes.

I appreciate the support and involvement of the Premier in addressing this matter. Also, I want thank our team: Mike Kergin, our negotiator, and Mike Willick

and Bill Thornton, two of our assistant deputy ministers, who successfully defended this province's interests with integrity and determination. There are many others in the MNR who have worked on

this file over the years, and I would also like to thank them for their hard work and dedication.

Aussi je félicite mon collègue du Québec, Raymond Bachand, et son prédécesseur, Claude Béchard, de la coopération et de

l'appui que le Québec n'a pas cessé de nous donner.

I would also like to recognize my colleague in Quebec, Raymond Bachand, and his predecessor, Claude Béchard, for that province's continued co-operation

and support. I also appreciate British Columbia's Forests and Range Minister, Rich Coleman, for working with Ontario on this file. BC and Ontario have shown great support for each other in getting

the changes to the framework that we both required.

Finally, I congratulate Prime Minister Stephen Harper, my counterpart David Emerson, and Ambassador Michael Wilson for ensuring that all Canadian interests

were protected.

These last few years have been very difficult for all of the affected provinces as we have sought to eliminate the tariffs imposed by the United States.

Ontario looks forward to continuing to work with the federal government and other provinces to finalize the agreement and to come up with an implementation

process.

WORKPLACE SAFETY

Hon. Steve Peters (Minister of Labour): This morning, I had the pleasure of addressing some 2,000 delegates at the annual conference of the

Industrial Accident Prevention Association. It is the most important health and safety conference in the country, with 5,000 professionals attending.

This year, I brought the participants some important news about injury prevention and cost avoidance to businesses here in the province of Ontario. Over the

past two years, there have been 14,649 fewer lost-time injuries to workers in Ontario. This means that over 14,000 Ontario workers have escaped injuries that might otherwise have occurred. It means

that their families have not had to see their loved ones injured or possibly permanently disabled. It also means that Ontario businesses have avoided $960 million in costs associated with workplace

injuries. These costs include employment replacement, injury investigation, overtime pay for other employees and reduced productivity due to loss of skilled employees.

Our goal, as announced in July 2004, was to reduce workplace injuries by 20%. We said we would do this through a comprehensive, integrated health and safety

strategy. This strategy would use education, training, legislation, regulation and enforcement. It would encompass all of our health and safety partners. Our goal is that by 2008 there will be

20,000 fewer lost-time injuries per year in the province of Ontario than would otherwise have occurred.

I'm here to tell you today that we are succeeding. In fact, we are ahead of schedule. Stop and think for a moment: I'm talking about 14,000 people. That's

equivalent to the population of Wasaga Beach. I'm proud of our government's achievement in this regard. We're at the halfway point of our strategy, but what we intend to do is decrease workplace

injuries by 20% by 2008.

The workplace health and safety strategy is saving thousands of workers pain and suffering from serious workplace injuries. With fewer accidents, employers are

benefiting from reduced production costs, lower retaining costs, less equipment damage and other cost-avoidance savings.

One key element of our strategy is our high-risk initiative. The initiative focuses on workplaces with the highest injury rates and costs. When the high-risk

initiative was announced, these firms represented just 2% of all firms insured by the WSIB but accounted for 10% of all lost-time injuries and 21% of injury costs in Ontario. Our initiative assists

and educates people in these workplaces toward healthier and safer work practices. At the same time, we continue to give priority to investigating workplace fatalities, critical injuries, work

refusals, work stoppages and immediate hazards.

Another key element is our last-chance program. In 2005, safe workplace associations were challenged to work with the ministry by providing 5,000 workplaces

with a last chance to voluntarily improve their injury track records. I'd like to thank the five safe work associations that rose to that challenge: the Industrial Accident Prevention Association,

the Ontario Service Safety Alliance, the Electrical and Utilities Safety Association, the Transportation Health and Safety Association of Ontario and the Ontario Safety Association for Community

and Healthcare. These five workplace associations reached out to provide assistance, training and education. I'm pleased to say that the remaining seven workplace associations will now be joining

the original five.

There are real costs that are being avoided. According to the WSIB, each injury in 2004 cost $57,000 on average. In 2005, that amount rose to over $70,000. In

total, about $960 million in costs were avoided. Looking at success in other terms, lost-time injury rates have been reduced from 2.2 to 2.0 per 100 workers for 2005.

At this point, I want to thank the ministry staff and those dedicated inspectors, because they deserve a lot of credit for our success. There will be more

soon. When we launched the high-risk initiative, we set about hiring 200 additional health and safety inspectors. Right now, 131 of those individuals are on the job. I'm proud to announce today

that in recognition of the unique and highly successful high-risk and last-chance initiatives, Ontario has been selected to chair the 2007 International Association of Labour Inspection conference

next April. The Ministry of Labour and this government are working hard toward healthy workplaces.

NATIVE LAND DISPUTE /

REVENDICATION TERRITORIALE

DES AUTOCHTONES

Hon. David Ramsay (Minister of Natural Resources, minister responsible for aboriginal affairs): The situation at Caledonia has continued now

for some 62 days. This is a situation that affects not only the local communities of Six Nations and Caledonia, but all Ontarians who seek to live in a peaceful environment. I would like to commend

the aboriginal and non-aboriginal residents of the area, who have shown patience with this situation.

La situation à Caledonia dure depuis 62 jours. C'est une situation qui touche non seulement les communautés des Six Nations et de Caledonia mais

aussi tous les Ontariens qui désirent vivre en paix.

Je tiens à féliciter les habitants autochtones et non autochtones de cette région, qui ont montré de la patience durant cette

situation.

We know that a solution will come easier if all parties remain calm and continue to be patient. The McGuinty government has spent many weeks and long hours on

this situation to achieve a peaceful resolution. Many people at both the political level and the bureaucratic level are working to resolve this matter.

I'm pleased to report that the Honourable David Peterson, the respected former Premier of Ontario, was just appointed this weekend to work with the Six Nations

and Caledonia communities to find short-term solutions to the immediate problems in Caledonia. He is meeting with the parties today following informal meetings with some of the parties yesterday.

Mr. Peterson will focus on urgent concerns, aiming to restore calm and return the communities to normal conditions. This work will pave the way for discussions on the longer-term underlying

issues.

Canada and Ontario are committed to naming federal and provincial representatives later this week to address long-term issues, as was agreed to in the

three-party agreement signed by the parties to the negotiation on April 21.

In addition to the efforts by Mr. Peterson, provincial staff will continue to work with the municipality and business leaders. The province is also discussing

what other types of assistance might be needed to help the communities recover. Last Friday, Ontario made a commitment to the developer and builder for immediate funding assistance related to

Douglas Creek Estates.

The McGuinty government, with the support of Canada and the communities involved, is optimistic that we can achieve a balanced solution to this situation.

I would also like to add that the public can be updated on the Caledonia situation by accessing Ontario's toll-free number at 1-866-876-7672, Monday through

Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Response?

HOME CARE

Mr. Cameron Jackson (Burlington): I want to acknowledge with appreciation the announcement today by the Minister of Health with respect to

long-term-care support in this province and to acknowledge the work of Elinor Caplan in her report and the substantive number of recommendations which the government has seen fit to implement or

announce the implementation of in less than one year. Mind you, it was 11 and a half months, but it was less than one year.

Minister, clearly every PSW -- personal support worker -- will embrace their 30% increase, but I do want to suggest to you that we've been speaking to you in

this House at length about the need to increase $1 per day per resident in this province in long-term-care facilities. We've impressed upon your colleague that this government has withdrawn its

support for a certain amount of funding for pay equity in developmental services and children's mental health and children's rehab services. So although this funding is good news, it sends a signal

to other workers who are marginalized by the amount of compensation as to how much they're receiving or, in effect, how much they're worth to this government.

Minister, you talk about your wait time strategy, and this is clearly part of a potential solution, but there will be communities, like mine in Burlington,

which will have to rely more on home care because it has closed almost 50 beds in its hospital. So you're going to be setting up a two-tier type of response for wait times in various communities

because of the failure of your wait time strategy to acknowledge a consistent approach in making sure there are sufficient beds.

I note with interest your need to expand the long-term-care action line and the complaints line. As a former minister, I can tell you that if you're going to

proceed with some of these recommendations to ensure that more and more medical procedures are taken on at home, much of this will become coaching and introduction.

But there are many people out there who do not feel that they should be removing their own sutures, should be doing their own catheterization or should be

doing the kinds of dialysis work directly for a family member. That is perhaps why we need the action line, expanded in order to handle those.

Finally, I would like to thank you for not discriminating between the private sector and the not-for-profit sector and that you will be awarding them, under

the terms here, up to nine years of a contract. Previous governments have indicated that discrimination would continue, but I'm pleased that you will not be one of them.

SOFTWOOD LUMBER

Mr. Norm Miller (Parry Sound-Muskoka): I'm pleased to respond, in the couple minutes I have, to the two statements from the Minister of

Natural Resources: the one on the softwood lumber agreement and the other on Caledonia.

First, to do with the softwood lumber agreement, I'm pleased that there is a deal to end the dispute. I'm happy that Ontario's quota, its regional market

share, has been increased to historical levels.

I am unhappy that the US coalition will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in this deal. I did spend last Thursday and Friday with the Ontario lumbermen's

association. I would say they're not unanimously happy with the deal but they're generally happy, and I think they're glad to see it over with.

Also, I think that it's in part out of necessity, in that these companies, the forestry industry, need some of the hundreds of millions of dollars that have

been tied up back to them just to survive. Just last week we had another pulp and paper mill, at Smooth Rock Falls, announce what hopefully is a temporary shutdown -- more lost jobs brought on by

the McGuinty Liberals' limited-supply, high-energy-price policy.

I note that the provincial government here should be doing like BC is doing, and that is looking at other markets. British Columbia has the most proactive

approach in terms of looking to places like China for new markets. I noted an

article in today's CP saying that in China they've got a billion people. We're making fibre for Kleenex. Why don't we

start selling some to them?

NATIVE LAND DISPUTE

Mr. Norm Miller (Parry Sound-Muskoka): On the Caledonia situation, I'm pleased that former Premier David Peterson has been appointed to help

find a short-term peaceful solution. I say to the government, why has it taken 62 days? The member from Haldimand-Norfolk-Brant, the local PC member, was there on day two of what started out as a

small protest and has built into a large standoff. Frustration levels have grown. Why has it taken this long for the government to show some leadership on this file when the local MPP was there,

and has been there many times, meeting and building trust on the situation?

SOFTWOOD LUMBER

Mr. Gilles Bisson (Timmins-James Bay): I would like to comment on the softwood lumber deal. If the price of lumber never goes below $365 per

thousand board feet, we have a deal, but there lies the problem. This particular deal, the way it's structured, when lumber prices go down, which they will at one point if you look at the

historical numbers, will end up self-imposing either a quota or a tariff on our producers at the very time when the market gets tight when it comes to sales. That will hinder that industry to a

certain extent.

The other thing that I want to say that I find reprehensible in this particular deal is the issue of leaving over a billion dollars in the pocket of American

producers. It is a little bit like if somebody comes in and robs your house one day, and all of a sudden you find out that they stole $100 out of your wallet but the cops said, "It's okay. You can

keep $25. The crook needed it."

At the end of the day, those Canadian producers were not subsidized, they were playing by the rules of NAFTA, playing by the rules of free trade. The ones that

were not were the Americans, and they should return that money back here to Canadian producers who deserved get it.

Interjection.

Mr. Bisson: We can get into that. The other thing that I don't like in this particular agreement, and we need to have closer scrutiny of it,

is the veto that the Americans are retaining in the deal to give themselves the ability to veto Ontario or BC or other provincial forest policies. That is not acceptable. We are a Legislature. We

are responsible for the policies of this province, and neither the federal government nor George Bush's government should have the right to veto what we do in this province. That's something that

we need to have more scrutiny on to make sure that doesn't happen. But from the appearances of the original deal, it would appear that the Americans have given themselves a veto.

To the last point, this does absolutely nothing to bring back the workers that have been laid off up to now in places like Smooth Rock Falls and others. This

government's got a sorry record when it comes to forestry, and the quicker they come to that realization and decide to do something about it, the better off we'll be.

NATIVE LAND DISPUTE

Mr. Howard Hampton (Kenora-Rainy River): I want to respond to the minister responsible for native affairs. The McGuinty government wants to

pretend that it has done something incredible at Caledonia. The record shows otherwise. What we've seen at Caledonia is a government that has not shown leadership and a government whose actions are

loaded with contradictions.

The first part: The McGuinty government knew for over a year that there were long-standing, serious land claim issues that needed to be addressed with respect

to the Six Nations. What did the McGuinty government do? Virtually nothing. Only after those long-standing, serious issues escalated into a protest and a blockade by Six Nations representatives did

the McGuinty government appoint a mediator. But while the mediator was trying to get the First Nations to the table and trying to address some issues, the McGuinty government falls asleep at the

switch and permits the Ontario Provincial Police to use force. Imagine this: On the one hand, you're trying to negotiate and discuss with the provincial government, and then the Ontario Provincial

Police come in and escalate the situation.

People on all sides of this dispute have suffered as a result of the McGuinty government's lack of leadership and their contradictory approach to the issues

involved.

HOME CARE

Ms. Shelley Martel (Nickel Belt): In reply to the statement by the Minister of Health, let me say that the worst thing that ever happened to

home care in the province of Ontario was the establishment of cutthroat bidding by the Conservatives in 1996. The second-worst thing that ever happened to home care was the decision of the McGuinty

Liberals to continue cutthroat bidding in home care when they assumed government. The reality is, cutthroat bidding has been a disaster for home care workers, for patients and for the non-profit

sector that used to deliver so much of those services in this sector.

The minister's announcement does nothing to deal with the inherent flaws in the cutthroat bidding model. Ms. Caplan wasn't asked to look at replacing cutthroat

bidding in home care; she was told to keep this model in place, tinker around the edges and give the appearance of doing something, when in reality the major changes that would have to be made are

not going to be made.

At the Bill 36 hearings, the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario said this about cutthroat bidding: "Ontario's experiment with competitive bidding in

home care has been a failure. It has resulted in: a shift to for-profit providers (the share of the total volume of nursing services awarded to for-profit providers increased from 18% in 1995 to an

estimated 46% in 2001); a loss of the social infrastructure associated with not-for-profit providers; critical shortages of community nursing staff that are directly linked to system

instability...."

Today, the minister should have been announcing an end to cutthroat bidding and no --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Thank you.

ORAL QUESTIONS

HEALTH PREMIUMS

Mr. Tim Hudak (Erie-Lincoln): To the Deputy Premier: As you know, today is the last day to file income tax returns. Time is running out for

taxpayers to squeeze even more money out of their pocketbooks and hand it over to Dalton McGuinty for his massive tax hike, the so-called health tax. That deadline is midnight tonight. Your tax

grab, as you know, works out to up to $900 per working person in the province of Ontario.

Deputy Premier, working families and seniors can barely make ends meet in Dalton McGuinty's Ontario. When will we see the deadline for this health tax? When

will you finally repeal it?

Hon. George Smitherman (Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): I know that my colleague the Minister of Finance, were he here, would give a

more spirited response than I'm able to.

I find it interesting that the honourable member, on the day before the federal budget, would choose to ask a question about this rather than stand up and

represent Ontario's interest in being heard and being on the record with respect to adjustments to the fiscal imbalance. The circumstances that the honourable member likes to speak to about

Ontarians -- he seems to have lost sight of the fact that much of that money collected goes up to Ottawa for support of other programs across the breadth of the country, and that it isn't offering

an appropriate share to the people here in the province of Ontario.

With respect, I'm happy in supplementary to talk about investments in the Niagara region that have been made possible as a result of this government's decision

to work with the people of Ontario to enhance the quality of their health care.

Mr. Hudak: The minister knows full well that the health tax doesn't go to Ottawa; it's sucked up in the provincial treasury right here in

Toronto in the province of Ontario. Minister, I don't think you understand it. In Dalton McGuinty's Ontario, gas today is well over $1 a litre. Electricity rates are way up, some 55%. Natural gas

home heating costs are going through the roof. Interest rates are increasing. Assessments and property taxes are up. User fees for drivers' licences, for chiropractic care, for eye care, are up in

Dalton McGuinty's Ontario. In total, some $2,000 more is coming out of the pockets of working families and seniors than before Dalton McGuinty was elected.

My colleague talks about Ottawa. In Ottawa tomorrow the new Conservative government is reducing taxes to taxpayers across Canada, but here in the province of

Ontario the McGuinty government has been absolutely gluttonous in its attack on the pocketbooks of working families. Minister --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): The question has been asked. Minister.

Hon. Mr. Smitherman: There was quite a little bit there, but one thing that was lacking in all of that was an acknowledgement of what used to

something we know -- good stewardship, apparently, on the part of the federal government. But still, with one more opportunity to have spoken up, this honourable member, on the part of that party,

is unprepared to stand in his place and say where they stand on the issue of the fiscal imbalance. When will they begin to voice a view on behalf of Ontarians in a national context?

Apparently the honourable member is now mouthing the words of one who used to sit in the front row, and one wonders if this is akin to a budgetary leap. The

honourable member does not stand in his place, does not talk -- will not talk -- about a $300-million investment in the new hospital in Niagara, will not talk about a new land ambulance

circumstance for Niagara that he couldn't deliver --

The Speaker: Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary.

Mr. Hudak: I don't think we on this side need to take any lessons from these guys on budget leaks, from what we saw just a month or so

ago.

I'm saying to the minister, in Ottawa they understand how hard-pressed taxpayers are today with higher taxes, higher heating costs, higher hydro, and they're

keeping their promise to reduce taxes. Here in Ontario, I remember a Premier Dalton McGuinty who looked into that camera and said, "I would not raise your taxes." He must have had his fingers

crossed, because taxes are way up in Dalton McGuinty's Ontario.

I'll say to the minister one more time, you have been gluttonous in your attack on the pocketbooks of working families and seniors, some $15 billion in

additional revenue. That much revenue and spending would make your friend Bob Rae blush. When are you finally going to cut taxes and give a break to working families in the province of Ontario?

Hon. Mr. Smitherman: The honourable member's starting point on this was that there are no lessons that they can learn from us, but there's one

hard lesson that the people of Ontario learned from them at a certain place outside of this chamber, when they delivered a budget that was off by $5.6 billion. And now the honourable member stands

in his place, two and a half years later, still pretending his way through this, still pretending that the people of Ontario do not know the reality. But they do. It is that that honourable member,

as a cabinet minister, still owes repayment to the people of the province of Ontario, because his salary should have been docked.

But let's talk about auto insurance rates, down by 13%; and for the people of Niagara, a satellite medical school; for the people of Niagara, new investments

in family health teams and community health centres; for the people of Niagara, new investments in residential and home hospice; and for the people of Niagara, more investment in home supports. The

reality of our government is, we're fulfilling our promise to restore --

The Speaker: Thank you. New question.

HEALTH CARE

Mrs. Elizabeth Witmer (Kitchener-Waterloo): My question is to the Acting Premier. Despite all the rhetoric, people in the province of Ontario

are not getting the right service at the right time when it comes to health care. On Friday, you made an announcement that was solely in response to our wait-time questioning over the past several

months. You said at that time that the data was updated; it wasn't. You said the data showed clear reductions; well, they don't. Minister, wait times continue to rise in communities across this

province. I would ask you today, when are you going to start telling the whole story and when will you tell us about your plan to achieve your targets, with your timelines?

Hon. George Smitherman (Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): I want to say, firstly --

Interjection.

Hon. Mr. Smitherman: What's that? You're not even in your seat. I don't think you're supposed to be heckling me. I know the boss is away, so

those rules don't apply, but I think that rule applies even when he's not here.

To the honourable member, Mr. Tory's comment in the paper on Saturday indicated that he didn't think it was appropriate to offer measurement on the reductions

on the median, recognizing that half of the people had the service delivered within that and half of them didn't. So we'll do it on the 90th percentile, which is what he's suggesting: cancer

surgery, down 6%; angiography, down 30%; angioplasty, down 7%; bypass surgery, down 8%; on cataract surgery, down 4%; on hip replacement, down 6%; on knee replacement, down 4%; MRI scans, down 12%;

and CT scans, down 9%. I ask the honourable member, does she want to talk about rhetoric or real numbers? These are the real outcomes, backed up by science, and I challenge the honourable member to

debate --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Thank you. Supplementary?

Mrs. Witmer: It would be more appropriate if this minister, despite all the rhetoric and despite all the promises, could actually lay out for

us once and for all a timeline related to all these wonderful announcements that we hear, sometimes 10 and 20 times over.

Let's take a look at the wait times. If we take a look at what you did last week on Friday, we see that you have ignored the July 2005 data that were first

mounted on your site back in October 24. Here is what the Premier said: "Wait times are categorized on the website by procedure, hospital and local health integration network -- beginning with the

data as of July 2005. This information will be updated regularly." You said the information was up to date and reliable, but your announcement on Friday referred only to data as of August and

September. The July data, which I have here, are gone. I ask, why did you not include the July data to give people a truthful picture?

Hon. Mr. Smitherman: I'm very happy to answer the honourable member's question. The circumstances are that we seek to establish benchmark data

that can be reliably compared. When the first wait-time information was provided, several hospitals weren't reporting, including the University Health Network, which is our largest hospital. The

only appropriate scientific basis from which to do the numbers is that which includes the full first-term benchmarking. The honourable member asks when we will deliver on these results. The reality

with respect to cancer procedures and cardiac procedures is that they are already being delivered within the access targets that we led the nation in helping to develop late last year. This is

evidence of progress. We acknowledge that there's more work to be done on cataracts, hips and knees and others. But I think it's important that the honourable member stand in her place and

acknowledge the work being done, not by our government but by front-line health care providers in every community across this province of Ontario. They're working in ways they never have before.

Hips and knees and cataracts were all going up, and now the wait times are all going down. More work --

The Speaker: Thank you. Final supplementary.

Mrs. Witmer: Despite all the rhetoric, the reality is that on wait times there is no plan. You have never laid out for the people of Ontario

any timelines as to how you are going to achieve your targets. In fact, you're only speaking about five areas. What about the hundreds of other procedures in this province? When are you finally

going to demonstrate some leadership, some vision, and come to us with a plan that includes timelines as to when and how you're going to achieve those targets? So far we haven't seen it.

Hon. Mr. Smitherman: The honourable member waits around for the plan and fails to acknowledge the fact that the plan is in action, the results

are improving and the times are going down. She has no evidence of this, except that evidence abounds; it's there for her to see. But the reality is that even if she can't see it, for the 750,000

people who have logged on to our website, information never before available is there for them to see. The reality is that here in the province of Ontario we've introduced accountability -- an

essential reform -- and now we're working on transparency, to create the capacity for the people who own this system, the patients of Ontario, to be able to make decisions which will avail them of

the best possible health care.

There is always more work to do in health care, but I am proud of the work that's been done on the front lines of health care by providers all across the

province. The patients of Ontario, experiencing better results, understand that there is a focus like never before and results are being achieved as we speak.

TENANT PROTECTION

Mr. Howard Hampton (Kenora-Rainy River): My question is for the Minister of Housing. Dalton McGuinty promised that his government would pass a

new rent control bill, a real rent control bill, within 365 days of taking office. We're now on day 941 and still no rent control legislation. We're told once again that it's coming, but what we

hear is that this bill is going to continue that odious practice known as "vacancy decontrol," a gift to landlords, punishment of tenants. My question is this: Minister, can you tell us who was it

that promised, "We will get rid of vacancy decontrol, which allows unlimited rent increases on a unit when a tenant leaves. It will be gone." Who promised that?

Hon. John Gerretsen (Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing): Let me just tell this member -- and I appreciate the question from him --

that this government has done an awful lot when it comes to affordable housing in this province, which was basically, for the 10 years prior to that, totally neglected at both the federal and the

provincial levels.

We as a government reached an agreement with the federal government -- as a matter of fact, it was exactly one year ago today when an agreement was signed by

the federal government -- whereby $702 million would be made available for affordable housing. That process started in a number of different ways, in housing allowances and new affordable rental

housing, and we're doing that work right now.

With respect to the question he asked about rent reform, it is coming and it will be sooner rather than later. I'm sure that once the package is presented to

this House, this member will see that it's good legislation for good landlords and good tenants.

Mr. Hampton: I'm shocked. Once again, the Minister of Housing didn't answer the question. The question was, who promised to end vacancy

decontrol? Do you know who it was? It was Dalton McGuinty, in his release Improving Affordable Housing. But what are we seeing? No rent control bill in the first year -- a broken promise. Now, what

is equally clear, you're going to continue vacancy decontrol -- another broken promise. Tell me, Minister, since you're going to give a gift to landlords and punish tenants once again, why should

tenants trust anything the McGuinty government says about rent control?

Hon. Mr. Gerretsen: Let me just say that the rent increase guidelines that this government has set over the last couple years, at 2% for the

year previous to the current one and 1.5% this year, are the lowest rent increase guideline that have existed under the rent control system that's been in operation for some 30 years. The rent bank

that we set up, by which we contributed some $14 million to individual housing service providers around this province, has helped close to 5,000 individuals and families who are involved in

emergency situations, where they cannot afford their rent because of a loss of job or health-related reasons. Those people have been given help through the rent banks and have been able to stay in

the place they live, etc.

What we're doing in the housing area is unprecedented in this province, and certainly a heck of a lot more than that government ever did in the early 1990s or

certainly what the party opposite us did for 10 years prior to this --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Thank you. Final supplementary.

Mr. Hampton: The question is about Dalton McGuinty's specific promise to end vacancy decontrol. It's about Dalton McGuinty's specific promise

that it would be gone. But now it appears that this is just like the promise to freeze hydro rates, just like the promise to freeze taxes and just like the promise to help autistic children.

Minister, why should tenants trust anything the McGuinty government says? Are you going to stand up for tenants, or are you going to sell out to landlords once again?

Hon. Mr. Gerretsen: Once again, this member simply cannot understand or accept the fact that this government has done an awful lot for the

vulnerable groups in our society that, because of low-income situations, need support with their housing. We've done it with respect to the rent bank. We've done it with respect to the lowest rent

guideline increases in over two years. We've done it with respect to new affordable housing that's been built or is currently under conduction. We've done it in so many different ways that I'm sure

that when the new act comes forward in the next little while, the member will totally support this landlord, which is going to help good tenants and good landlords in this province, as they should

be.

SOFTWOOD LUMBER

Mr. Howard Hampton (Kenora-Rainy River): My question is for the Acting Premier. We don't need laws for good landlords. But my question to the

Acting Premier is this: About four or five days ago, the McGuinty government was saying that the proposed deal on softwood lumber was a bad deal; it was a terrible deal. But then, in a matter of 24

hours, the McGuinty government says that this looks like a wonderful deal, a silk purse.

Can the Acting Premier tell me, when the United States gets to keep $1 billion of Canadian lumber producers' money, when Canadian producers and Ontario

producers will face new quotas and new taxes, how is this a good deal for Ontario lumber producers?

Hon. George Smitherman (Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): To the Minister of Natural Resources.

Hon. David Ramsay (Minister of Natural Resources, minister responsible for aboriginal affairs): What I say to the member is that it's a better

deal, and a lot better deal than it was last week, thanks to the intervention of British Columbia and Ontario. We made that happen here.

I would have preferred, obviously, if the companies received all their money. That is hard-earned money of our companies right across this country. In that

negotiation, you win some and you lose some. But what Ontario stood for was to make sure that the reference period -- that's the period of record for exports -- was from 2001 to 2005, so that

Ontario retained its average quota that it's had over the last five years. That means that Ontario now is going to be able to prosper, as we're going to continue to have 2.3% of a growing market in

the United States.

Mr. Hampton: Canada won tribunal after tribunal at the World Trade Organization and at NAFTA. Those tribunals said that the United States was

acting illegally, that they owed Ontario lumber producers and Canadian lumber producers $5 billion. What did the McGuinty government sign on to? They get to keep $1 billion for their illegal

activity. Not only that, but if they choose to in the future, they can put on a quota; they can hit us with a tax. In fact, they can do a lot of things.

Can you tell me, Minister, will this deal stop US lumber producers from attacking other Canadian industries now that your government has rewarded George Bush

and the US lumber lobby with a $1-billion payout that is in contradiction of NAFTA?

Hon. Mr. Ramsay: I have a feeling that the member across the way would like to be in the House of Commons and maybe forgets he is in the

Ontario Legislature. We do not negotiate international arrangements or treaties, but what we do is give input to the federal government. In this case, when we saw that what was being agreed to was

a penalty to Ontario that would put Ontario producers at a disadvantage, we stood up for Ontario producers and we won our case. We did that by working with the other provinces and with our

colleagues from Quebec to British Columbia. We basically said to the federal government that this wasn't good enough; they needed to make this change. They made the change, and from now on our

companies are going to prosper and do well, as the mills and the lines in those sawmills begin to ramp up and hire people back. That's good news for Ontario.

Mr. Hampton: I think workers across northern and central Ontario will really be pleased to know that the McGuinty government pushed. You

pushed so hard, you gave away $1 billion. You pushed so hard that there can be an export tax on our lumber. You pushed so hard that there are quotas on our lumber. And you pushed so hard that we

now learn that the deal gives the United States a veto over provincial forest policy in the future.

Minister, you pushed so hard. Do you think it's acceptable to give George Bush and the White House final say on Ontario's forest policies? And if not, why did

you sign on to such a bad deal?

Hon. Mr. Ramsay: I know what the workers in northern Ontario care about. They care about jobs and they care about getting rehired by the

companies. The companies are going to start to do that because now we're going to have some certainty going forward, because our companies are going to get most of their money back. They're going

to be able to reinvest; they're going to be able to help the pulp and paper plants that they need as a chip market for their product.

From now on, we're going to get a stronger forest industry in northern Ontario. That means more jobs and stronger, sustainable communities. That's what we want

for Ontario.

NURSES

Mrs. Elizabeth Witmer (Kitchener-Waterloo): My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. In 2003, the McGuinty Liberals ran on

the promise to hire 8,000 new nurses. Now, two thirds of the way through your mandate, this promise is nowhere near being met. In fact, the Ontario Nurses' Association has launched a campaign

called "Not Enough Nurses" to focus on your broken promise.

Today you received 8,000 postcards from ONA calling on you, as Minister of Health, to keep your promise to hire 8,000 more nurses. Minister, where are the

8,000 nurses you promised to hire?

Hon. George Smitherman (Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): Let's review the math, because I know my honourable friend is very, very good

with numbers.

The Ontario College of Nurses said that in the first three years the Conservatives were in office, from 1995 to 1998, there were 6,279 fewer nurses. In the

first three years --

Interjection.

Hon. Mr. Smitherman: You're still not in your seat.

In the first three years that our government has had the privilege of being in office -- not even three full calendar years yet -- Doris Grinspun from the

Registered Nurses Association of Ontario said that nurse hiring in Ontario has gone up by 4,500. Accordingly, I think that there's evidence of very good progress.

Let me talk about some other progress that has been made: a higher percentage of nurses working full-time, up a full 8% since we came to office, to 59%; a

higher percentage of nurses under 30; for the first time in nine years, the average age of nurses is holding steady; and the percentage of nurses who are working for one employer is up 4%, to 94%.

We have more work to do.

Mrs. Witmer: The minister chooses to be selective. What he failed to mention was that during our term we hired more than 12,000 nurses. That

was confirmed by the nursing association in the province of Ontario. In implementing all of the recommendations in the task force, we have a track record of commitment to nurses that we can be very

proud of.

I say to the minister, I sent you an order paper question: "How many nurses have you hired since 2003?" On April 15 you responded, "Three thousand sixty-two,"

but you said that one thousand of those are temporary positions. We now learn that 50 more nurses were probably laid off last month -- this is what ONA tells us -- as a result of the new

accountability agreements in the hospitals.

I say to you, where is your plan and where are your timelines that are going to help you keep that promise of 8,000 more nurses? Tell us. You never have a plan

or timeline.

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): The question has been asked. Minister?

Hon. Mr. Smitherman: The member made the reference that there was some selectivity going on. She obviously managed to forget that it was her

party and the leader of her party, the Premier, who called nurses in Ontario "redundant like hula hoops." The honourable member has forgotten about the fact that she sat there proudly, served in

that government and voted alongside them on every single vote. This is her record as well. She can't just disassociate herself from those earliest years that she didn't like.

The reality is that in less than three years we've increased nursing employment by more than 4,000. Across the breadth of other health care professions, we've

increased hiring as well.

Nursing Week is coming very soon, and during Nursing Week, I can assure the honourable member, she will see initiative for us to continue the trend, continue

the pattern, continue the growth, supporting older nurses, supporting the new nurses and making sure --

The Speaker: Thank you. New question.

NUCLEAR ENERGY

Mr. Howard Hampton (Kenora-Rainy River): To the Acting Premier: My question is about Dalton McGuinty's worst-kept secret -- his real energy

policy, the Dalton McGuinty scheme to spend $40 billion of hydro consumers' money on expensive, unreliable and environmentally risky nuclear power plants.

Today, media reports suggest that the McGuinty government is determined to keep these nuclear projects on budget. My question is this: Can the Acting Premier

provide a single example in the history of Ontario of a nuclear power project that has been on budget?

Hon. George Smitherman (Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): To the Minister of Energy.

Hon. Donna H. Cansfield (Minister of Energy): I thank the member for the question. As a matter of fact, Pickering unit 1 was on time and on

budget.

Interjection: On our watch.

Hon. Mrs. Cansfield: The important thing to note is that that was, in fact, as was indicated, on our watch.

Jim Hankinson at OPG put together a plan that brought that unit back on time and on budget, and they are to be congratulated for the work they have done.

Mr. Hampton: Well, the minister should read some of the media reports.

Here's the history. Pickering A and Pickering B: projected cost, $1.8 billion; actual cost, $4.5 billion. Bruce A and Bruce B: projected cost, $4.8 billion;

actual cost, $7.8 billion. Bruce restart: projected cost, $340 million; actual cost, $720 million. Darlington: projected cost, $4 billion; actual cost, $14.3 billion. Pickering restarts: over

budget.

Bloated cost overruns and an environmentally risky strategy: Can you tell the people of Ontario what's going to be different this time that hasn't happened

before in Ontario's history?

Hon. Mrs. Cansfield: As a matter of fact, when you look at the history around the nuclear industry, one of the greatest challenges that did

exist was the political interference in many of those cost overruns. I think Darlington is a really good example, when you go back and look at the interference in terms of the production when it

was brought on line.

The other issue, though, I think that it is important to recognize is that Pickering unit 1 was brought in on time, on budget and under this government's

watch, and that in fact OPG is to be commended for the work that they have undertaken. There is no question that it is a serious business and they take it seriously. They have put together a far

better plan. They have worked very closely with the industry, they have learned and profited from issues in the past, and I think we have a level of comfort in knowing that they can proceed in the

future. No decisions have been made when it comes to the mixed fuel supply report, but when in fact they are, I'm sure the member will have something to say at that time.

YOUTH SERVICES

Mr. Shafiq Qaadri (Etobicoke North): My question is for the Minister of Children and Youth Services, the Honourable Mary Anne Chambers.

Minister, as you are aware, the city of Toronto saw several instances of gang-related gun violence, particularly last summer. I myself had the unfortunate duty of attending the funerals of four

young men from my own community of Etobicoke North, so I consider this matter urgent.

I was therefore heartened to have been able to welcome the Premier to my riding this past Saturday. We were at the Toronto West Seventh-day Adventist Church,

and the Premier announced on behalf of our government a new Down with Guns program. This is part of our government's ongoing efforts to address this issue. Minister, would you please inform this

chamber about this initiative, this component of our anti-violence strategy?

Hon. Mary Anne V. Chambers (Minister of Children and Youth Services): The member from Etobicoke North will recall that in January of this

year, the Premier and I met with a coalition of faith leaders here in Toronto as well as with Dr. Rivers, a minister from Boston, and we looked at the issues that we had been and have been

experiencing. We requested that the coalition provide us with a strong proposal as to what they could bring to the table to help our young people, particularly those who are at risk but not

actually in trouble with the law.

I'm really pleased that the faith community -- the Coalition of Christian Leaders -- and the Toronto Community Foundation did bring forward a proposal, a

strategy that will focus very strongly on mentorship in the areas of family, education, employment and helping young people to understand their civic rights and responsibilities.

Mr. Qaadri: Thank you again, Minister, for your commitment to this urban challenge. With the leadership of the faith community, I trust this

innovative initiative will provide youth with greater opportunities and alternatives, something particularly needed in ridings such as my own, Etobicoke North. But this initiative is part of an

overall program and strategy to address the causes of crime and provide opportunities to help our young people achieve their potential. Would you please inform this House about other initiatives of

our government to address getting tough on the causes of crime?

Hon. Mrs. Chambers: This initiative is one of several, actually. A couple of months ago, for example, we announced a youth opportunities

strategy that will focus on employment opportunities -- some very unique programs. I want to mention one, which is the first of its kind in Canada, called youth in policing, starting in Toronto and

expanding to other parts of the province next year. In Toronto alone, 100 young people will have the opportunity to work with the Toronto Police Service for the summer, building relationships and

learning more about policing. It's really exciting how well this has been received. Toronto police have received more than 1,000 applications for these positions. We are also offering more in the

way of summer employment, mentorship opportunities and mediation-type opportunities. We are working to keep kids in school until 18, learning to ensure that when they do leave school, they're in a

good position to contribute to their communities.

ENERGY RATES

Mr. John Yakabuski (Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke): My question is for the Minister of Energy. Today is the day when consumers across the

province will again start to feel the effects of your failed energy policy. On top of the health tax that your government has forced them to pay -- higher taxes and fees -- today they will start to

feel the pinch of a further 16% in hydro rates across this province; 55% since your government has taken office.

Minister, we know that this is a result of your failed energy policy and your irresponsible promise to shut down almost 25% of our generational capacity.

People across this province need to know, as they face job layoffs and ever-increasing costs across this province -- and you know the numbers, Minister; you have the data -- what they can expect

going forward for hydro rate increases in this province this year, next year and beyond? Please tell them, Minister.

Hon. Donna H. Cansfield (Minister of Energy): I thank the member for his question. He does give new meaning to the words "new math," though.

The average increase across the province is 10%, and it does vary. There's no question that this is the first time you have had both distribution and rate increases at the same time.

There are ways and means that we can help people mitigate those costs. The first thing we did was put in $100 million which will actually serve up to 1.5

million low-income and fixed-income people. The other thing we have done is put a 100-megawatt directive with the Ontario Power Authority, again specific to social housing and low income or fixed

income. That actually puts out a rate of about 1.8 cents per kilowatt hour, where we will replace their refrigerators, stoves and windows, and look at ways to mitigate their costs. We do have in

place, as well, a long-term strategy, working with LIEN, the low-income groups, on how we can work with and put together a far more comprehensive policy, to deal with --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Thank you. Supplementary?

Mr. Yakabuski: I'm not really sure what the minister was trying to tell us, but do you know what? I don't think Ontarians are sure either.

They are seeing a price increase today of 16% --

Interjections.

The Speaker: Stop the clock. Order. I need to be able to hear the member ask his question.

Mr. Yakabuski: That's greatly appreciated, Speaker.

Minister, your answer does not wash. People in this province are facing job layoffs. And you know what? Under your government there are going to be a lot more

of those low-income people who need help because they're going to be losing their jobs under your energy policy and your taxation policy.

Skyrocketing property taxes under your regime, and skyrocketing fuel costs -- add those to skyrocketing hydro costs, and people in this province don't know

where they're going to turn under this government. Where can we expect to see, under a policy that sees energy replacements in this province from unreliable sources, such as your Premier saying

wind, or volatile sources such as natural gas that have seen increases in Massachusetts of 32% -- where can we see prices going forward in this province so that people have some idea of how much

more money you're going to be taking out of their pockets?

Hon. Mrs. Cansfield: The first thing we're going to do is be a little more up front with the people of Ontario. Rather than hiding $1 billion,

like you did with an artificial rate cap, and then trying to put together a market with antiquated Ontario power, we in fact have been straight. We will maximize our existing transmission and

generation. We will build new, and we've already put in place a --

Mr. Yakabuski: Where's the transmission, Donna?

Hon. Mrs. Cansfield: I said, we will maximize existing transmission and generation, build new, and create a conservation culture.

The difference that we will do is we will actually put the price up front so people know the real price of electricity that they have. We will not hide it in

an artificial debt that was $24 billion and finally is coming down for the first time in many years, and we will be able to say to them that there are ways to mitigate those costs because we will

put in place, and have put in place, strong conservation initiatives for the people of this province.

CHILD CARE

Ms. Andrea Horwath (Hamilton East): For the Minister of Children and Youth Services: Minister, here's a very sad children's story. In the land

of Ontario, long ago, before Stephen Harper came to power and even before Paul Martin came to power, a man named Dalton McGuinty promised 25,000 new child care spaces in Ontario. He promised to

invest $300 million of his own provincial money, not federal money. Three years later, he broke that promise, even though he had enough money to keep it -- a $3-billion budget windfall last year.

Minister, how will this story end? Are you ever going to keep your promise to fund child care in Ontario?

Hon. Mary Anne V. Chambers (Minister of Children and Youth Services): It sounds like the member from Hamilton East should, in fact, take up

storytelling. It seems to be a passion of hers.

In spite of the fact that the federal government has announced that they will cancel the five-year agreement they struck with Ontario, I'm really quite pleased

to say that our province has committed to maintain and sustain every single space that will have been created by September of this year. That represents 14,873 new spaces, about 59% of the

three-year target. We will make wage improvements. We will increase the number of subsidies, enabling more families to access child care. I am very proud of our province's leadership on this

file.

Ms. Horwath: Minister, the bottom line is, you're not committed to the 25,000 spaces that you promised when you were running for election.

Other provinces, however -- notably Quebec -- have decided to press forward with their own plans. As Carol Goar notes in the Toronto Star today, your government "professes to believe that preschool

learning is one of the smartest investments a government can make." Assuming you still believe that, when are you going to keep your promise to fund child care spaces in the province of

Ontario?

Hon. Mrs. Chambers: If the member was truly sincere about this issue, she and her party would be standing by their federal colleagues in

intent, I question the politics, when in fact nobody in her party has stood up on behalf of parents and children to honour a $1.9-billion commitment that our government worked hard --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Thank you, Minister. Stop the clock. I think we are in danger of imputing too many motives -- any

motives. There was more than one.

Mr. Kormos: All you have to do is impute one.

The Speaker: Exactly.

Interjections.

The Speaker: That's not very helpful either. I remind members that all members here are honourable members, that all intentions here are

honourable and that all discussions need to take place through the chair, through the Speaker.

New question.

M. Richard Patten (Ottawa-Centre): Ma question s'adresse à la ministre déléguée aux Affaires francophones. Dans les

dernières semaines à Ottawa, plusieurs activités et événements clés ont eu lieu dans la communauté francophone. Le lancement de l'Assemblée de la

Francophonie de l'Ontario a eu lieu, représentant l'aboutissement d'un long processus de réflexion collective et de rassemblement des francophones autour d'une vision partagée.

La finale de l'émission Francoeur, le premier téléroman franco-ontarien, a été célébrée lors d'une levée de fonds

pour la Fondation franco-ontarienne. Le projet des Monuments de la francophonie, qui érigera des structures honorant les Franco-Ontariens, a annoncé les six premiers sites retenus. Il y a

eu le lancement officiel de l'Amicale francophone d'Ottawa vendredi dernier.

La francophonie dans la région d'Ottawa se porte bien. Mais que fait votre gouvernement pour appuyer ces initiatives?

L'hon. Madeleine Meilleur (ministre des Services sociaux et communautaires, ministre déléguée aux Affaires francophones): Je

voudrais remercier le député d'Ottawa-Centre qui est, on le connaît bien, un francophile très engagé.

Oui, en effet, il y a un mois passé j'étais au lancement du nouvel organisme l'AFO, qui remplace l'ACFO. C'est un nouveau point de départ pour

les francophones en Ontario. Les francophones parleront haut et fort et parleront avec une voix à travers cet organisme.

Cette fin de semaine, vendredi, j'étais à l'ouverture et au lancement de l'Amicale francophone d'Ottawa, justement, dans Ottawa-Centre, un organisme

qui va prôner et reconnaître les francophones de la région.

Pour ce qui est de l'appui des initiatives de notre gouvernement, notre gouvernement récemment a contribué 50 000 $ au Festival

franco-ontarien pour justement appuyer le relancement du festival.

De plus, on a donné 140 000 $ --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Supplementary.

M. Patten: Je suis heureux d'apprendre que le gouvernement fait sa part pour appuyer les initiatives à Ottawa, là où il y a la

plus grande population francophone de la province en fait des nombres.

Il est temps que le gouvernement ontarien se met à appuyer les francophones de la province. La population de l'Ontario comprend un demi-million de

francophones, une importante communauté dont l'apport est à la fois économique, culturel et social.

les acquis de la communauté franco-ontarienne, que fait votre gouvernement afin d'encourager, de promouvoir et d'appuyer la francophonie en Ontario?

L'hon. M me Meilleur: En effet, cette année nous allons célébrer le vingtième anniversaire de l'adoption de la

l'accent sur la mobilisation, et puis reconnaître ce que les francophones ont apporté ici en Ontario.

De concert avec le ministère des Affaires civiques et de l'Immigration, le gouvernement de l'Ontario va inaugurer un prix qui va être

juin.

La semaine dernière, j'assistais au Festival franco-ontarien de théâtre en milieu scolaire, qui aussi regroupait toutes les écoles

secondaires francophones dans la région pour un festival de théâtre.

Toutes ces initiatives et encore plus seront --

The Speaker: Thank you. New question.

REGIONAL CENTRES FOR THE

DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED

Mr. Norman W. Sterling (Lanark-Carleton): My question is for the Minister of Community and Social Services. Minister, you will recall that in

September 2004, your predecessor announced the accelerated closure of Ontario's three remaining residential institutions for adults with severe developmental disabilities, including Rideau Regional

Centre in Smiths Falls in my riding.

When that announcement was made, the group which represented the people who were in this residential care centre were not consulted. They're called the Rideau

Regional Centre Association. They represent some of the 400 people who are left in this institution -- their brothers, sisters, children, cousins etc. On April 18, this group asked to meet with you

at Rideau Regional Centre. Will you meet with them at Rideau Regional Centre?

Hon. Madeleine Meilleur (Minister of Community and Social Services, minister responsible for francophone affairs): I have to remind the member

of the opposition party that the decision to close the Rideau Regional Centre was taken many years ago and was supported by his government.

I wanted to also say that, yes, I will be going to the Rideau Regional Centre this coming Friday. Four weeks into my new position, I'm going. I have been there

before, but I'm going back. Of course, the decisions and the opinions of the parents of these individuals will be taken into consideration when a decision will be taken on where these people are

going to be placed. So there will be a full consultation, and we wanted to make sure that these individuals will be placed in the most appropriate --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Thank you. Supplementary.

Mr. Sterling: The minister should not be caught up by the rhetoric of her predecessor, because there were very few people who were discharged

from any of these three institutions in the last 10 years. You have accelerated that process.

In 2004, your predecessor promised that all of the relevant ministries would be brought to the table with the community to ensure the economic impact of the

closures would not affect those communities too greatly. In the town of Smiths Falls, of 9,000 people, Rideau Regional Centre employs 840 people. When this centre closes, they will lose their jobs,

and it will be a catastrophe for Smiths Falls. Minister, when will you and your cabinet colleagues release your plan, as promised, for Smiths Falls and the communities affected by the closure of

Rideau Regional Centre?

Hon. Mrs. Meilleur: I just wanted to correct what the member said. Since the decision was taken to close this centre, already 6,000 people

were placed into the community, so for the three centres together, 6,000, and recently there were another 130 who were placed out in the community. I remind the member of the opposition again that

this decision was supported by the three parties: by the Tories, by the NDP, and by our party.

We are going to proceed. As you know, there was a decision from the court that supported what we are doing and also congratulated the staff for the good work

they have done and --

The Speaker: Thank you. New question.

WASTE DIVERSION

Mr. Peter Tabuns (Toronto-Danforth): My question today is for the Minister of the Environment. York and Durham regions are presently pushing

forward with plans to incinerate municipal waste. Meanwhile, your government is absolutely nowhere with respect to your promise to divert 60% of waste from landfills. Your failure to act means

communities across the province are faced with the spectre of new incinerators and more pollution.

Minister, how can you allow incineration when you have done nothing to keep your promise to divert 60% of waste from landfills?

Hon. Laurel C. Broten (Minister of the Environment): I am so pleased to have a chance to talk about the waste diversion in Ontario. Perhaps

the member opposite missed the speech I gave last week, when I spoke to Waste Diversion Ontario at their AGM and, at that meeting, indicated the next two steps we will be taking with respect to

waste diversion in this province. We will be building on the fantastic work that Waste Diversion Ontario has done with respect to the blue box program, being the first government, as we are, to

ensure that they have funding -- $60 million in 2005. We will be moving forward with programs to divert household hazardous waste, building on the success of the blue box program and the

electronics program. Perhaps my friend might like to do a little bit of research before he asks questions with respect to the state of diversion in the province because, as of last week, we are

moving forward on two very exciting projects.

Mr. Tabuns: Minister, in 2004 you failed to implement a used tire recycling program. You're now proposing to allow Lafarge, a multinational

cement company, to burn scrap tires in their Bath, Ontario cement kiln, despite studies showing that burning tires can dramatically increase emissions of dioxins and metals into the environment,

and despite objections from local residents and provincial environmental groups. How can you consider allowing tires to be burned in Bath when you failed to deliver a tire recycling program?

Hon. Ms. Broten: Perhaps, since my friend is jumping around in a number of areas, I will speak to the issue of the Durham/York plan. As you

know, I have repeatedly said that our government is open to the examination of new technology, and that if municipalities, in managing their municipal waste, want to bring forward an application

with respect to new technology, we'd be pleased to receive it.

Let me tell him what the chair, Roger Anderson, said about the recent approval we put in place: "We are very pleased to have the government's support on this

environmental assessment. Thanks to the leadership of the Honourable Minister Broten, we can now move forward with the Durham/York residual waste study. With this work plan approval, the regions

can now work towards a plan that delivers a made-in-Ontario solution for waste disposal."

With respect to the Lafarge facility, I say to the people in the Bath community and beyond that the process is underway. There's an opportunity for them to

comment. I invite them to do so, and I will look at the entirety of the comments that come before me as I make my decisions.

HOSPITAL FUNDING

Mr. David Orazietti (Sault Ste. Marie): My question is for the Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal. A little more than a week ago, the

Sault Area Hospital and Infrastructure Ontario issued a request for qualifications to shortlist bidders for the new Sault Area Hospital. This major milestone on the way to a new publicly owned,

publicly controlled and publicly accountable hospital for my community is wonderful news, and I applaud you, Minister Smitherman and the Premier for the commitment you have demonstrated to the

project thus far.

As you are aware, using the alternate financing and procurement strategy clearly outlined in the Building a Better Tomorrow framework, we are able to undertake

numerous projects to replace and modernize our vital public infrastructure. But despite such great news, some individuals continue to question the AFP approach. Can you please clarify our

government's position on the ownership of the Sault Area Hospital?

Hon. David Caplan (Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, Deputy Government House Leader): I want to thank the member from Sault Ste.

Marie for the question. The Sault Area Hospital, like all hospitals in the province of Ontario, will not only be publicly owned but publicly controlled and publicly accountable through local

hospital boards. Any suggestion to the contrary is simply incorrect, and any effort to deny the good people of the Soo access to a publicly owned, modern, state-of-the-art facility will be

resisted, certainly by myself and by our government.

The facts speak for themselves: The title of the building and the land will be held by the hospital corporation. Any decision related to the operations and

management will be made by the local hospital board. In other words, the Sault-Area Hospital will be publicly owned, publicly controlled and publicly accountable, end of sentence, full stop,

period, right there. The McGuinty government has affirmed and reaffirmed its commitment to a strong public health care system, and I'm happy to repeat again for this member and for the entire

Legislature that we champion a public health care system.

Mr. Orazietti: Thank you, Minister. I appreciate your unequivocal clarification of our government's commitment to the public ownership,

control and accountability of all hospitals in Ontario, including, of course, the Sault-Area Hospital.

It also appears that others support the AFP process. On CBC news, John Tory said, "I think the principle of what's being done here is right." Former NDP

finance minister Floyd Laughren said on TVO, "I don't think it's in their interests to resist it. It's a knee-jerk reaction that doesn't make sense. I don't understand resisting letting the public

sector use those funds."

But Minister, there have also been some suggestions that employees of the new Sault-Area Hospital will lose their union protection and status. Can you please

clarify this issue for our community?

Hon. Mr. Caplan: I'm only too happy to, because this government has demonstrated time and again deep respect for the crucial role that our

unions play in the delivery of important public services, and this respect also applies to the new hospital projects in the Soo and all across the province of Ontario.

continue to be represented by the current collective bargaining agent. We are proud of the approach that we're taking to building this new hospital. I'm especially proud of our commitment to public

ownership, control and accountability. We as a government are very proud of our respectful approach to labour relations. Unlike the NDP, unlike the Tories' approach to P3s, the McGuinty

government's made-in-Ontario AFP approach to levering private sector expertise and innovation ensures that the fundamental values and priorities of Ontarians are enshrined and protected. That is,

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Thank you. New question.

AGRICULTURE PROGRAMS

Mr. Jim Wilson (Simcoe-Grey): My question is for the Minister of Agriculture. Last Thursday, I met with farmers in my riding who represent a

cross-section of the commodity groups in this province. They want to know, after almost three years in office, why there is no long-term vision or plan for agriculture in this province, and

particularly they would like to see a vision that says that your government will do everything in its power to save the family farm in Ontario. They want to know also why you're not leading

discussions with respect to CAIS with the federal government.

With respect to CAIS, Minister, you know that CAIS isn't working for the grains and oilseeds producers. They would like to know why you're not bringing forward

the risk management plan that they've suggested.

Hon. Leona Dombrowsky (Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs): I'm happy that I have the opportunity to respond to the honourable

member. I am sure that when you had these discussions with the farmers in your community, you were able to remind them of the commitment of this government, and our -- not just our desire, but on

many occasions I have personally met with the federal Minister of Agriculture to make it very clear that we need both a short-term plan, for the immediate need, and a longer-term plan, and indeed

that the CAIS program needs to be repaired. There's no doubt about that. Ontario has brought those concerns to the federal-provincial table.

We are looking forward to going back to Newfoundland in June to have all of the members of that table -- our bureaucrats are bringing us recommendations on

that. So remember, honourable member, in our budget we have a commitment to a long-term strategy. We've asked the federal government to come to the table. I'm sure you reminded them of that when

you spoke with them.

PETITIONS

LANDFILL

Ms. Lisa MacLeod (Nepean-Carleton): It's my pleasure to introduce a petition today. I was in my riding of Nepean-Carleton on the weekend and

some members of the community, in particular Gilles Charles and others in Stittsville, wanted me to bring this petition to the floor of the Legislature.

"Whereas there is currently a proposal to more than double the size of the Carp landfill in west Ottawa; and

"Whereas this site has been in operation for some 30 years and had been expected to close in 2010; and

"Whereas the surrounding community has grown rapidly for the past 10 years and is continuing to grow; and

"Whereas other options to an expanded landfill have yet to be considered; and

"Whereas the municipal councillors representing this area," and the MPPs, Norm Sterling and Lisa MacLeod, "all oppose this expansion;

"We, the undersigned, support our local representatives and petition the Minister of the Environment not to approve the expansion of the Carp landfill and

instead to find other waste management alternatives."

I affix my signature to this petition, as I support it wholeheartedly.

IDENTITY THEFT

Mr. Tony Ruprecht (Davenport): I have a petition addressed to the Parliament of Ontario and especially the Minister of Government Services. It

reads as follows -- and I just want to add that it was given to me by the Consumer Federation Canada, a very important organization:

"Whereas identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in North America;

"Whereas confidential and private information is being stolen on a regular basis, affecting literally thousands of people;

"Whereas the cost of this crime exceeds billions of dollars;

"Whereas countless hours are wasted to restore one's good credit rating; and

"Whereas we, the undersigned, demand that Bill 38, which passed the second reading unanimously in the Ontario Legislature on December 8, 2005, be brought

before committee and that the following issues be included for consideration and debate:

"

(1) All consumer reports should be provided in a truncated (masked-out) form, protecting our vital private information, such as SIN numbers and credit card

numbers.

"

(2) Should a credit bureau discover that there has been a breach of consumer information, the agency should immediately inform the victimized consumer.

"

(3) Credit bureaus should" also and "only report inquiries resulting out of actual applications for credit and for no other reasons.

"

(4) Credit bureaus should investigate any complaints within 30 days and correct or automatically delete any information found unconfirmed or inaccurate."

Since I agree with this wholeheartedly, I am indeed delighted to sign this petition.

LANDFILL

Mr. Norman W. Sterling (Lanark-Carleton): To the Legislative Assembly:

"Whereas there is currently a proposal to more than double the size of the Carp landfill in west Ottawa; and

"Whereas this site has been in operation for some 30 years and had been expected to close in 2010; and

"Whereas the surrounding community has grown rapidly for the past 10 years and is continuing to grow; and

"Whereas other options to an expanded landfill have yet to be considered; and

"Whereas the municipal councillors representing this area, Eli El-Chantiry and Peggy Feltmate," and the MPPs, Norm Sterling and Lisa MacLeod, "all oppose this

expansion;

"We, the undersigned, support our local representatives and petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to ensure that the Ministry of the Environment does

not approve the expansion of the Carp landfill and instead to find other waste management alternatives."

I support that, and I know the member for Ottawa Centre does as well.

COMMUNITY MEDIATION

Mr. Bob Delaney (Mississauga West): I have a petition to the Ontario Legislative Assembly. I'd like to thank Balraj Cheema of Mississauga for

having collected the signatures for me. It reads as follows:

"Whereas many types of civil disputes may be resolved through community mediation delivered by trained mediators, who are volunteers who work with the parties

in the dispute; and

"Whereas Inter-Cultural Neighbourhood Social Services established the Peel Community Mediation Service in 1999 with support from the government of Ontario

through the Trillium Foundation, the Rotary Club of Mississauga West and the United Way of Peel, and has proven the viability and success of community mediation; and

"Whereas the city of Mississauga and the town of Caledon have endorsed the Peel Community Mediation Service, and law enforcement bodies refer many cases to the

Peel Community Mediation Service as an alternative to a court dispute; and

"Whereas court facilities and court time are both scarce and expensive, the cost of community mediation is very small and the extra expense incurred for lack

of community mediation in Peel region would be much greater than the small annual cost of funding community mediation;

"Be it therefore resolved that the government of Ontario, through the Ministry of the Attorney General, support and fund the ongoing service delivery of the

Peel Community Mediation Service through Inter-Cultural Neighbourhood Social Services."

I wholeheartedly agree with this petition. I'll affix my signature to it and ask page Haakim to carry it for me.

HIGHWAY 26

Mr. Jim Wilson (Simcoe-Grey): "To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas the redevelopment of Highway 26 was approved by MPP Jim Wilson and the previous PC government in 1999; and

"Whereas a number of horrific fatalities and accidents have occurred on the old stretch of Highway 26; and

"Whereas the redevelopment of Highway 26 is critical to economic development and job creation in Simcoe-Grey;

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

"That the Liberal government stop the delay of the Highway 26 redevelopment and act immediately to ensure that the project is finished on schedule, to improve

safety for area residents and provide economic development opportunities and job creation in Simcoe-Grey."

Obviously, I agree with that petition, and I have signed it.

LONG-TERM CARE

Mrs. Carol Mitchell (Huron-Bruce): I have 93 signatures on this petition:

"Whereas long-term-care funding levels are too low to enable homes to provide the care and services our aging seniors and parents who are residents of

long-term-care homes need, with the respect and dignity that they deserve; and

"Whereas, even with recent funding increases and a dedicated staff who do more than their best, there is still not enough time available to provide the care

residents need. For example, 10 minutes, and sometimes less, is simply not enough time to assist a resident to get up, dressed, to the bathroom and then to the dining room for breakfast; and

"Whereas those unacceptable care and service levels are now at risk of declining;

"We, the undersigned, who are members of family councils, residents' councils and/or supporters of long-term care in Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly

of Ontario to increase operating funding to long-term-care homes by $306.6 million, which will allow the hiring of more staff to provide an additional 20 minutes of care per resident per day over

the next two years...."

I affix my signature to this petition.

RECYCLING

Mr. Ted Chudleigh (Halton): I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas waste from Ontario public schools that could otherwise be recyclable is contributing to increased landfill sites; and

"Whereas diverting waste is critical to sustaining a healthy environment now and in the future; and

"Whereas there is a need to encourage recycling initiatives in all schools; and

"Whereas the private member's bill proposed by the geography club from Georgetown District High School under Making the Grade will require all Ontario school

boards to have two recycling bins in each classroom, one for paper and one for drinking containers. As well, cafeterias must have adequate recycling containers outlining items acceptable to be

recycled;

"We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to pass the private member's bill that will amend the Ontario school boards education act to

divert waste from Ontario high school classrooms and cafeterias."

I'm very pleased to affix my signature to this petition.

LONG-TERM CARE

Mr. Tony Ruprecht (Davenport): The petition I'm presenting to you today was signed by hundreds of residents in my riding of Davenport. It

reads as follows:

"Whereas Portuguese Canadians number 171,545 in the Toronto census metropolitan area, many of whom encounter serious barriers (language, culture and location)

to accessing community and long-term-care services; and

"There are no long-term-care homes dedicated to the needs of Portuguese-Canadian seniors; and

"Camões House for the Aged and Portuguese Community Centre of Toronto is proposing a partnership with a local long-term-care provider to purchase up to

160 existing beds in the Toronto area (for a nominal fee), to develop a Portuguese-Canadian long-term-care home in Toronto. This partnership is tentative and is dependent on the approval of the

Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care;

"We, the undersigned, petition the Legislature of Ontario as follows:

"We encourage the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, his staff, and members of the Legislature to support the Camões proposal, and to make the

appropriate administrative and policy changes required to develop a Portuguese-Canadian long-term-care home in Toronto."

Since I agree, I'm very delighted to sign this petition.

Mr. Norman W. Sterling (Lanark-Carleton): "To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas long-term-care funding levels are too low to enable homes to provide the care and services our aging seniors and parents who are residents of

long-term-care homes need, with the respect and dignity that they deserve; and

"Whereas, even with recent funding increases and a dedicated staff who do more than their best, there is still not enough time available to provide the care

residents need. For example, 10 minutes, and sometimes less, is simply not enough time to assist a resident to get up, dressed, to the bathroom and then to the dining room for breakfast; and

"Whereas those unacceptable care and service levels are now at risk of declining;

"We, the undersigned, who are members of family councils, residents' councils and/or supporters of long-term care in Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly

of Ontario to increase operating funding to long-term-care homes by $306.6 million, which will allow the hiring of more staff to provide an additional 20 minutes of care per resident per day over

the next two years."

I have signed that in support.

COMMUNITY MEDIATION

Mr. Kuldip Kular (Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale): This petition is to the Ontario Legislative Assembly.

"Whereas many types of civil disputes may be resolved through community mediation delivered by trained mediators, who are volunteers who work with the parties

in the dispute; and

"Whereas Inter-Cultural Neighbourhood Social Services established the Peel Community Mediation Service in 1999 with support from the government of Ontario

through the Trillium Foundation, the Rotary Club of Mississauga West and the United Way of Peel, and has proven the viability and success of community mediation; and

"Whereas the city of Mississauga and the town of Caledon have endorsed the Peel Community Mediation Service, and law enforcement bodies refer many cases to the

Peel Community Mediation Service as an alternative to a court dispute; and

"Whereas court facilities and court time are both scarce and expensive, the cost of community mediation is very small and the extra expense incurred for lack

of community mediation in Peel region would be much greater than the small annual cost of funding community mediation;

"Be it therefore resolved that the government of Ontario, through the Ministry of the Attorney General, support and fund the ongoing service delivery of the

Peel Community Mediation Service through Inter-Cultural Neighbourhood Social Services."

I support this petition, and page Billy is going to carry this over.

LONG-TERM CARE

Mrs. Julia Munro (York North): "To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas long-term-care funding levels are too low to enable homes to provide the care and services our aging seniors and parents who are residents of

long-term-care homes need, with the respect and dignity that they deserve; and

"Whereas, even with recent funding increases and a dedicated staff who do more than their best, there is still not enough time available to provide the care

residents need. For example, 10 minutes, and sometimes less, is simply not enough time to assist a resident to get up, dressed, to the bathroom and then to the dining room for breakfast; and

"Whereas those unacceptable care and service levels are now at risk of declining;

"We, the undersigned, who are members of family councils, residents' councils and/or supporters of long-term care in Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly

of Ontario to increase operating funding to long-term-care homes by $306.6 million, which will allow the hiring of more staff to provide an additional 20 minutes of care per resident per day over

the next two years (2006 and 2007)."

As I am in complete agreement, I have affixed my signature to the petition and give it to Morgan to deliver.

PROPERTY TAXATION

Mr. Tony Ruprecht (Davenport): I have a petition addressed to the Legislature of Ontario. It reads as follows:

"We, the undersigned property owners and tenants, strongly oppose the current value assessment. The 2004-05 current value assessment is too high, and we will

show strong resistance. There may be a revolt.

"We believe the municipal tax system should reflect the following principles:

(1) Ability to pay should be a consideration; (2) property taxes should relate to

services 100%; (3) homeowners should not be penalized for improving their properties; (4) dependence on the residential property tax to raise provincial and municipal revenues should be reduced;

(5) the assessment system should be stable over long periods of time; the best time is 10 years; (6) assessments should be objective, accurate, consistent, correct, equitable and easily understood

-- house S.F./class/price; lot S.F./class/price, garage S.F./class/price; and (7) the owner should be authorized to approve the assessment.

"Most of our funding has come from ratepayers' groups and citizens from across the city of Toronto."

I present this petition to you.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

GREATER TORONTO

TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

ACT, 2006 /

LOI DE 2006 SUR LA RÉGIE

DES TRANSPORTS DU GRAND TORONTO

Mr. Takhar moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 104,

An Act to establish the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority and to repeal the GO Transit Act, 2001 / Projet de loi 104, Loi visant à

créer la Régie des transports du grand Toronto et à abroger la Loi de 2001 sur le Réseau GO.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Further debate?

Hon. Harinder S. Takhar (Minister of Transportation): I am pleased to lead the debate on our proposed legislation to create a Greater Toronto

Transportation Authority, known as GTTA.

First, let me point out again why it is critical to act now to curb traffic congestion in the greater Toronto area. There are approximately 5.5 million people

living in the GTA and Hamilton area. It is no surprise that our highways are already operating at close to capacity and have been for some time, yet it is estimated that in the next 25 years we

will see an increase of nearly two million vehicles in the GTA and surrounding areas.

Transport Canada estimates that the cost of congestion in Toronto alone is $1.6 billion annually. If we don't take further action, by 2021 commute times within

the GTA could increase by more than 50%, increasing the costs of congestion by about $7 billion a year.

I said "if" we don't take further action. Well, our government is taking action. If our legislation is passed, the mandate of the proposed GTTA will be to

create a seamless, integrated and coordinated transportation system. This can be achieved under the governance model we have put forward, which brings municipalities, the province and transit

agencies together.

Mr. Speaker, I should have said I will be sharing my time with the member from Ottawa-Orléans.

When commuters are travelling, they don't see municipal boundaries. People want to go from one place to another, like from Hamilton to Richmond Hill or from

Whitby to Mississauga, quickly, easily and in a convenient way. Our proposed GTTA puts people over politics and would make travelling by train, bus or subway a real and reliable alternative to

using a car.

It is equally necessary to improve existing road infrastructure to enable the efficient movement of people and goods on our roads. There must be a balance. The

proposed GTTA will support the growth plan for the greater Golden Horseshoe, which will be released soon. The growth plan will encourage the development of dynamic, vibrant communities that are

less car-dependent and more supportive of public transit.

The government continues to demonstrate our commitment to reducing gridlock and improving the flow of traffic. We must look at the GTA and the Hamilton area as

one economic region.

We were the first to open high-occupancy vehicle lanes on provincial highways. As a result, the number of people who have switched to public transit or

carpooling to take advantage of those HOV lanes continues to grow. There are now about 1,000 vehicles an hour on the eastbound Highway 403 HOV lane during the peak period of the morning rush hour,

and about 1,100 on the southbound Highway 404 HOV lane. I should say this exceeds our target.

We've delivered on our commitment and are the first government to offer municipalities a stable source of funding they can rely on to improve public transit

through our hugely successful provincial gas tax program. As a result of the gas tax program, public transit ridership is up by 3.4% across this province. That is the equivalent of about 18 million

fewer car trips every year. By making the largest investment in over a decade, we are getting our infrastructure and public system back on track after years of neglect.

While the population was growing and congestion was increasing, the previous government's decision in 1999 to eliminate all provincial support for public

transit systems had a devastating impact. In my view, this was a very short-sighted decision that left municipalities financially responsible, the province years behind, and commuters suffering

with long travel times.

The members of the opposition have already attempted to undermine the proposed GTTA model. I would like to take a few moments and reflect on the performance of

the previous government's failed attempt, the Greater Toronto Services Board, normally known as the GTSB. In an attempt to be all things to all people, the previous government established a

42-member board for the Greater Toronto Services Board, the GTSB. This board was made up solely of elected members. The board was too broad to make clear decisions and ultimately created a division

between the 416 and 905 areas.

Not only was the board's size a problem, but their mandate was not clear. The GTSB, under the former government, included responsibility for water, sewers,

transit, roads and highways, social services and housing, economic development and trade, and growth management. Clearly, the previous government had no focus or clear direction on how to tackle

congestion. Ultimately, the result was that the GTSB failed to deliver any concrete things.

This government recognized the need for an additional authority whose sole focus is transportation. If passed, our legislation proposes a balanced governance

model, a clear agenda and a focused mandate of integrating transit in the greater Toronto and Hamilton area.

If passed, the proposed GTTA will have an 11-member board made up of elected and non-elected members from the participating municipalities and the provincial

government. With a clear focus on transportation, the proposed model will be a decision-making body. Students, seniors, business people and commuters will also play an active role by forming an

advisory group to offer advice to the board during their decision-making process. We recognize the importance of listening to their experiences, issues and suggestions.

The GTTA's mandate is clear. Its focus is creating a seamless, integrated transit system. Our proposed GTTA model will develop a five-year rolling capital

plan, a long-term plan, and a five-year investment plan, and will ensure that transportation and investment plans are consistent with the growth plan. The board will report directly to the Minister

of Transportation to ensure that transit ridership continues to meet provincial targets.

The record of this government is $1.2 billion in transit investment this year. We are moving forward to create the GTTA, which will, for the first time, bring

a clear agenda of integration and coordination.

This government recognizes the importance of expanding our transit infrastructure to continue meeting the needs of growing communities. We have listened to the

concerns of our municipal partners. That is why this government announced $670 million for York region and the city of Toronto to expand the subway system, $95 million for the city of Brampton for

the AcceleRide program, and $90 million to the city of Mississauga for the Mississauga Transitway system, to enable them to move forward with their major transit initiatives. Our proposed GTTA will

build on these projects and bring further results.

If passed, this legislation will allow the agency to bring together the province, the regions of Durham, Halton, Peel and York, and the cities of Hamilton and

Toronto, as well as local transit agencies, to create a seamless, integrated, more convenient transportation network in this region. Commuters will see a difference. Having a single authority

coordinating planning and scheduling will mean that people will spen