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December 20, 2006

38th Parliament, 2nd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2006-Dec-20 (PDF)

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L'ONTARIO

Wednesday 20 December 2006 Mercredi 20 décembre 2006

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

PENSION PLANS

TERRY JAMES

MURIEL VERCH

PENSION PLANS

IDENTITY THEFT

NATIVE LAND DISPUTE

MOUVEMENT D'IMPLICATION

FRANCOPHONE D'ORLÉANS

ONTARIO TRILLIUM FOUNDATION

DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

FILM CLASSIFICATION

AMENDMENT ACT, 2006 /

LOI DE 2006 MODIFIANT LA LOI

SUR LE CLASSEMENT DES FILMS

MOTIONS

COMMITTEE SITTINGS

STATEMENTS BY THE MINISTRY

AND RESPONSES

HEALTH CARE

GROWTH PLANNING

BROADER PUBLIC SECTOR

HEALTH CARE

GROWTH PLANNING

BROADER PUBLIC SECTOR

HEALTH CARE

DEFERRED VOTES

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

STATUTE LAW AMENDMENT ACT, 2006 /

LOI DE 2006 MODIFIANT DES LOIS

EN CE QUI CONCERNE

L'ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE

ORAL QUESTIONS

GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING

FOREST INDUSTRY

ONTARIO DRUG BENEFIT PROGRAM

SEXUAL ASSAULT CRISIS CENTRES

EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS

SEX OFFENDERS

LANDFILL

IMMIGRANT SERVICES

SIGN LANGUAGE IN SCHOOLS

TOURISM

PROPERTY TAXATION

PETITIONS

LONG-TERM CARE

VISITORS

MACULAR DEGENERATION

LONG-TERM CARE

CRIME PREVENTION

CLIMATE CHANGE

PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY

CHILD CUSTODY

PROPERTY TAXATION

PORTLANDS ENERGY CENTRE

MACULAR DEGENERATION

FREDERICK BANTING HOMESTEAD

BORDER SECURITY

ORDERS OF THE DAY

TIME ALLOCATION /

ATTRIBUTION DE TEMPS

ROYAL ASSENT

TIME ALLOCATION /

ATTRIBUTION DE TEMPS

(CONTINUED / SUITE)

The House met at 1330.

Prayers.

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

PENSION PLANS

Mr. Robert W. Runciman (Leeds-Grenville): Today I'm calling on the McGuinty Liberal government to allow Ontarians to have full access to their, and I emphasize "their," locked-in retirement

savings accounts. Four of the provinces in Canada have opened up access to the principal in these accounts, ranging from 25% in New Brunswick, to 50% in Alberta, to 100% in Saskatchewan, and soon to be 100% in Manitoba.

Under current Ontario rules, our residents can only access the principal in their accounts if they can prove to a government board dire financial or health need through a bureaucratic appeal process. The only

exceptions to this rule are current and former members of this assembly who had their defined benefit pensions terminated and rolled into locked-in accounts. Those members, and I'm one of them, can access 100% of the principal. This is wrong and

needs to be corrected. There should not be two classes of citizens for pension rules, and the time is long overdue for government to cease its paternalistic "We know what's best" approach to Ontario retirees.

Premier and members of the Liberal government, I urge you to move quickly to allow Ontarians full access to their locked-in pensions.

TERRY JAMES

Mr. Wayne Arthurs (Pickering-Ajax-Uxbridge): I rise today to honour and pay tribute to my friend, a passionate golfer and one of Pickering's most active volunteers, Terry James, whose recent

passing was a loss not only to his friends and family but to the community at large. Terry's astute sense of humour, his dedication to Pickering over the past 23 years and his ability to engage people in public life were among his many admirable

qualities.

I first met Terry when he founded the Pickering Civitan service club, and we continued to work together thereafter. Terry James won an individual volunteer award in 2004 at the city of Pickering civic awards

ceremony, and it was well deserved. He was father to three children and husband to his wife Marie. Terry was also an organizer of the St. Paul's on-the-Hill food bank Christmas luncheon for children and their families. He was a member of the

Pickering Museum Village advisory committee as well as founder and past president of the Pickering Civitan Club. Terry was chairman of the Hospice Durham golf tournament for Girls Inc. and, most recently, president of the Durham Region Senior

Games. Mr. James was also the president of the new Pickering-Scarborough East Liberal riding association.

To say that Terry was involved is an understatement. After his retirement in 1998 from the city of Scarborough, he became even more passionately involved to better the city of Pickering. I, on behalf of his

community, extend my deepest condolences once again to his wife and extended family. We'll all remember him with deep admiration and miss his kind, selfless spirit.

MURIEL VERCH

Mr. John Yakabuski (Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke): I rise today to recognize a constituent of mine, Muriel Verch, who was just recently named Country Woman of the Year by Country Woman Magazine,

an international publication based in the United States.

Muriel was chosen from hundreds of applicants, which were narrowed down to three finalists late last summer. She was nominated by her daughter, April, who besides being a devoted daughter, is one of the Ottawa

Valley's most talented and accomplished musicians.

It has been said of Muriel, "You couldn't pay Muriel Verge to serve her community." She insists on doing it for free. As April said, "She's the most generous and selfless person I know."

Muriel is a community leader who has been organizing children's Christmas parties, youth events, dinners for seniors and the winter carnival for over 25 years. She was chair of the Rankin fire station support

group, which raised over $70,000 to establish a fire station where none existed. She's active raising funds for Valley Heritage Radio, serves as an elder and treasurer in her church and as a director of the annual Knights of Columbus Irish play.

In addition, she has, of course, taken care of her family in a most admirable fashion.

Muriel was chosen Country Woman of the Year by virtue of receiving the most votes among the three finalists. I want to thank the good people of my riding for taking the time to ensure that a fine Valley woman

would receive this honour. I was pleased to encourage them to do so when Muriel was chosen as a finalist. To Muriel, her husband, Ralph, and her entire family, congratulations. It is well deserved.

To everyone everywhere, may the love of Christ be with you this Christmas and always.

PENSION PLANS

Ms. Andrea Horwath (Hamilton East): It's time that the McGuinty government allowed Ontario's seniors to unlock their locked-in pensions. Bill 175, my private member's bill, would allow seniors

to withdraw up to 100% of their locked-in pension funds. This one measure would instantly add to our seniors' financial independence and quality of life at no cost to the taxpayer.

CARP, Canada's Association for the Fifty Plus, supports my bill 100%. Bill 175 would unlock the vault of pension savings that McGuinty Liberal MPPs are withholding from locked-in pensioners while they care for

themselves and their own life savings plans.

I'm sure many people would be surprised to learn that once pensions are locked in, it's virtually impossible for Ontario's seniors to access their money. Only at age 90 can seniors withdraw their funds

completely. Until then they are limited to a scant withdrawal of 2.5% to 6.2% of the principal. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and the federal government have already changed their laws to enable seniors to access some or all of

their locked-in pensions. But in Ontario, only 61 MPPs have had the freedom to unlock their pensions. For everyone else, these pensions are locked tight, cannot be withdrawn except in dire circumstances and only with government approval. Why

should our seniors have to put up their hands and ask permission to access their own money, which they saved up over a lifetime of hard work?

Unlike the McGuinty Liberals, I trust seniors to manage their own money. Let's unlock pensions for Ontario seniors. They have worked hard all their lives and deserve to reap the fruits of their contributions.

Seniors deserve the right to access and to control their locked-in pensions, and the McGuinty government should respect that right.

IDENTITY THEFT

Mr. Tony Ruprecht (Davenport): What's the fastest growing crime in North America? Yes, it is identity theft. In 2004, over 10 million people in North America had their identity stolen.

We now have the latest statistics on identity theft in Canada. One and a half million Canadians were subject to identity theft for the purpose of fraud. How do these fraudsters get our personal information in

the first place? The privacy commissioner tells us that dishonest employees steal personal information. While there is little our citizens can do to protect themselves from dishonest employees, there's certainly something they can do when

requested to provide personal information, such as filling out a registration card for a warranty on an appliance, or for a magazine subscription, renting a video or even filling out a contest card or, horror of horrors, providing personal banking

information to someone in Nigeria or South Africa who wants to transfer a million dollars into their account.

To its credit, the McGuinty government is providing a number of programs, educating the consumer as to the pitfalls of phishing and data mining. But none of these programs or laws will prevent identity theft

unless we have informed citizens. The best way to create an educated, vigilant citizenry certainly is to begin in our schools.

NATIVE LAND DISPUTE

Mr. Toby Barrett (Haldimand-Norfolk-Brant): It has now been 296 days of occupation at the Douglas Creek Estates subdivision in Caledonia. As we mark the end of 2006, the empty words and lack of

leadership of the McGuinty government mean no end is in sight for the area.

Since February 28, the occupation has resulted in chaos and mayhem, and now fear and intimidation continue as a normal part of daily life. Mr. McGuinty watches and he says, "I'm pleased that things are in a more

peaceful state these days in Caledonia." That was said a week ago today. Nothing could be further from the truth.

At 1 a.m. this past Sunday, a house on Argyle Street in Caledonia was ransacked by yet-to-be-identified intruders. The intruders smashed and overturned furniture. The intruders urinated in three rooms. The

intruders injured the family's border collie. The intruders spray-painted racist and vulgar expressions on the walls and mirrors. For 10 months now, people have been worried about property values, vandalism and noise.

On June 16, this government made a promise to people in Caledonia to provide emergency funding for those directly affected. The act of vandalism this past Sunday is a case in point. Who would buy a house in this

market today? The people of Caledonia continue to ask when this government will stand up for them, when the needed compensation will be forthcoming.

MOUVEMENT D'IMPLICATION

FRANCOPHONE D'ORLÉANS

M. Phil McNeely (Ottawa-Orléans): Jeudi dernier, j'étais très fier d'être au Centre du Mouvement d'implication francophone d'Orléans, aussi connu sous le nom de Centre

MIFO.

Ce jour-là, la Fondation Trillium leur a fait une allocation de 85 000 $. Ces fonds seront utilisés pour améliorer les locaux de l'école de musique du MIFO.

Cela fait 28 ans que le Mouvement d'implication francophone d'Orléans oeuvre sur plusieurs volets. Le MIFO se consacre depuis toutes ces années aux besoins de la communauté d'Orléans. Le MIFO

Il me fit un grand plaisir aussi de voir le MIFO s'impliquer dans le nouveau centre des arts qui sera construit tout prochainement sur le boulevard Centrum, dans ma circonscription d'Ottawa-Orléans.

Ceci dit, le MIFO aura accès aux autres locaux à Orléans et à une salle de spectacle qui pourra accueillir 500 personnes.

Annuellement, près de 35 000 clients utilisent les services du MIFO. Sa programmation artistique, culturelle et sociale est un exemple qui démontre que le MIFO est à l'écoute de sa

communauté.

Je voudrais prendre cette occasion pour remercier l'équipe du MIFO qui, sous la gestion de M me Marie-Claude Doucet et grâce à la participation de leur conseil d'administration, et aussi

aux efforts de Patrick Bourbonnais, directeur artistique, assure que le MIFO est plus qu'un centre culturel et communautaire.

ONTARIO TRILLIUM FOUNDATION

Mrs. Carol Mitchell (Huron-Bruce): I rise today to speak to the continued good work of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, through the Ministry of Culture, by providing funding for so many worthy

projects both in my riding and in the province.

In November, I was able to announce that the Trillium Foundation had committed $81,200 over 24 months to the Lake Huron Learning Collaborative in Goderich. This organization has a membership that represents a

number of organizations within the community, including local school boards, the Huron United Way, Women Today of Huron, municipal governments and individuals from a variety of sectors. Their goal as an organization is to create a learning centre

that draws upon the environmental, cultural and historical aspects of the Great Lakes and rural heritage in order to offer residents of the community lifelong learning and post-secondary educational opportunities.

Lake Huron Learning Collaborative has been working on developing a centre of learning in Huron county for over two years, and it has recently reached agreement with the University of Western Ontario to offer two

first-year university courses in Goderich this fall. Bringing post-secondary education to the riding of Huron-Bruce meets our educational goals as it may not have been previously able to do.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation continues to support this province's small communities and the projects that make them unique and successful.

DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES

Mr. Dave Levac (Brant): Since being elected in 1999, I made the commitment to bring the messages, the hopes and dreams, and the needs and desires of the people of my riding to Queen's Park to

seek support, co-operation and partnership.

Today, I am pleased to report to this House that the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, George Smitherman, announced the approval of an MRI machine in the Brantford General Hospital. Since we were elected

government, I have worked to ensure that the Minister of Health has been aware of my community's health care needs and our belief that we could support an MRI. This piece of vital equipment will mean that the BGH can perform over 4,000 scans each

year. For people receiving these scans who get a clean bill of health, it will mean quicker peace of mind. For others, it may mean a fighting chance against a disease like cancer where early detection is vital. It means that we will no longer have

to leave our community to receive this service, and it will continue to drive down wait times.

On behalf of my community, I've been telling both our government and the previous government that an MRI is an important tool for the Brantford General Hospital. I am proud to have spoken out on the need for an

MRI, and I am even more proud that this government listened and took action.

Thank you to the staff and volunteers of the BGH for your patience and co-operation. Thank you also to the many individuals and organizations doing fundraisers to help purchase this machine. I would like to

especially thank the Rizzo family, who have spearheaded our community's efforts. This MRI belongs to the whole community.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

FILM CLASSIFICATION

AMENDMENT ACT, 2006 /

LOI DE 2006 MODIFIANT LA LOI

SUR LE CLASSEMENT DES FILMS

Mr. Tabuns moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 180,

An Act to amend the Film Classification Act, 2005 / Projet de loi 180, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2005 sur le classement des films.

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

The member may wish to make a brief statement.

Mr. Peter Tabuns (Toronto-Danforth): This bill would give the government power to make regulations requiring an exhibitor to devote a prescribed amount of exhibition time to films made in Canada

and prescribing what constitutes Canadian content. We have need of support for the Canadian film industry. This bill will provide some of that support.

MOTIONS

COMMITTEE SITTINGS

Hon. James J. Bradley (Minister of Tourism, minister responsible for seniors, Government House Leader): I seek unanimous consent to put forth a motion without notice regarding the meeting times

of committees.

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

Hon. Mr. Bradley: I move that the following committees be authorized to meet during the winter adjournment, in accordance with the

schedule of meeting dates agreed to by the whips of the

recognized parties and tabled with the Clerk of the Assembly, to examine and inquire into the following matters:

The standing committee on finance and economic affairs to consider matters related to pre-budget consultations 2007;

Standing committee on the Legislative Assembly to consider Bill 155,

An Act to provide for a referendum on Ontario's electoral system;

Standing committee on government agencies for up to five days for agency review pursuant to the terms of reference as set out in standing order 106(e); and

Standing committee on public accounts for up to four days pursuant to its terms of reference as set out in standing order 106(g);

And that the committees be authorized to release the reports during the winter adjournment by depositing a copy of any report with the Clerk of the Assembly, and upon the resumption of the meetings of the House,

the chairs of such committees shall bring any reports before the House in accordance with the standing orders.

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

STATEMENTS BY THE MINISTRY

AND RESPONSES

HEALTH CARE

Hon. George Smitherman (Deputy Premier, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): I rise in the House today to announce the launch of our government's public dialogue about health care in Ontario.

This engagement with Ontarians is essential to the development of a 10-year strategic plan for the province's health system. Why? Because it is their health care system. When our government first took office three years ago, we immediately began

significant changes to the way health care was being delivered in Ontario. That's because we knew that patients were waiting too long to get the care that they needed. We knew there weren't enough doctors, nurses and other health care

professionals in this province. We knew there was no sustained focus on promoting wellness and preventing illness, so we tackled the most pressing problems first.

We have achieved much in the last few years. Ontarians have more access to doctors and nurses than before. Wait times for key procedures have come down, including MRI and CT scans; cancer, cardiac and cataract

surgeries and hip and knee replacements. But collectively, we've got more work to do. Now we want to look at what needs to be done to ensure that our health care system will be there for Ontarians in the future. We are in this together. Our system

serves us all. So the preservation of our health care system is nothing short of sacred. It's the best expression of Canadian values. That's why our government is such a passionate defender of medicare. But defending medicare doesn't mean

defending the status quo. Medicare must change to meet the needs of the people that it serves. That's why we've been making significant and innovative changes, changes that have been guided by a vision and a vision that's been realized through a

well-thought-out plan.

One of the most important changes we've made is to provide for more local control for the planning, funding and delivery of health care through Ontario's 14 local health integration networks. LHINs have come

to life and fostered a new level of dialogue about health care -- this time at the level where citizens can participate. That's thanks in great part to the public consultations they've been conducting in their communities. The input from these

consultations has informed the LHINs integrated health services plans, which are their three-year plans for local delivery of health services. Further to that, when we passed the Local Health System Integration Act, it created an onus on us to

develop a provincial strategic plan for the health system that includes a vision, priorities and strategic directions for the health care system. That's a huge challenge and a huge responsibility. We can't do it without listening to the thoughts,

concerns and ideas from the people of Ontario. That's why we're reaching out to Ontarians interested in health care to get their views on the development of the plan.

Ontarians care deeply about the health care they receive and want to know how the system will serve their children and will be there for their grandchildren. That's why we want to hear from as many people as

possible to determine the overall direction Ontario needs to take when it comes to health care.

The plan will articulate what Ontarians want their health care system to be in the future, what kinds of needs must be met and how services can be improved, with the ultimate objective of ensuring the

sustainability of the health care system. This planning and open dialogue with Ontarians will help in the development of three-year, five-year and 10-year goals, strategies and expectations for all levels of our health care system. Among other

benefits, this strategic approach will help to move our health care system away from simply reacting to and solving the problems of today. Together with people from across the province, we will develop the 10-year plan over the coming months, with

an expected release date in the spring of 2007.

To get that done we're inviting as many Ontarians as possible, representing the diversity of our province's population, to take

part in the process. To hear from as broad a range of Ontarians as possible,

we'll be working with people at the local level -- our LHIN partners, our health professionals, administrators, volunteers -- but most of all, we'll be listening to patients through meetings and through meaningful dialogue. We'll have a website --

ourplanforhealthcare.ca -- and a toll-free number set up to enable people to provide feedback and to give them access to information, including ways to get further involved.

The information gleaned through the public dialogue will be the most significant resource in developing our strategic plan. That's why we'll be building on the advice gathered by the local health integration

networks during their own public dialogues and on patient satisfaction findings gathered through the health system. We'll also be building on research and we'll be using input from health care providers to determine how to best respond to patient

needs.

I can't overemphasize the importance of this public dialogue in the development of our plan for health. The onus is on all of us to ensure a health system that will deliver the quality of health care that

Ontarians expect and to which they are entitled.

GROWTH PLANNING

Hon. David Caplan (Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, Deputy Government House Leader): I am delighted to be here today to share with this House and with my colleagues that our

provincial government has won a prestigious American Planning Association national award for Places to Grow, the growth plan for the greater Golden Horseshoe. I'm pleased that Ontario is being recognized internationally as a leader in growth

planning.

The growth plan for the greater Golden Horseshoe is the cornerstone of an ambitious package of government initiatives that includes the greenbelt, the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority and, of course,

ReNew Ontario, our five-year, $30-billion-plus infrastructure investment plan. It's a plan that will help us realize a sustainable and prosperous future. The growth plan for the greater Golden Horseshoe is the first plan from outside the United

States to win the American Planning Association's Daniel Burnham Award.

The American Planning Association is the pre-eminent national professional planning organization in the United States, representing 39,000 professional planners, officials and citizens. This is a true honour

and it puts Ontario at the forefront of an effort in sustainable development.

The American Planning Association gives this award to the plan that best illustrates progress, community benefit and contribution to the advancement of the planning profession. It is awarded to a plan which

best represents the APA slogan of "Making great communities happen," which is what this government, under the leadership of Premier McGuinty, is working to achieve through the Places to Grow Act, creating healthier, more sustainable communities

and improving our quality of life.

The growth plan reduces development pressures on important natural areas and agricultural lands and ties long-term growth planning with infrastructure decisions. Carol Rhea, the chair of the awards committee,

called the growth plan both visionary and pragmatic. She went on to say that it provided a strategic, innovative and coordinated approach to sustainable growth and development. In other words, the growth plan was selected for meeting the awards

criteria in an exemplary way, criteria like being original, innovative and progressive; having high-quality research and attention to detail; showing an effort in public engagement, participation and consultation.

We could not have done this alone, nor would we want to. We had the help and the input of literally thousands of citizens, stakeholders and experts. The process for developing this plan has been one of very

careful consensus-building, drawing on internal and external planning expertise, with support coming from all sectors: municipalities, developers, environmentalists and, most importantly, residents in the communities of the greater Golden

Horseshoe, all of whom I would say recognize the need for a big-picture plan and a strategy for growth.

Thanks to all that work, we have an unprecedented consensus that Ontario will be more successful and prosperous by following a set of smart planning principles.

I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone involved in creating this award-winning plan. Here today in the east gallery, in fact, we have several individuals, two of whom I'd like to

acknowledge. One is my former chief of staff, Mr. Ross Parry, without whose help this plan would not have achieved what it did; also, assistant deputy minister Brad Graham, who leads the Ontario Growth Secretariat. Gentlemen, well done. We also

have members of the Ontario Growth Secretariat, and I welcome you as well and thank you for your hard work and efforts in putting this plan together.

I think that Daniel Burnham, one of the most famous planners in the United States, would be proud of our effort. He said, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood," and probably would not

be realized anyway.

Our growth plan for the greater Golden Horseshoe will build opportunities for the people of Ontario by promoting economic prosperity and creating better-planned communities. It will help create complete

communities with a greater mix of businesses, services, housing and parks that will make them more livable.

We're presenting better choices for a brighter future. Through the plan and our complementary initiatives, we will help ensure that Ontarians receive the communities that they want, that they deserve, and that

they long to leave for future generations. So please join me in celebrating Ontario's achievements.

BROADER PUBLIC SECTOR

Hon. Gerry Phillips (Minister of Government Services): For Ontario to be at its best, we need every Ontarian at his or her best. That's why we're making significant investments and

improvements in the education, skills, health and competitiveness of Ontarians. This is essential to the future we all share.

Most of these services, as the members of the Legislature know, are actually delivered by what we call our transfer partners: schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and many others. It is essential that

our partners, those who deliver these important public services, do so in a way that is effective, transparent and accountable.

As Minister of Government Services, I have been enormously impressed by the dedication of the hard-working people who make up our broader public service. However, the Auditor General's report has shown us that

the professionalism displayed by so many must not blind us to the transgressions committed by some, or even the potential for such transgressions. The report highlights that some of our transfer partners are not following appropriate procurement

and purchasing principles.

When you recognize that our transfer partners receive approximately $60 billion in taxpayer money, we regard it as imperative that they have the appropriate procedures and accountability in place and that

those procedures are followed. We all want to ensure that every dollar is used prudently and in a manner consistent with the public interest.

That is why, in 2004, our government made important changes to the Audit Act. It's why this Legislature gave the Auditor General -- an officer of the Legislature, I might add -- new powers to perform

value-for-money audits not just of government ministries, but also of the broader public sector, including transfer partners such as hospitals, school boards and broader public sector organizations. It is why this government and this Legislature

take seriously the recent recommendations from the auditor that the rules for some organizations must be more comprehensive and must be more rigorously applied.

We've instructed all of our deputy ministers to order all broader public service organizations to review their accountability standards and compliance mechanisms to ensure prudent and effective management of

public funds. We are telling our partner organizations across the broader public sector that we expect these standards and the necessary controls will reflect current and best practices in public sector spending and will ensure transparency so as

to withstand public scrutiny.

Letters urging these organizations to confirm that such standards are in place or to report what actions will be taken to ensure that they are in place have either been sent out or are in the process now of

being sent out. We believe that the ultimate measure is the quality of the public service for Ontarians. We all must make every effort to ensure that each step in the process that leads to service delivery is above board, above reproach and worthy

of the people we are privileged to serve, the people of Ontario.

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

HEALTH CARE

Mrs. Elizabeth Witmer (Kitchener-Waterloo): Despite the rhetoric that we've heard from the Minister of Health today, this has been another very, very sad year for people in the province of

Ontario when it comes to broken promises in health care. We know that the first thing this government did was introduce the health tax. At the same time as they introduced the health tax for people in this province, they decreased access; they

eliminated public access to physiotherapy, to chiropractic services and optometry. In fact, they privatized those services, despite telling people they weren't going to do so and despite telling people they weren't going to introduce a health tax.

I can go on and on.

If we take a look at access to doctors, they have simply not been able to deliver. There were 126 underserviced areas in this province when they came into office; today we have about 138. The reality is that

there are about 1.2 million people in this province without a family doctor. As far as the family health teams are concerned, they simply are not up and operational. When it comes to long-term care, there are about 35,000 people in this province

who are forced to live in C and D beds, who do not have any privacy whatsoever, and this government refuses to develop a plan. They refuse to give those people living in long-term-care facilities the $6,000 extra funding per year which they

promised in order to ensure that there was more care provided for these individuals. The list goes on and on.

We have a broken promise as far as access to doctors. We have a broken promise in privatization, a broken promise to the people in long-term-care facilities. They said they were going to create these nursing

positions. We now understand they're not going to be able to create the 8,000 nursing positions -- another broken promise. Of course, recently we have seen that the LHINs are not making progress; they're making no decisions and costing taxpayers a

lot of money.

GROWTH PLANNING

Mr. Tim Hudak (Erie-Lincoln): To my colleague and friend the Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal we offer our congratulations on the win of the APA award for planning. In the spirit of

the season, I wish the minister a happy Hanukkah as well, to enjoy the celebration. In that spirit, as we head to Christmas, I do want to say to the minister, who also has responsibility for the LCBO, if he is considering a Christmas gift for the

MPP for Erie-Lincoln this year, please move forward on our VQA Wine Stores Act -- it has passed second reading and has gone through committee -- which would open up a new channel for our VQA wines. Whether it's new locations or at casinos,

farmers' markets -- a great many opportunities for a new outlet. I say that to the minister.

I want to congratulate -- it's good to see Ross back here again in the Legislature and the assistant deputy minister, Brad Graham, and Amy Tang, as well, responsible for this hard work. I did take the time to

look up the American Planning Association's congratulations on this. They noted that the minister has been leading this effort since 2001. I want to congratulate the minister, because even when he was on the floor of the assembly as a Liberal, he

was secretly helping out the Mike Harris and Ernie Eves governments, I guess, when this whole plan began. So I want to commend the minister, who obviously worked hand in hand with Minister Chris Hodgson and David Young as part of this process.

But in all seriousness, my commendations to the minister, his team and previous ministers who have brought this plan forward. The plan is important; getting through the jury and getting the thumbs up is

important. I will remind the minister that American Idol's Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken got the thumbs up from the jury, but after that performance, not so much. We want to make sure the minister follows through on the plan and performs. Projects

like the mid-peninsula corridor, for example, have been long in delay. I know he's pushing the Minister of Transportation for that to move forward. I remind him of Fort Erie as well, cited for growth in his report, but then all of a sudden these

new wetlands started popping up due to some work I'm concerned about with the MNR that wasn't groundproofed and has delayed that. But I know that the minister will carry through on his plan to make sure there are growth areas in Ontario and that

infrastructure projects move forward.

I've run out of time to respond to the Minister of Government Services. I do want to point out that the cabinet spent some $431 million in one last cabinet meeting and about $3.5 million per minute in another.

So when you hear the minister lecturing transfer partners about responsible spending and then you see this drunken sailor of a spending spree at the end of the year, they're pulling a McGuinty, saying one thing and doing another.

Mr. Peter Tabuns (Toronto-Danforth): I'm rising to speak to the whole matter of the award from the American Planning Association that the Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal just spoke

to. I have to say that this is a plan that I think looks much better from a distance than it does close up.

This is a plan about which the minister, when asked, cannot tell to what extent it will deal with the congestion and sprawl or congestion and gridlock problem we have in the GTA and the greater Golden

Horseshoe. He cannot say to what extent this plan will be an improvement over business as usual. We have no idea whether there will be any improvement. If you actually look at closer-to-home think tanks, closer-to-home institutions and their

comments on the plan, they're not that glowing. The Neptis Foundation commented that the Liberals' final growth plan for the greater Golden Horseshoe includes a requirement that 40% of all new residential development must be constructed within

built-up areas by 2015. When Neptis looked at that, they said that at this rate of intensification, there would not be a shift of new residential development from farmland to genuine intensification that would be sufficient to do what is needed to

reduce gridlock and congestion. In other words, it looks nice from a distance, but in terms of those people who get to sit on the QEW or the 401 or Major Mackenzie Drive and dream about being at home, this isn't going to help them.

The Pembina Institute commented on and provided advice on this plan from its initial draft. They commented that while the initial draft was promising, the plan and subsequent drafts became mushier, mushier and

mushier. It's very difficult to tell where this plan deviates from business as usual; again, business as usual meaning more congestion, more gridlock, more smog.

It's nice that the American Planning Association noticed Canada. It's unfortunate that they gave an award to a plan that actually did not get the review it should have gotten at home.

BROADER PUBLIC SECTOR

Mr. Michael Prue (Beaches-East York): I rise in response to the Minister of Government Services. I have to say it's very difficult to be supportive of an action which accomplishes so

little.

I'd like to read exactly what I think is the ultimate paragraph here. It says, and I quote the minister, "Letters urging these organizations to confirm such standards are in place or to report what actions

will be taken to ensure they are in place are in the process of being sent out." So in fact, all this announcement is is that they're about to send out some letters asking these government agencies to try to come up with a plan. That's all that's

being announced here today. There is no reference to what will happen if these government agencies do not comply with the request. There is nothing here to say what will happen if there is weak compliance with the request. There is no reference at

all to the actions primarily related to past abuses documented by the Auditor General and what this government is going to do about them.

Everyone who works in government must believe in the public service, as I most profoundly do, but the public service is only as good as the managers of the system. What we need from this government is to do

something to change the corporate greed which was uncovered and the culture of entitlement which seemed to pervade some of these agencies. That's what we're asking the government to do, and it is not in this announcement.

HEALTH CARE

Ms. Shelley Martel (Nickel Belt): In the short time that I have, I certainly hope Ontarians will contact this government by e-mail, by the 1-800 line, by any mechanism they have to remind the

Liberals of their broken health care promises.

For example, the promise that was made to enhance funding for residents of long-term-care homes by $6,000: The government has only provided $2,000. Where is the remaining $4,000 in the fourth year of this

Liberal government?

The promise that the government would reinstate a minimum of 2.25 hours of hands-on care per resident per day for each resident in a long-term-care home: That doesn't appear in Bill 140, the long-term-care

bill. Where did that promise go?

The promise that this government made that they would only use public financing for hospital reconstruction and new hospitals: We now have private financing that is going to cost us oh, so much more.

I do hope people will contact the government and tell them to live up to the promises they made.

DEFERRED VOTES

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

STATUTE LAW AMENDMENT ACT, 2006 /

LOI DE 2006 MODIFIANT DES LOIS

EN CE QUI CONCERNE

L'ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE

Deferred vote on the motion for second reading of Bill 173,

An Act to amend the Legislative Assembly Act, the MPPs Pension Act, 1996 and the Executive Council Act / Projet de loi 173, Loi modifiant la

Loi sur

l'Assemblée législative, la Loi de 1996 sur le régime de retraite des députés et la

Loi sur le Conseil exécutif.

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Call in the members. This will be a five-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1416 to 1421.

The Speaker: Mrs. Bountrogianni has moved second reading of Bill 173,

An Act to amend the Legislative Assembly Act, the MPPs Pension Act, 1996 and the Executive Council Act. All those in

favour will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Ayes

Arnott, Ted

Arthurs, Wayne

Balkissoon, Bas

Barrett, Toby

Bartolucci, Rick

Bentley, Christopher

Berardinetti, Lorenzo

Bountrogianni, Marie

Bradley, James J.

Broten, Laurel C.

Bryant, Michael

Chambers, Mary Anne V.

Colle, Mike

Crozier, Bruce

Delaney, Bob

Dhillon, Vic

Di Cocco, Caroline

Dombrowsky, Leona

Duguid, Brad

Duncan, Dwight

Flynn, Kevin Daniel

Fonseca, Peter

Gerretsen, John

Hudak, Tim

Jeffrey, Linda

Klees, Frank

Kular, Kuldip

Kwinter, Monte

Leal, Jeff

Levac, Dave

MacLeod, Lisa

Marsales, Judy

Martiniuk, Gerry

Matthews, Deborah

Mauro, Bill

McGuinty, Dalton

McMeekin, Ted

McNeely, Phil

Meilleur, Madeleine

Miller, Norm

Milloy, John

Mitchell, Carol

Mossop, Jennifer F.

Murdoch, Bill

O'Toole, John

Orazietti, David

Ouellette, Jerry J.

Parsons, Ernie

Patten, Richard

Peters, Steve

Phillips, Gerry

Pupatello, Sandra

Qaadri, Shafiq

Ramal, Khalil

Ramsay, David

Runciman, Robert W.

Ruprecht, Tony

Sandals, Liz

Scott, Laurie

Sergio, Mario

Smith, Monique

Smitherman, George

Sorbara, Gregory S.

Takhar, Harinder S.

Tory, John

Van Bommel, Maria

Wilkinson, John

Wilson, Jim

Witmer, Elizabeth

Wynne, Kathleen O.

Yakabuski, John

Zimmer, David

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

Nays

Bisson, Gilles

DiNovo, Cheri

Hampton, Howard

Horwath, Andrea

Kormos, Peter

Martel, Shelley

Prue, Michael

Tabuns, Peter

The Deputy Clerk (Ms. Deborah Deller): The ayes are 72; the nays are 8.

The Speaker: I declare the motion carried.

Shall the bill be ordered for third reading?

Hon. Marie Bountrogianni (Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, minister responsible for democratic renewal): I refer the bill to the standing committee on the Legislative Assembly.

The Speaker: The bill is referred to the standing committee on the Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Bill Murdoch (Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound): On a point of order, Mr. Speaker: I'd like unanimous consent to deliver this food to the Premier. It was given to me today by celebrity chefs here in

Toronto; Jamie Kennedy was one of them. This has been made from raw --

Interjection: No.

Mr. Murdoch: Oh, you don't want us to give it to your Premier.

The Speaker: Mr. Murdoch has asked for unanimous consent. Agreed? No. I heard a no.

ORAL QUESTIONS

GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING

Mr. John Tory (Leader of the Opposition): My question is for the Premier. For about a week now we've been asking you to apologize for your wait times television ad, which was found by the

advertising standards council to be "inaccurate" because it left people with the impression that "wait times for all ... procedures have already been reduced" and "that Ontarians are now spending less time" waiting.

You said yesterday that you're going to "make sure that the people of Ontario continue to see that their wait times are in fact coming down." But let's see what Ontarians really find if they look at the

website -- and this is putting aside for a moment that the numbers there are under suspicion because of the Auditor General's findings. Since August and September 2005, wait times for cancer surgery are up 10% at North York General Hospital, 15%

in Markham, 51% at the Southlake hospital, 62% at the Credit Valley Hospital, 139% at Montfort Hospital and 350% at Bluewater Health in Sarnia.

All over the province we have these wait times for cancer going up. Don't you think it's time for you to apologize? Will you do so, Premier?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty (Premier, Minister of Research and Innovation): It is absolutely true that we have some real challenges with respect to our cancer

procedure wait times. But we're proud of the fact that we're making that information public for the very first time in the history of this province. The fact of the matter is that cancer surgery wait times are up overall by 6.2%, but I should say

that 89% of cancer surgeries are now completed within the access target timeline.

In all the other areas which the leader of the official opposition is reluctant to mention, whether you're talking about angiography, angioplasty, cataract surgery, hip replacements, knee replacements, MRIs or

CTs, those wait times are down.

Mr. Tory: Again, putting aside the fact that the very wait times website that you talk about and that you said you made available has been found to be misleading and should be taken with a

grain of salt by none other than the Auditor General of Ontario, the Premier mentions cataracts. Let's look at cataracts. Wait times are up 13% at Rouge Valley, 15% at Montfort, 16% in Woodstock and 92% in the Niagara Health System. That's the

story. There are some examples on cataracts where the wait times are up. You just finished telling this House and the people of Ontario that the wait times are down for cataracts. People are waiting longer.

Yesterday, the Kitchener-Waterloo Record called for an apology. Today the London Free Press said that your ads are "hard to swallow" and that this whole saga "certainly looks suspicious." We agree with the

Auditor General; we agree with the Kitchener-Waterloo Record; we agree with the London Free Press and the advertising standards council. Will you retract these ads and apologize for what you've done in terms of this inaccurate information?

Hon. Mr. McGuinty: The leader is saying that Ontarians shouldn't trust the website, but he's using that to source his information that he's deploying in this House today. I want to

congratulate the leader of the official opposition for accessing the website. We've had 2.1 million-plus hits on that website so far.

When the leader of the official opposition references that some cataract surgery times have gone up in some hospitals, he's absolutely right. But overall, in Ontario, cataract surgery times are down by 27.7%.

And the reason for making this information public at all our hospitals was so that Ontarians could look at that and ask themselves and ask their family doctor whether or not they want to go to that hospital or whether or not they might want to go

to another one which is offering faster service. That's the whole idea behind making this information public to the people of Ontario for the first time.

Mr. Tory: I don't know how the Premier can get up and talk with such pride about the fact that 2.1 million people have been exposed to data that the Auditor General said was misleading. The

fact is, when Mr. Kirby reports and what the Auditor General is saying, that the numbers aren't going to get better when you figure them out properly, they're going to get worse. I'm happy to stand and say that this is the best-case scenario that

anybody is going to see in Ontario. So that's why you should apologize for the ads and apologize for the website.

Let's look at MRIs: the waiting time is up 20% at the Lakeridge hospital; up 27% in London; up 44% at Rouge Valley; up 86% at Joseph Brant; up 122% in Timmins; up 136% at St. Joe's in Toronto; and up a

whopping 238% at the Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital. In community after community, you cannot support the claims you made in your television commercials.

I'm asking you simply to stand up and apologize for the fact that you ran these inaccurate ads that are not reflective of the facts being experienced by people in this province. Why won't you do it?

Hon. Mr. McGuinty: The leader of the official opposition is plain wrong. The fact of the matter is that wait times are coming down in the province. The fact of the matter is that we have

collected information that was never collected in the past. We relied on expert medical advice in terms of the best way to present that information to the people of Ontario.

The Provincial Auditor tells us he takes issue with that; we're going to pay very careful attention to that. We've asked Senator Kirby to get himself involved in this and help us to reconcile the conflicting

expert advice we got from the Provincial Auditor and our medical experts.

But the fact of the matter is this: Wait times are coming down in the province of Ontario. Angiography is coming down by 39%; angioplasty by 17.9%; cataract surgery is down overall by 28%; hip replacements by

20%; knee replacements by 20%; MRIs down by 13%. The Minister of Health announced just yesterday the opening of two more new MRIs in Ontario. We're moving ahead. We'll keep moving ahead, and we'll keep getting wait times down.

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

Mr. Tory: A new question for the Premier. Again, he says, "We'll keep getting wait times down." Let's take a look at CT scan wait times: up 15% in London; up 18% in Thunder Bay; up 23% at

Rouge Valley; up 23% at Sunnybrook; up 25% at Joseph Brant; up 27% at Lakeridge; up 41% in Halton; up 41% in North York; up 61% in Scarborough; up 74% at Grand River hospital. One more priority procedure where the wait times are going up all over

the province, one more reason why you should be apologizing to the people of Ontario for putting this information on the website, which the Auditor General himself said was misleading.

Why won't you simply admit you were wrong and do what the Kitchener-Waterloo Record called on you to do, which is to apologize for running these inaccurate ads and running this information on your website that

the Auditor General says is misleading? Why not just apologize? Stand up and do it.

Hon. Mr. McGuinty: I want to thank the leader of the official opposition. If he hasn't done so, I would strongly recommend that he personally visit that website and join the 2.1 million

Ontarians who have done so.

Now, it's all fine and dandy for the leader to stand up and reference 10 or a dozen hospitals, but there are close to 160 in the province. Why doesn't he stand up and list the figures for each and every one of

those hospitals? Because he would see, if he did that, the fact of the matter is, in every area, overall, wait times are coming down, except in cancer. I acknowledge that we've got more work to do there, specifically for cancer surgeries. But

overall, wait times are coming down.

Mr. Tory: We have just provided evidence of the fact that the McGuinty Liberals, today and every other day, with the ads and with the website, are trying to bamboozle the voters, and they're

not willing to say they're sorry for trying to bamboozle the voters. It happened in the election campaign big time, and now it's happening again.

Let's go on. The Premier mentioned hip replacement wait times. Hip replacements are up 9% in Quinte, up 17% at the Toronto East General Hospital, up 22% in Stratford, up 24% at the Montfort, up 26% in Chatham

and up 31% in North York. In Timmins the waiting time is up 51%, up 54% at York Central and up 60% in Sault Ste. Marie, and the list goes on.

Once again, Premier, my question is: In view of this utter failure, in view of the information that the Auditor General says is misleading, the ads that have been found to be inaccurate, why won't you

apologize and admit that you've tried yet again to bamboozle the voters, as you've tried to do so many times before?

Hon. Mr. McGuinty: What the leader of the official opposition is doing is, frankly, unbecoming. He is cherry-picking specific data from our website, a website which he tells us he does not

trust. Although there are close to 160 hospitals in Ontario, he's very selectively choosing hospitals -- which exist; we made that public -- where we still have challenges with some of these wait times. But the fact of the matter is that, overall,

wait times are coming down, whether you're talking about angiographies, angioplasties, cataract surgeries, hip replacements, knee replacements, MRIs or CT scans. In all those areas, over all, wait times are coming down.

Mr. Tory: The fact of the matter is that these are real hospitals that we're naming, affecting real people who are waiting for real procedures. And we'll have more tomorrow. We haven't even

begun to touch on the subject of all the procedures that are not on your list, that are not being reported, where people are waiting a long, long time across the province.

Let's just deal with knee replacements: wait times up 8% at William Osler, up 10% at Toronto East General, up 14% in St. Thomas, up 23% at Southlake, up 25% at York Central, up 34% at Hotel-Dieu Grace, up 37%

at Montfort, up 89% in Cornwall and up 52% in Chatham.

Your ads were found to be inaccurate. Your information on the website was found by the Auditor General to be misleading. You should stand in your place and apologize for the fact that you have tried to fool

the voters of Ontario on this important matter that affects their health.

Hon. Mr. McGuinty: Again, I say to the leader of the official opposition that this idiosyncratic perspective on the numbers that are being made available in Ontario for the very first time is

unbecoming, because I expected more of the leader of the official opposition than to present numbers in such a way that contrast those cases where there is still more work to be done with the overwhelming majority of cases where we are enjoying

success. The fact is, we have invested $600 million to purchase 657,000 additional procedures. That's why wait times are coming down in Ontario.

I would ask Ontarians to consider our investment of $600 million, specific to buying 657,000 more procedures, with the leader of the official opposition's determination to take $2.5 billion out of our health

care system. I ask them to ask themselves: What is that going to do to wait times in Ontario when you take $2.5 billion out of our health care system?

FOREST INDUSTRY

Mr. Howard Hampton (Kenora-Rainy River): My question is for the Premier. Premier, on November 22, your Minister of Natural Resources said that Ontario's forest sector "has gotten off

relatively scot-free from the downturn in the US housing sector." Since his comment, Tembec announced the permanent closure of its sawmill in Timmins -- 140 jobs destroyed; Domtar announced the closure of its sawmill in Nairn Centre -- 140 jobs

destroyed; Bowater announced the permanent closure of its Ignace sawmill -- 60 jobs destroyed; and Buchanan announced the layoff of everybody at its three Thunder Bay sawmills -- more than 600 jobs.

My question is this: When did the layoff of more than 1,000 forest sector workers in northern Ontario just before Christmas become "getting off scot-free" for the McGuinty government?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty (Premier, Minister of Research and Innovation): To the Minister of Natural Resources.

Hon. David Ramsay (Minister of Natural Resources, minister responsible for aboriginal affairs): Especially at this time of the year, I really feel for the families and the workers who have

been impacted by the collapse of the softwood lumber industry, primarily brought on by the collapse of the American housing industry. There are over 700,000 newly built homes in the United States that remain unsold, and so demand for housing in

the United States has crashed. At the beginning of this, Ontario was not impacted as much as was Quebec, where at that time, when I made those statements, they had a 50% loss in their industry. We are starting to feel it at this time, as the

shipments to the United States continue to decline. It's very sad for the northern Ontario economy.

Mr. Hampton: I'm sure those 1,000 workers who will not have a paycheque at Christmas will appreciate knowing that the McGuinty government feels their pain.

Premier, your Minister of Natural Resources also said, and I want to quote him, about the softwood lumber agreement, "I do support it. I think it's a good deal for Ontario." Yesterday, when Bowater announced

the permanent closure of the Ignace sawmill and the destruction of 60 jobs in a small town, he said, "The softwood lumber agreement reduced quotas and that is the reason for the closure of this sawmill." My question is this, Premier: Can you tell

the people at Ignace how the destruction of more than 60 jobs in a small, one-industry town was a good deal for them?

Hon. Mr. Ramsay: The Bowater company was particularly hard hit by this because the way the agreement worked, quota was to be distributed based on a record of export over the last five years.

Ignace production was not very consistent over that time, and their Fort William operation on the Fort William reserve only got up and running a couple of years ago and took a while to ramp up. So they didn't have a very strong export record and

therefore came out at the short end on the quota, unlike some of the other companies that had a consistent export record over five years. They had much more quota than the Bowater company does, and that's obviously very sad for the workers who

work for that company.

Mr. Hampton: I guess we can take it from that answer that the McGuinty government still thinks this is a good deal.

Premier, in February of this year, your Minister of Natural Resources said that the forest sector in northern Ontario is beginning to turn a corner. Since that statement, more than 2,000 forest sector workers

in northern Ontario have had their jobs destroyed as a result of the McGuinty government's misguided policy of driving hydro rates through the roof and your too little, too late changes to forest policy. I want to ask this question: When did the

destruction of a further 2,000 forest sector jobs in northern Ontario under the McGuinty government become "turning the corner" for the forest industry?

Hon. Mr. Ramsay: The initiatives that the Premier and I have announced over the last 18 months have made Ontario one of the more competitive jurisdictions in Canada when it comes to all of the

forestry sector, especially the softwood lumber sector, as we have taken over complete payment for all road construction and maintenance. We've given some stumpage relief, and of course we have our prosperity program where we are incenting the

companies to become more efficient. They are applying to those programs, and we're moving ahead with that.

We are in a cyclical housing down. That happens in the United States from time to time, and that does hurt us. But the member will know that that housing market in the United States will rebound, and that

means that our sawmilling industry will rebound. Unlike Quebec, which didn't put the programs in before the softwood lumber agreement, Ontario will be in a very good position when that happens.

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

Mr. Hampton: To the Minister of Natural Resources: The Minister of Natural Resources says, "a very good position." Here's the reality: 45,000 jobs have been destroyed, and the McGuinty

government calls that a good position. That's 45,000 working families without a paycheque at Christmas.

At the same time, you just voted for a $40,000 pay increase for yourself. I want to ask you this, Minister: Are you going to tell those 45,000 working families who do not have a paycheque at Christmas that you

really deserve a $40,000 pay raise?

Hon. Mr. Ramsay: I would certainly take issue with not only the description of these jobs being totally destroyed and the number with the honourable member across the way. I just said to him

in the last response, and he knows this very well, that at least 60% of the softwood lumber produced in Ontario goes to the United States as an export market. We know we have a cyclical market situation there, but that will rebound. So those jobs

are not here today, and we are sorry that we have those layoffs, but we have very efficient mills.

We have the timber resources, unlike Quebec, which has to claw back their timber resources, because we've managed our forests very well. We have everything there, when this market rebounds, to get those jobs

back, and those jobs will come back.

Mr. Hampton: Minister, here are some casualties in the McGuinty government's misguided too little, too late changes to forest policy and your completely misguided policy of driving hydro rates

through the roof.

I'll start with Thunder Bay: Cascades paper mill -- 375 jobs destroyed; the Bowater kraft pulp mill -- 250 jobs permanently destroyed; one Bowater paper machine -- 140 jobs destroyed; the Smurfit-Stone

containerboard mill -- over 100 jobs destroyed. Add it all up and it's 825 jobs destroyed; 825 families without a paycheque at Christmas.

We just saw you vote for a big pay increase for yourself. Can you look those people in the eye and tell them that after all of these jobs were destroyed under your watch, you deserve a $40,000 pay

increase?

Hon. Mr. Ramsay: I can look those people in the eye and say to them that my Premier, Premier McGuinty, my ministry and all my colleagues on this side of the House have worked very hard, have

dedicated a lot of time and have presented a very good package for the forestry industry that is absolutely unprecedented in the history of this country. No province or national government has brought forward a policy, a package of incentives and

assistance, as the McGuinty government has. The people of northern Ontario know that, and we are working through that, and we're there with them through these tough times.

They are tough times. In fact, it is a crisis there; there's no doubt about it. But a government that acts in crisis and works with the people affected is what really counts, and we're there with the people of

northern Ontario and the forestry industry.

Mr. Hampton: Red Rock, the closure of the Norampac containerboard plant -- 300 permanent jobs destroyed; Dryden, where Weyerhaeuser closed its sawmill and shut down a paper mill -- 385

permanent jobs destroyed; Smooth Rock Falls, where you're going to let the corporation keep the hydro dam and profit by selling electricity, but you're okay with 250 jobs destroyed there; Espanola -- 120 jobs destroyed there.

It seems that every time you trot out another part of your government's PR campaign, which has done nothing to sustain jobs, which has done nothing to prevent the destruction of jobs in the forest sector,

every time you trot out another PR announcement, another 300 or 400 layoffs result.

I'm going to ask the minister again -- 45,000 jobs destroyed in the forest sector over the last three years under your watch: Can you honestly tell those 45,000 people that you deserve a $40,000 pay

increase?

Hon. Mr. Ramsay: The leader of the third party may wish he had a magic wand and he could make all of this better. We in government have to do it step by step, working with the industry and

getting the right inputs in place to make sure that they are competitive.

What the member fails to say is that we have helped reopen the Neenah Paper mill in Terrace Bay and got those jobs back. So there's a reopening. We're working with a new set of investors who want to reopen the

Cascades plant in Thunder Bay, and we're very close to seeing that happen. I would hope you'll have that announcement in the new year.

We are starting to make some progress. It's not all doom and gloom, though it is bad news up there. We are working with the communities, we're working with the companies and we're working with the industry to

make sure we have a strong, competitive industry in northern Ontario and therefore sustainable communities in northern Ontario.

ONTARIO DRUG BENEFIT PROGRAM

Mrs. Elizabeth Witmer (Kitchener-Waterloo): My question is to the Minister of Health. Minister, on November 20, you stood in this House and responded to me when I asked you why your government

was discriminating against federal pensioners and creating a second class of citizens in the province of Ontario when it comes to drug coverage. You said that you were going to go ahead with that policy for retired federal public servants because

you were going to save tens of millions of dollars which you could use to improve access to drugs for others.

A few weeks later, on December 8, your Premier wrote a letter to the president of the Federal Superannuates National Association, stating that, "We have decided not to move forward with the policy."

Minister, who is in charge at the Ministry of Health?

Hon. George Smitherman (Deputy Premier, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): Oh, it's still you.

I want to thank the honourable member for the question. I want to say that it's an appropriate day for the question because today is the day when we put out a new formulary in the province of Ontario. I'm very

pleased to report to the people of Ontario, through our initiatives in Bill 102, that 23 new brand name drug products are being added to the Ontario government's drug formulary today.

On the issue that is mentioned, some shenanigans have occurred on the part of the federal Treasury Board which have caused an exacerbated degree of fear among federal pensioners. We're very honest about it.

This is the circumstance that has occurred. The honourable member will know, accordingly, that our government has very clearly announced, through the leader of our government, the Premier of Ontario, that we will not be moving forward with this

initiative. That's the final word on that.

Mrs. Witmer: To the minister again: It's obvious that this Bill 102 that was introduced to supposedly expand access to drugs for people in Ontario continues to be as flawed as it ever was. You

did no consultation, you did absolutely no analysis, and then you find out after the fact how it's negatively going to impact people. In fact, everybody has told you -- the pharmacists, the drug companies, the researchers -- that this drug bill

was flawed from day one.

You've lost $14 million in savings; you're now going to lose another $100 million in savings. This was supposedly the reason for the bill. I guess I would say to you today, Minister, where are you going to

find the savings that you said you were going to provide to patients? They were counting on the money in order to have better access to drugs.

Hon. Mr. Smitherman: Firstly, the honourable member who asked the question is not straightforward enough to acknowledge that her foundation for asking the question is that she's on the side of

a party that proposes a $2.5-billion cut to health care. So if the question is to be asked about where such savings are --

Mr. John Yakabuski (Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke): That's not true.

Hon. Mr. Smitherman: You're not even in your seat. If the question is to be asked on the basis of where savings will be found, then it really is the honourable member who's on the hot seat on

that one. She and her teammate there have got a cut of $2.5 billion proposed for health care.

The reality is that through the initiatives associated with Bill 102, we've reduced the impact on the treasury by a couple of hundred million dollars. But way more importantly than that, far more importantly

than that, we stand today as a government proud of the initiatives related to Bill 102, which have meant that 23 --

Interjection.

Hon. Mr. Smitherman: He's not in his seat, Mr. Speaker -- new brand name drugs have been added today to the Ontario drug formulary.

SEXUAL ASSAULT CRISIS CENTRES

Ms. Andrea Horwath (Hamilton East): My question's for the minister responsible for women's issues. On December 31, the Sexual Assault Care Centre in Scarborough will face dramatic cuts in its

ability to serve women immediately after they are raped and sexually assaulted. Essential members of the sexual assault health support team will no longer be available to provide medically necessary services to women in crisis. You are the

minister responsible for women's issues in this province. Why are you allowing this to happen under your watch?

Hon. Sandra Pupatello (Minister of Economic Development and Trade, minister responsible for women's issues): I'd be happy to refer the second question to our Attorney General, if it is related

to a sexual assault crisis centre. As the member opposite knows, funding for those centres does go through the Attorney General.

Let me just say this, though: This member comes to the House today to ask a question and purports to be helpful to women's issues and all of those agencies that work so hard. This is the same member who does

not acknowledge that as of today we have moved from introducing a $66-million domestic violence action plan to delivering an $82-million domestic violence action plan. But what is more important is that this same member has voted against every

single opportunity to improve the lives of women, and I find that very hard to square with asking about an initiative to fund -- for the first time, those sexual assault crisis centres received more money. They have not had that happen in the last

15 years. That happened under this government -- not the NDP government, but under this government.

Ms. Horwath: Not surprisingly, the minister hasn't addressed my question. Dr. Rosalind Zucker and her colleagues are on call at night and on weekends, when raped and sexually assaulted women

need care. She wrote to the McGuinty Liberals months ago because the on-call funding was being cut by you -- not by anybody else, but by you, crippling this crucial community resource. Yesterday your government refused to help and, in fact, told

Dr. Zucker to wait until 2008.

Minister, women in east Toronto and Scarborough can't wait until 2008. These cuts are happening now. Will you take action today and stop the cuts before December 31?

Hon. Ms. Pupatello: I am happy to follow up with this particular crisis centre on a personal level and not address it here in this House. But let me say again what I have said before. I'd like

you to go to the Ontario Women's Directorate website. On that website you will find, in very short order, this particular update of the domestic violence action plan. It is unprecedented, in the history of the Ontario government, the level to

which this government has brought together 13 ministers, 13 ministries to help the plight of women who suffer abuse. In an unprecedented way, we have come to the table, not just with funding but with structure so that these agencies have never

seen the level of support that they are now getting from this government, not just in the area of sexual assault crisis centres but community supports across the board: in training, in the justice sector and, special and most of all, in public

education. It is critical that we have support from all members of this House --

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

EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS

Mr. Vic Dhillon (Brampton West-Mississauga): My question is for the Minister of Labour. Minister, two weeks ago my private member's bill, Bill 161, the protecting vulnerable workers act, 2006,

was debated in this Legislature. I am proud to say that my bill passed second reading. As you know, this issue is very near and dear to me and is one that affects a great many of my constituents in Brampton West-Mississauga. In fact, this issue

affects Ontarians throughout the province, particularly some of our most vulnerable workers, including women, immigrants and visible minorities.

The purpose of my bill is to establish a licensing scheme for the control and regulation of businesses that operate as employment agencies. While there are many reputable temporary staffing agencies that play

a useful role in our economy, there is no doubt that there are some breaking the rules and causing undue hardship for some of our most vulnerable citizens. Minister, what are you doing to protect these vulnerable individuals from exploitation by

unethical staffing agencies?

Hon. Steve Peters (Minister of Labour): I want to thank the member for his question and his advocacy on behalf of his constituents and, as well, his advocacy on behalf of vulnerable workers in

the province. His bill raises some very interesting initiatives, and as a ministry we are taking a look at that bill. Also, we're continually looking at ways to address the issues and the challenges facing temporary workers in this province. I do

want to stress, however, that temporary workers are currently protected under the Employment Standards Act. Their work may be temporary but their rights are not.

I can also tell you that the Ministry of Labour has had closer scrutiny of temporary agencies this past year. I am pleased today to announce that I have directed Ministry of Labour staff to undertake a

targeted inspection campaign focused on temporary work agencies. Beginning in January, a group of employment standards officers will dedicate themselves exclusively to proactively inspecting temporary agencies. The officers will check to ensure

that employers are following the rules, including paying appropriate wages --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): Thank you, Minister. Supplementary, the member for Mississauga East.

Mr. Peter Fonseca (Mississauga East): That's great news. It's good to hear that this government takes the concerns of our vulnerable workers so seriously. I know that many of my constituents

will breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the Ministry of Labour is taking action against these unscrupulous employers who prey on the weakest in our society.

While I still believe this industry needs to be regulated to fill the void left after the Conservative government chose to repeal the Employment Agencies Act, this is a fine step forward. It's no secret that

women, newcomers and visible minorities are excessively represented in the lowest-paying and most insecure forms of work. They need our protection. But we're dealing with two issues here. One is compliance with the act by uncooperative employers,

which I am hopeful your dedicated inspection team can improve, and one is education: How do we inform our vulnerable workers of their rights? Many are newcomers to Ontario. Minister, what --

The Speaker: The question has been asked.

Hon. Mr. Peters: I want to thank the member for his question, and his advocacy as well. Over the past three months, my parliamentary assistant, Mario Racco, has been touring around the

province, meeting with community groups and newcomers, so that people understand their rights in the workplace. As well, we've developed community partnerships such as the Centre for Information and Community Services. We've launched a two-year

partnership with the Settlement and Integration Services Organization in Hamilton, where counsellors and staff are trained to explain workers' rights in 40 different languages. Recently we partnered with the Chinese Interagency Network to help

obtain valuable information from front-line temporary workers to assist our targeted enforcement. As well, we're offering outreach through the Ministry of Labour staff. We've entered into partnerships with three GTA community colleges to help

employers understand compliance with the ESA. We have a website available as well, and we've moved forward with dedicated inspection.

In two years, the team recovered $3.2 million in wages. The team beat targets for the last two years: 2,300 inspections in 2004-05; 2,560 in 2005-06. Again, our Ministry of Labour staff will undertake a

targeted inspection campaign focused on temporary work agencies --

The Speaker: Thank you. New question.

SEX OFFENDERS

Mr. Jerry J. Ouellette (Oshawa): My question is for the Attorney General. Although Christmas and the holidays are just around the corner and I'm wearing a Christmas tie, all isn't quite as

well as everybody thinks it is. You see, I was in a classroom yesterday at Adelaide McLaughlin school and last Friday I was in O'Neill Collegiate, and there are a lot of concerns. The students are concerned; the teachers are concerned; the parents

are concerned. They're coming to me in the arenas, because something is taking place that I think some people would like to hear about. You see, within half a block or within walking distance of those schools I was at, Jamie Moorcroft has been

released. And just for those who would like to know -- or not like to know -- he has 10 criminal convictions, four of them against young boys. This man was convicted and released on house arrest for nine months.

Attorney General, people want to know, how are you protecting the people of the province and the kids by allowing individuals like that to be released in our community?

Hon. Michael Bryant (Attorney General): I thank the member for his question, and I appreciate that he's bringing an issue to this Legislature that's very important to his community. I

understand that and I appreciate it.

The member will understand as well that it is not for a Legislature to be making decisions about facts and law that are presented before a court. It is for a Legislature, on the other hand, to bring forward

reforms, as this government has brought forward and as this government has brought forward to the federal Parliament, to make the changes that are necessary, without getting into this particular case, to see to it that if there are injustices out

there that you and your community want changed, we do that.

I will certainly undertake to sit down with the member and with the official opposition to talk about what those reforms might be in the case of the particular area that the member is raising.

Mr. Ouellette: To quote here from CityNews, "Cops are sure he's a candidate to re-offend." There's nothing they can do about it at this time. Let me restate that: 10 convictions, four of them

against young boys; nine months' house arrest. Something has to be done. If this Legislature has to come together to deal with issues like that, let us know what we have to do to make those changes, because we can't have things like this. I can't

have my kids coming home from school with papers saying, "Guess what? This guy's on" -- people want to know that he's living on Fernhill Boulevard, just north of Rosalind, but the police can't tell them that. I just did. We need those individuals

out there addressed. We need this Legislature to come together to make those necessary changes. What is it that we have to do to work together to move forward on that issue?

Hon. Mr. Bryant: I hope the member appreciates how inappropriate it would be for an Attorney General, for a chief legal officer, to comment on any particular case or any particular individual.

I know he understands that.

I have undertaken to sit down with the member, with the official opposition and with the third party to discuss reforms. It is very clear that there is a level of government in which reforms are taken, the

federal Parliament, which is not to say that we can't have a role in making those changes. The Premier led the national fight to make changes that resulted in reverse onus on bail going before the federal Parliament. We can work together on not

only that issue but on other issues. I've undertaken to sit down with the member and I look forward to sitting down with him, after I've answered this question, to arrange for a time for us to begin that hard work.

LANDFILL

Mr. Peter Tabuns (Toronto-Danforth): My question is for the Minister of the Environment. This morning, residents of Tiny township's Stop Dump Site 41 campaign travelled here to request that

the McGuinty government reconsider approvals for a garbage dump on top of some of the purest source waters not just in the province but on the planet. The McGuinty government is being asked if it will walk the walk when it comes to protecting

source waters. Will the McGuinty government protect these pristine source waters and reconsider the EA approval for site 41 under

section 11.4 of the Environmental Assessment Act?

Hon. Laurel C. Broten (Minister of the Environment): I would ask my friend opposite to really pay attention to the history of what has transpired with respect to site 41. We are the government

that has taken the single largest step in all of the country to protect source water with the Clean Water Act. That was

an act that you voted against.

The environmental assessment for the landfill, which the member now speaks about, was originally approved under the NDP government some 10 years ago, and processes have been undertaken in that community over

many years. The conditions on the certificate of approval were approved under the former Tory government. The role that the Ministry of the Environment now plays is solely to examine the design and operation of that landfill being sought to be

constructed by the municipality in Tiny township. So before my friend opposite points fingers across --

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

Mr. Tabuns: It's nice to know that the day after your government passed your Clean Water Act, you issued the provisional certificate of approval for site 41. The act that you proclaim --

acclaim -- is not applied to a situation where we have source waters that actually have to be protected. This water is so clean that researchers use it to look at contamination in bottled water.

Now that we've gotten through all the rhetoric, will you use your powers as the government of the day to reconsider the EA approval for site 41 under

section 11.4 of the Environmental Assessment Act, or will

you ignore your actions on source water protection?

Hon. Ms. Broten: As I've suggested to my friend opposite, it is imperative that he examine the history of what has transpired here: a full hearing before the Environmental Review Tribunal and

a full examination of the issues by the government of the day, which was your government, an NDP government; approval of a full environmental assessment; provision of a certificate of approval; and an examination at present day by the community

seeking to build their landfill, with the role of the ministry being to ensure that that community will be safe and protected.

The ministry has set out incredibly tough conditions to ensure that the landfill will be constructed using state-of-the-art engineering techniques that continue to exist, and we have put in place mechanisms to

ensure that there's an opportunity for the community to continue to work collaboratively with respect to ensuring the safety of their drinking water. That is something I am committed to as a minister who brought in and passed the Clean Water Act.

We will ensure that the source water in this community is clean and safe.

IMMIGRANT SERVICES

Mr. Kuldip Kular (Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale): My question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. From 2003 to 2005, over 24,000 newcomers chose to settle in the city of

Brampton. That's an average of 8,000 newcomers a year.

Minister, recently you were at the Brampton Multicultural Community Centre to announce an investment that is a result of the first-ever Canada-Ontario immigration agreement that the McGuinty government signed

over a year ago.

"The immigrant community in Brampton and Mississauga has grown by leaps and bounds, but their needs were not reflected in the settlement resources we'd received over the years," said Ahmed Iqbal in the Toronto

Star.

The centre is expected to get $989,000 to strengthen language programs and hire job developers and counsellors, roles that fell to volunteers.

Minister, does this announcement mark the fact that a significant amount of funding is starting to flow to service agencies from the agreement?

Hon. Mike Colle (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration): I want to thank the member from Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale. For the last two years, he's been asking the federal government to

ensure that an immigrant who goes to Malton gets the same funding as an immigrant who goes to Montreal. We signed that agreement, and now that money's flowing.

In Brampton, we just announced almost $1 million for the new settlement services that go into the schools now, enhanced language training and job search workshops. They're hiring more people. This is the first

time in over 20 years there's been an increase in funding for settlement services. There are more programs and more experts going in there, helping newcomers integrate. It's good news for Brampton, it's good news for Peel region and it's good news

for Ontario.

Mr. Kular: Minister, the federal-provincial agreement is only one of the initiatives in the McGuinty government's comprehensive plan to break down barriers for newcomers. Recently, you also

announced the opening of Global Experience Ontario, an access and resource centre for the internationally trained, a result of the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act that passed recently. Minister, how will this centre help newcomers break

down the barriers they are faced with when they arrive in Ontario?

Hon. Mr. Colle: I was proud, along with Minister Smitherman, to open up Global Experience Ontario at Ryerson University. At Ryerson University, there's going to be a one-stop information

resource centre for newcomers to link with our bridge training programs, to link with services that will help them break through the barriers. This is the first centre of its kind. It's an investment in people who have global experience.

Frankly, many of us are sick and tired of hearing that excuse about, "Sorry, no job. You don't have any Canadian experience." What we're asking employers and regulatory bodies to do is look at people's global

experience, international experience. That's why this centre will do a great job in ensuring qualified people get the right information and the right support to practise in Ontario. Whether it be doctors, engineers or pharmacists, these people

deserve a chance. The access centre, Global Experience Ontario, will give them that chance and the support they've been long waiting for. It's about time.

SIGN LANGUAGE IN SCHOOLS

Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): My question is to the Premier. Today in the gallery we have former MPP Gary Malkowski, and with him several representatives from the Ontario

Association of the Deaf, the Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf as well as the Canadian Hearing Society.

sign language and LSQ. Can you tell Mr. Malkowski and the representatives mentioned who are here today what the status is and why there has been little or no action from your government on developing and implementing regulations on ASL and LSQ

under the Education Act?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty (Premier, Minister of Research and Innovation): To the Minister of Education.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne (Minister of Education): Thank you very much for the question. The member should know that since I was parliamentary assistant, actually, to Minister Kennedy, we have

been in conversation with the folks who are concerned about this, because there's a range of issues here in terms of language of instruction and exactly what the regulation should say. I will commit to the member that we will continue to have that

conversation with Gary Malkowski and the people who have been in communication with us.

Ms. Scott: Thank you, Minister, but there have been many consultations. It's gone on for a long time. The president of the Ontario Association of the Deaf, as recently as October of this year,

clearly stated that most deaf students do not pass the standard grade 10 literacy test. That's a pretty woeful statistic from a minister in a government where the leader proclaims himself as the education Premier.

You know you have the power to implement action if you so choose. Regulations have been created governing the other languages of instruction. You know you can pass regulations under the Education Act. Numerous

studies, including the recent Ontario Human Rights Commission's Guidelines on Accessible Education, November 2004, and the recent federal court's Canadian Association of the Deaf decision, August 2006, recognize that action is needed.

Please, Minister, why are you avoiding the implementation of ASL and LSQ regulations in schools across Ontario? You have the ability to do so. Will you commit today to a timeline, please?

Hon. Ms. Wynne: First of all, action on enactment of this regulation could have taken place under the previous government; it did not. Eight years it sat. What we're trying to do in the

education system, in addition to putting extra resources into the post-secondary system for

interpretation, is build capacity. Gary Malkowski and I have had many conversations about this, that what is really needed is capacity in the system.

The member opposite makes a gesture that suggests we're not doing anything. In fact, what we're doing is working with our teachers of the deaf. We're working with the school system as a whole to make sure that

the professional development and the training is in place that will allow capacity in the system. We can pass a regulation, we can change a regulation, but if there is no capacity, if there are no teachers to deliver, if there is no way for

students to get the service they need, then the regulation is meaningless. So we're going to build capacity rather than make a paper decision.

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

Despite this, there is no action in the development of regulations for minimum standards for the classrooms of the deaf and the hard of hearing.

You're into the fourth year of your mandate. Can you tell us why your ministry has yet to develop and implement ASL and LSQ regulations under the Education Act? Why haven't you done it in four years?

Hon. Ms. Wynne: Not only did the previous government not enact this regulation, this regulation could have been enacted by the government preceding the previous government. This issue has been

around for a good 14 years.

We are working with the deaf community. We have had many conversations with Mr. Malkowski. In fact, various wordings of a regulation change have been drafted and there has been a very specific conversation

about what we can and can't do. If this were a simple issue of changing a regulation and making it so that all students who need ASL would have access to it, it would have been done. The point is that capacity has to be built in the system to

allow students to get the service they need, and that's what we're working on.

Mr. Prue: We're having conversations. The answer we want to hear, and I'm sure that the people here want to hear, is that we're taking action. That's what you're not doing.

The recommendations for development of these regulations were supported by all the former ministers. I wasn't here and you weren't either. I don't know why they weren't done, but you have the opportunity to do

them. They are being supported by the Ontario College of Teachers, and even the Supreme Court of Canada has said that it needs to be done.

You have delayed developing and implementing the ASL/LSQ regulations that would ensure those minimum standards for sign language interpreters and teaching schools across Ontario, despite your so-called

instruction, that is, ASL/LSQ, in Ontario?

Hon. Ms. Wynne: What was in the AODA was the commitment to set standards. That process is in the works. What we are trying to do is to build capacity in the system. We're trying to train

teachers, we're trying to make sure that the services for deaf students are in place. It is very cheap politics to suggest that just changing a regulation and demanding that something happen in a system that has no capacity to make that happen --

it's dishonest. I am not prepared to be part of a government that would do such a thing.

What I believe is that we have to keep making investments in the system that allow the teachers to get the training that they need, that allow us to have the capacity to deliver the service to the children. At

the post-secondary level, we are making investments that will provide for access. We are working on the regulation changes. Mr. Malkowski couldn't get a meeting with the previous government; couldn't get a meeting, didn't have a conversation.

We're working on drafting a regulation and building capacity.

TOURISM

Mr. Bruce Crozier (Essex): My question is for everybody's favourite minister, the Minister of Tourism. Minister, the tourism industry has been facing some tough times in the past few years.

What with September 11, SARS, the high dollar, high gasoline prices and the proposed passport policy in the United States, they've all had an impact on the tourism industry in Ontario.

Minister, I recall last summer that our government invested in the Chinese Lantern Festival at Ontario Place and that it was a great success. In my riding of Essex, there are many great festivals and events,

not the least of which is the international wine festival in Amherstburg. Minister, what are some of the ways that our government is encouraging people to attend all of these great festivals and events happening across our great province?

Hon. James J. Bradley (Minister of Tourism, minister responsible for seniors, Government House Leader): I thank you very much for the question, the member from Essex, and I want to say that

the member is a great ambassador for tourism in his part of Ontario.

I'm pleased the member asked this question because our government has a new initiative called Celebrate Ontario. Our government is investing three million new dollars to help organizations develop and market

festivals and events across the province. Some $2.5 million of this new money will be invested to support the growth and enhancement of existing signature festivals and events. This new initiative will provide up to $100,000 in one-time funding

assistance to develop new features for festivals and events in every region of the province. In addition to this, $500,000 will be available to increase support for advertising and promotion of events and festivals in Ontario.

We are encouraging the people to get into festivals and events in Ontario. There's no place like this. I can assure you that if I look at each of the members of this House, I know that in their ridings there

are special festivals which would attract people, not only from one part of the province to the other, which we want, but also people from outside of the province and outside of the country who will come to enjoy all that Ontario has to offer,

including --

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

Mr. Richard Patten (Ottawa Centre): My follow-up question to the Minister of Tourism is, I'm glad to hear that there's some more money on the table to help out festivals, because often people

forget, as the Minister of Culture has pointed out many times, the contribution that festivals make not only to the dynamics of a community by having people visit Ontario and learn of a few things, but to the economic well-being. For example, I

was president of the Canadian Tulip Festival for five or six years. It contributes $30 million to the base economy, $40 million to Ontario. That's very seldom recognized. I'd like to ask you this: We have volunteers, people struggling to keep

these events alive. The tulip festival almost went bankrupt this year. How is this particular program going help keep them alive so that they can be more and more solvent and not so dependent upon weather every May?

Hon. Mr. Bradley: I want to save some time for the member for Leeds-Grenville, who has a question next. I'll cut it off with just about two seconds to go so he can get his question in.

I want to thank the member for sharing this information. The tulip festival in Ottawa is outstanding. Everyone should attend it.

It's very important for all of us to recognize the unique and exciting events happening in all of our communities across the province and to encourage people to get out and see Ontario. In fact, we invite

everybody to vacation in Ontario this winter if they are able to do so. I ask all MPPs to talk to the festivals and events organizers in their communities and encourage them to apply for grants through my ministry. Organizers can visit the Ontario

Tourism festivals website to find out more information on how to apply for Celebrate Ontario. As well, organizations wanting to learn more about the tourism events marketing partnership program can visit www.tourismpartners.com to get more

information.

PROPERTY TAXATION

Mr. Tim Hudak (Erie-Lincoln): My question is for the Minister of Finance. Minister, as you know, your friends at MPAC have become extremely restless since the property assessment freeze was

instituted and most recently have come down hard on owners of properties at 1 King Street West here in the city of Toronto. The minister probably knows that they are assessing those buildings as a residential assessment and applying commercial tax

rates to those properties, which has caused exorbitant tax increases.

By one example cited in the media, one owner's property taxes have increased from $1,000 per year to $11,000 per year in taxes. In fact, these are much higher taxes than even hotels like the King Edward or the

Royal York face. It is a double whammy of the higher assessment category of residential assessment, about $300,000 per unit, and commercial tax rates. This is a tax gouge that would make even Dalton McGuinty blush. What are you going to do about

it?

Hon. Greg Sorbara (Minister of Finance, Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet): I guess it's late in the day, sir, and my friend from Erie-Lincoln can shape matters as he thinks best. This

is a matter of properties that are commercial properties, in essence hotel rooms, being assessed as commercial properties.

There is, I tell my friend, an issue because in part the building is a condominium and in

part it's a hotel, so we've undertaken a review, because we're seeing more of these hotel-condominiums emerging, and we

hope that this review can provide a reasonable resolution to the issue. In the meantime, as you know, it's up to MPAC to assess properties, and if property owners are not content with those assessments, the property owner has a process of appeal

to the Assessment Review Board, and obviously we would encourage that kind of appeal.

PETITIONS

LONG-TERM CARE

Mr. Bill Murdoch (Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound): I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas the proposed Long-Term Care Homes Act is extremely lengthy and complex and requires full and extensive parliamentary and public debate and committee hearings throughout the province; and

"Whereas the rigid, pervasive and detailed framework proposed is excessive and will stifle innovation and flexibility in the long-term-care sector; and

"Whereas the additional burden, red tape and punitive measures imposed by the proposed legislation will aggravate and exacerbate the chronic underfunding of the sector, to the detriment of residents of the

homes; and

"Whereas the proposed legislation will have serious implications for the viability of the for-profit and not-for-profit, charitable and municipal long-term-care sectors;

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

"We demand that the McGuinty government withdraw the proposed act, or remove the offending sections, and fulfill its commitment by a substantial increase in funding on a multi-year basis in the order of the

promised $6,000 per resident, per year."

I have signed this.

VISITORS

Ms. Cheri DiNovo (Parkdale-High Park): Mr. Speaker, I just want to introduce a point of order. We have a gallery full of incredible volunteers from Parkdale-High Park, including an

outrageously handsome man, my husband, Gil.

MACULAR DEGENERATION

Mr. Bob Delaney (Mississauga West): I'm pleased to bring this petition from my seatmate, the member for Niagara Falls, to whom I send my greetings and those of the members of his caucus. It's

addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and it reads as follows:

"Whereas the government of Ontario's health insurance plan covers treatments for one form of macular degeneration (wet), there are other forms of macular degeneration (dry) that are not covered,

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

"There are thousands of Ontarians who suffer from macular degeneration, resulting in loss of sight if treatment is not pursued. Treatment costs for this disease are astronomical for most" people "and add a

financial burden to their lives. Their only alternative is loss of sight. We believe the government of Ontario should cover treatment for all forms of macular degeneration through the Ontario health insurance program."

I am pleased to sign this petition and to ask page Kelsea to carry it for me.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): The member for Durham.

LONG-TERM CARE

Mr. John O'Toole (Durham): It's good to see you in the chair. The best of the season.

I'll read a petition on behalf of my constituents in the riding of Durham. It reads as follows:

"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 promised by Dalton McGuinty during the election of

I'm pleased to sign it and support that and hand it to Philip, one of the pages who have been working here in this last session. He's done a great job.

Mr. Jim Wilson (Simcoe-Grey): My nephew.

Mr. O'Toole: He's Jim Wilson's nephew, actually.

CRIME PREVENTION

Mr. Lorenzo Berardinetti (Scarborough Southwest): I have a petition presented to me by Mr. Sonny Sansone, a constituent of mine in Scarborough Southwest. He asked me to read it out, so I

will.

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas gun violence has been on the rise in the province of Ontario;

"Whereas such violence has had a devastating effect on communities across this province;

"Whereas programs supporting youth such as employment and recreation are essential in diverting youth from pursuing and embracing a culture of crime;

"We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to request that the government of Ontario, as part of its strategy to deal with gun violence, restore and fund more programs that fund

initiatives that empower youth like employment and recreation."

I agree with the petition. I affix my signature to it and give it to page Simon, who's here with me today.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Now, to get back in the proper rotation, the member for Toronto-Danforth, whom I couldn't see before.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Mr. Peter Tabuns (Toronto-Danforth): It's my pleasure to present a petition on behalf of my constituents in Toronto-Danforth. It's addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

"Whereas climate change is recognized as a global crisis that requires immediate action;

"Whereas in Ontario, greenhouse gas emissions alone have grown by 16% over the past decade;

"Whereas provincial policies in energy, transportation, planning and infrastructure can reduce emissions in accordance with Kyoto;

"Whereas Ontario has received failing marks for not having a coordinated strategy in place to tackle climate change and reduce emissions;

"Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to mandate that Ontario have a climate change plan based on the Kyoto targets."

I agree with this petition. I affix my signature to it, and I will give it to page Or for presentation.

PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY

Mr. Norm Miller (Parry Sound-Muskoka): I have more petitions to do with the Mary Lake dam.

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas the dam at Mary Lake has historically provided a pedestrian walkway for use by the community and visitors since the dam's construction; and

"Whereas the walkway provides a vital link and a tourist attraction for the community of Port Sydney; and

"Whereas restricting access to the walkway would result in pedestrian use of the roadway, where motor vehicle traffic poses a danger to pedestrians; and

"Whereas closure of the pedestrian walkway across the dam is inconsistent with other provincial government programs, including Ontario's action plan for healthy eating and active living and the Trails for Life

program, both of which promote active lifestyles; and

"Whereas all ministries should strive to encourage and support healthy lifestyles;

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

"That the Ministry of Natural Resources continue to permit the use of the pedestrian walkway over Mary Lake dam indefinitely."

I support this petition.

CHILD CUSTODY

Mr. Bob Delaney (Mississauga West): I am pleased to present another petition on behalf of my hard-working seat mate from Niagara Falls, who keeps sending them into the Legislature, for which

we thank him. It's addressed to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. It's a bit of a mouthful; here it comes:

"Whereas the people of the province of Ontario deserve and have the right to request an amendment to the Children's Law Reform Act to emphasize the importance of children's relationships with their parents and

grandparents; and

"Whereas subsection 20(2.1) requires parents and others with custody of children to refrain from unreasonably placing obstacles to personal relations between the children and their grandparents; and

"Whereas subsection 24(2) contains a list of matters that a court must consider when determining the best interests of a child. The bill amends that subsection to include a specific reference to the importance

of maintaining emotional ties between children and grandparents; and

"Whereas subsection 24(2.1) requires a court that is considering custody of or access to a child to give effect to the principle that a child should have as much contact with each parent and grandparent as is

consistent with the best interests of the child;

"Subsection 24(2.2) requires a court that is considering custody of a child to take into consideration each applicant's willingness to facilitate as much contact between the child and each parent and

grandparent as is consistent with the best interests of the child; and

"Whereas we support Bill 8, as introduced by Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor;

"We, the undersigned, hereby petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to amend the Children's Law Reform Act to emphasize the importance of children's relationships with their parents and

grandparents."

Once again, I thank the member for Niagara Falls for continuing to send in these petitions. I sign it and I ask page Simon to carry it for me.

PROPERTY TAXATION

Mr. Tim Hudak (Erie-Lincoln): God bless you, Mr. Speaker. Merry Christmas.

I have another petition saying:

"Protect Homeowners from Skyrocketing Assessments

"To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

"Whereas working families, seniors and young people are facing higher taxes, higher home heating costs, higher hydro rates and higher user fees in Dalton McGuinty's Ontario; and

"Whereas skyrocketing property assessments and the resultant property tax increases are simply unaffordable and are forcing some homeowners, particularly seniors on fixed incomes, to sell their home; and

"Whereas Bill 75, the Homestead Act, 2006, would preserve the Canadian value of home ownership by:

" -- Capping assessment increases at 5% per year,

" -- Allowing homeowners to make up to $25,000 per year in home improvements without triggering an assessment increase, and

" -- Providing a property tax break for seniors and the disabled by ensuring that the first $10,000 of their home's value would not be taxed;

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

"The McGuinty Liberal government should adopt the assessment reforms in Bill 75, the Homestead Act."

I attach my signature in support.

PORTLANDS ENERGY CENTRE

Mr. Peter Tabuns (Toronto-Danforth): I am presenting a petition on behalf of my constituents. The petition reads:

"Whereas the proposed Portlands Energy Centre power plant will increase air pollution in east end and downtown Toronto;

"Whereas the city of Toronto opposes the construction of this 550-megawatt gas-fired power plant on the waterfront;

"Whereas alternatives to the plant exist to provide the power and power savings necessary to maintain the supply of power in the city of Toronto;

"Whereas the construction of the plant will undermine efforts to conserve power, reduce pollution, develop renewable power and revitalize the waterfront;

"Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to block the construction of the Portlands Energy Centre on the waterfront and to invest instead in energy efficiency, conservation,

alternative and renewable power."

I agree with this petition. I affix my signature to the petition in agreement and pass it on to page Kelsea for submission.

MACULAR DEGENERATION

Mr. Bob Delaney (Mississauga West): I too wish you a very Merry Christmas, Speaker. This is another petition from my hard-working seatmate from Niagara Falls. It's addressed to the Legislative

Assembly of Ontario. It also deals with macular degeneration, and it reads as follows:

"Whereas the government of Ontario's health insurance plan covers treatments for one form of macular degeneration (wet), and there are other forms of macular degeneration (dry) that are not covered,

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

"There are thousands of Ontarians who suffer from macular degeneration, resulting in loss of sight if treatment is not pursued. Treatment costs for this disease are astronomical for most constituents and add a

financial burden to their lives. Their only alternative is loss of sight. We believe the government of Ontario should cover treatment for all forms of macular degeneration through the Ontario health insurance program."

On behalf of my seatmate, the member for Niagara Falls, I certainly wish his constituents all the best. I'll sign this petition and give it to page Gloria to carry for me.

FREDERICK BANTING HOMESTEAD

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

"Whereas Sir Frederick Banting was the man who discovered insulin and was Canada's first Nobel Prize recipient; and

"Whereas this great Canadian's original homestead, located in the town of New Tecumseth, Alliston, is deteriorating and in danger of destruction because of the inaction of the Ontario Historical Society;

and

"Whereas the town of New Tecumseth has been unsuccessful in reaching an agreement with the Ontario Historical Society to use part of the land to educate the public about the historical significance of the work

of Sir Frederick Banting;

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

"That the Minister of Culture endorse Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson's private member's bill entitled the Frederick Banting Homestead Preservation Act so that the homestead is kept in good repair and preserved for

generations to come."

I want to thank Bob and Peter Banting for that petition.

BORDER SECURITY

Mr. Wayne Arthurs (Pickering-Ajax-Uxbridge): I have a petition here which reads:

"Whereas the United States government, through the western hemisphere travel initiative, is proposing that US citizens will require a passport or single-purpose travel card to cross the Canada-US border;

and

"Whereas a passport or single-purpose travel card would be an added expense, and the inconvenience of having to apply for and carry a new document would be a barrier for many Canadian and US cross-border

travellers; and

"Whereas the George Bush government proposal could mean a loss of as many as 3.5 million US visitors to Ontario, and place in peril as many as 7,000 jobs in the Ontario tourism industry by 2008, many of which

are valuable entry jobs for youth and new Canadians; and

"Whereas many of the US states bordering Canada have expressed similar concerns regarding the punitive economic impact of this plan, and both states and provinces along the US-Canada border recognize that the

importance of the safe and efficient movement of people across that border is vital to the economies of both countries;

"Be it therefore resolved that the Legislative Assembly of Ontario support the establishment of a bi-national group to establish an alternative to the proposed US border requirements, and inform Prime Minister

Harper that his decision not to advocate on behalf of Ontarians is ill-advised and contrary to the responsibilities of elected representatives in Canada."

Since I agree with this petition, I'll affix my signature to it and ask Connor if he would deliver it to the table.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

TIME ALLOCATION /

ATTRIBUTION DE TEMPS

Hon. David Caplan (Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, Deputy Government House Leader): I move that, pursuant to standing order 46 and notwithstanding any other standing order or

special order of the House related to Bill 173,

An Act to amend the Legislative Assembly Act, the MPPs Pension Act, 1996 and the Executive Council Act, that the order referring Bill 173 to the standing committee on the Legislative Assembly be

discharged and the bill be ordered for third reading, which order may then be immediately called;

That when the order for third reading is called, the Speaker shall put every question necessary to dispose of this stage of the bill without further debate or amendment; and

That there shall be no deferral of any vote allowed, pursuant to standing order 28(h); and

That, in the case of any division relating to any proceedings on the bill, the division bell shall be limited to 10 minutes.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Michael Prue): Debate?

Hon. Mr. Caplan: It's a pleasure to enter into today's debate, to be here in the House.

Fundamentally, this time allocation is about the work that MPPs do. I had the great pleasure today, on behalf of all members of this Legislature, to talk about some of the work that we do and that we did as

far as developing a blueprint for growth, for environmental protection and for economic development here in Ontario -- very important work, work that will last generations over the course of the next quarter of a century -- for the almost four

million additional people we wish to settle, the over two million jobs that we project will be created; how those are going to translate, where those people and jobs are going to grow, how it's going to be connected together and supported by

transportation, by the critical infrastructures that are necessary.

I don't want to suggest for a minute that this work was entirely the doing of the Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal or even of members on one side of the House, because I can tell you that this work,

in fact, began formally as an initiative under my colleagues who are now opposite but at the time under the leadership of then-Minister Chris Hodgson in the formation of what he called Smart Growth panels. I congratulate the previous government

and Chris Hodgson for the work they did in bringing this forward, in bringing people together, in bringing members of this Legislature together, to plan for the growth and development, to build the consensus. That was tiring, painstaking work that

he and other members in the then government caucus initially undertook and engaged in, but also in co-operation with members of other caucuses: the important work, the critical work, for the growth and development of this province.

Fundamentally, that's what today's motion is about, the kind of work that we do. I truly believe that I have had a privilege to be able to pick up much of where Chris Hodgson had left off and to work with a

number of incredible individuals on both sides of the House, and outside of this place, to build a plan which is going to put Ontario at the forefront of growth and development.

Of course, one of the things I am especially thrilled about is that the eyes of the world are now back on our province. You know, we were in a leadership position for so many years. I don't want to ascribe it

as anybody's fault, because it isn't, but we just rested on our laurels and it was time that somebody got back into the game. That's certainly happened. The world is watching and the world is looking, and the world is giving us two thumbs up.

We won the Daniel Burnham Award. Now, that's not an award that goes to David Caplan or the Ministry of Public Infrastructure; that is an award that honours the province of Ontario and all of the people who

contributed to it, but certainly the leadership of MPPs in their communities, helping to develop that kind of a progressive view, that kind of a consensus, that kind of a will, and the movement and the momentum forward, to build that kind of

plan.

Daniel Burnham was a very famous American planner. He was the one who developed the city of Chicago plan back in 1909 and subsequently the Chicago World's Fair and was credited with revitalizing the American

Midwest. You can literally go and Google him and you will see -- I think some call him the Frank Gehry of planning. He was the person whom internationally people looked to as somebody who got to understand the overall necessity of having a good

plan and then having a good implementation.

Mr. Burnham said something very interesting: "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will themselves not be realized" -- have bold plans, have bold dreams. That's what

members of this Legislature do on behalf of the people we are honoured to serve; on behalf of the people of Don Valley East, whose neighbour I have the privilege of being and of representing them here in this Legislature; on behalf of the people

of every riding where members represent, advocate for and are the voice for their particular neighbours and constituents. That's what we do. It's important work. That's what this motion before us is about. It's about the work that we do to

represent our neighbours and to not only dream big dreams but to deliver on their behalf.

The growth plan for the greater Golden Horseshoe will build opportunities for the people of Ontario by promoting economic prosperity, creating better-pla