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September 13, 2016

41st Parliament, 2nd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2016-Sept-13 (PDF)

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Tuesday 13 September 2016 Mardi 13 septembre 2016

Business of the House

Committee membership

Throne speech debate / Débat sur le discours du trône

Introduction of Visitors

Wearing of pins

Charles Tatham

Oral Questions

Hydro rates

Health care funding

Government policies

Government policies

Government fiscal policies

Energy policies

Government policies

Government policies

Hospital funding

Child care

Energy policies

Employment standards

Health care funding

Energy policies

Introduction of Visitors

Members’ Statements

World Suicide Prevention Day

Hydro rates

Volunteers in Durham

Hydro rates

Hydro rates

The Tragically Hip

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Olympic and Paralympic athletes

Melissa Bishop

Correction of record

Tabling of sessional papers

Introduction of Bills

Election Finances Statute Law Amendment Act, 2016 / Loi de 2016 modifiant des lois en ce qui concerne le financement électoral

Cutting Red Tape for Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, 2016 / Loi de 2016 allégeant les formalités administratives pour les commerçants de véhicules automobiles

Supporting Agricultural Experts in their Field Act, 2016 / Loi de 2016 d’appui aux experts en agriculture dans leur domaine

Greater Access to Hepatitis C Treatment Act, 2016 / Loi de 2016 sur l’élargissement de l’accès au traitement de l’hépatite C

Petitions

Hydro rates

Disaster relief

Health care funding

Missing persons

Hospital funding

Post-secondary sector employees

Agriculture industry

Privatisation des biens publics

Hydro rates

Privatization of public assets

Hydro rates

Orders of the Day

Throne speech debate / Débat sur le discours du trône

The House met at 0900.

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

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Business of the House

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Point of order, the government House leader.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Good morning, Speaker. I hope you, and all members, had a good summer.

Speaker, I believe you will find that we have unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice regarding a number of housekeeping items.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The government House leader is seeking unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice. Do we agree? Agreed.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I move that notwithstanding standing order 98(a), private members’ public business shall not be considered on Thursday, September 15, 2016; and that the House may instead consider other business; and

That notwithstanding standing order 98(g), notice for ballot items 1 through 6, inclusive, be waived.

And that the 2016-17 estimates, selected for consideration in the first session of the 41st Parliament by the Standing Committee on Estimates in its report to the House dated April 7, 2016, be deemed to have been selected by the committee in the second session of the 41st Parliament following the re-tabling of these estimates by the Ministry of Finance; and

That the committee resume consideration of these estimates at the same stage of progress as at prorogation of the first session of the 41st Parliament.

And that the Standing Committee on Social Policy be authorized to meet for up to four hours of public hearings on the legislative and regulatory barriers and burdens facing service clubs in Ontario, to be completed no later than October 31, 2016, during its regularly scheduled meeting times.

And that the following bill, introduced in the first session of the 41st Parliament, be reinstated forthwith on the orders and notices paper at the same stage of progress as at the prorogation of the first session of the 41st Parliament:

Bill 64,

An Act to amend the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act and the Employment Standards Act, 2000; and

That the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly be authorized to meet for up to four hours of public hearings on the bill to be completed no later than October 31, 2016, during its regularly scheduled meeting times

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Mr. Naqvi moves that—

Interjection: Dispense.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Dispense?

Interjection: No, I’d like to hear it again.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I move that notwithstanding—

Interjection: Dispense.

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

Do we agree? Carried.

Motion agreed to.

Committee membership

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Point of order.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Speaker, I believe that we have unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice regarding changes to the membership of standing committees.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The government House leader seeks unanimous consent to put forward a motion without notice. Do we agree? Agreed.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I move that the following changes be made to the membership of the following committees:

That on the Standing Committee on Estimates, Mr. Delaney replaces Mr. Crack, Mr. Dickson replaces Mr. Thibeault, and Miss Taylor replaces Monsieur Mantha;

That on the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, Mr. Rinaldi replaces Mrs. Albanese;

That on the Standing Committee on General Government, Mr. Baker replaces Ms. McMahon;

That on the Standing Committee on Justice Policy, Mr. Colle replaces Ms. Naidoo-Harris, and Monsieur Mantha replaces Miss Taylor;

That on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Mr. Kwinter replaces Mr. Ballard, and Mr. Potts replaces Mr. Rinaldi;

That on the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Bradley replaces Ms. McMahon;

That on the Standing Committee on Social Policy, Mrs. Mangat replaces Mrs. McGarry, and Mr. McMeekin replaces Madame Lalonde;

That on the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills, Mr. Crack replaces Mrs. McGarry, Mr. McMeekin replaces Mrs. Mangat, Mr. Sergio replaces Mr. Delaney, and Ms. Wong replaces Ms. Naidoo-Harris; and

That on the Standing Committee on Government Agencies, Mr. Bradley replaces Madame Lalonde, and Mr. Cho replaces Mr. Bailey.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): The minister has—

Interjection: Dispense.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Dispense? Do we have unanimous consent?

Is it the pleasure of the House? Agreed. Carried.

Motion agreed to.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): House leader?

Throne speech debate / Débat sur le discours du trône

Consideration of the speech of Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor at the opening of the session.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I move, seconded by Ms. Naidoo-Harris, that an humble address be presented to Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor as follows:

To the Hon. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario:

We, Her Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, now assembled, beg leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious speech Your Honour has been pleased to address to us at the opening of the present session.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Ms. Wynne has moved, seconded by Ms. Naidoo-Harris, that an humble address be presented to Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor as follows:

To the Hon. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario:

We, Her Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, now assembled, beg leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious speech Your Honour has been pleased to address to us at the opening of the present session.

I’ll turn it back to the Premier.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Mr. Speaker, I’ll be sharing my time with the Associate Minister of Education and the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

I want to begin by welcoming everyone back; it’s a pleasure to be here.

I want to express my thanks to the Lieutenant Governor for reading the government speech from the throne yesterday. The speech outlined this government’s priorities, Mr. Speaker, and its determination to continue to build Ontario up with a balanced plan that works for everyone in the province.

Le discours énonce les priorités de notre gouvernement et fait part de notre détermination à continuer à faire progresser l’Ontario grâce à un plan équilibré qui profite à tout le monde.

Since 2014, we have made meaningful progress by choosing to invest in better infrastructure, stronger pensions, improved skills training and a competitive business climate. And make no mistake: It is a choice. There are those in this House who wanted to cut services. Others wanted to spend more and raise taxes. As a government, we chose to protect our economic recovery and to focus on growth.

That choice has resulted in a stronger economy that grew last year at twice the national average; a stronger employment market that, over the past year, saw the creation of nearly 24,000 new jobs—and most of those jobs are full-time, Mr. Speaker—and, as of next year, a budget that is in balance with no deficit, I say to the Chair of the Treasury Board. But by making the choice to focus on growth, we’re building Ontario up. That is the point.

Interjections.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Now, some in this House, you can hear from the heckling on the other side, would make very different choices. They would take our province in a very different direction, leading to different outcomes for Ontario families and a different future for our province. For instance, there are some who think that we should not have stopped burning coal in this province. There are some who feel that we should not have invested to make our electricity grid more reliable.

We made a different choice. We chose to reduce pollution and make the single-largest contribution in North America to the fight against climate change. We chose to invest to ensure that our electricity supply is reliable for people across the province. Now we’re choosing to deliver relief on electricity bills for families and businesses alike.

Nous avons choisi d’offrir des mesures d’allégement des factures d’électricité pour les familles et les entreprises.

We’re also proud that Ontario’s leadership helped frame the choice the world made this past December at the Paris climate conference. We’ll continue to work in partnership with the federal government and our colleague provinces across the country to make real progress on measures to combat climate change.

There are some who want to see greater privatization within our health care system. We’ve made a different choice. We’re choosing to strengthen our public health care system by investing in the front lines, expanding the number of hospital beds and long-term-care beds and ensuring more seniors are able to benefit from a program that reduces their out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs. We believe that additional resources for health care should be directed where they will help the most patients, not simply to physician salaries.

There are some who choose to ignore the coming crisis in pensions. They don’t want to talk about it; they don’t want to acknowledge it. They threw up their hands and they said that government should stay out of it. We made a different choice. We chose to fight to improve retirement security for the people of Ontario. We took a national leadership role, Mr. Speaker. We worked with our federal and provincial partners across the country to make meaningful improvements to the Canada Pension Plan. The result will be a more secure and less anxious retirement for generations of Ontarians.

In all the choices that we make across the whole government, we are working to build Ontario up for everyone in this province and to improve the quality of life that we share. We have a high quality of life in Ontario, but not everyone shares equally, and we want to increase that quality of life for everyone.

We’re choosing to help create 100,000 more child care spaces—

Interjection: Wonderful.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: —that’s right—so that working families are better able to find affordable, reliable child care.

Nous avons choisi d’apporter notre aide pour créer 100 000 places de plus en service de garde d’enfants pour ainsi permettre aux familles de trouver plus facilement des soins de qualité et abordables.

We’re choosing to make post-secondary education more financially attainable, so that more young Ontario students can get the education that they need in order to broaden their horizons and to thrive in their careers.

We’re choosing to help young people get valuable work experience through Ontario’s Youth Jobs Strategy. That strategy has created thousands of opportunities for young people in this province.

We’re choosing to help people upgrade their skills so that they’re better able to find their way in the job market of today and in the job market of tomorrow.

We are choosing to invest in roads, in transit, in bridges and in modern infrastructure to help build Ontario up physically for today and for tomorrow.

Nous avons choisi d’aider les gens à améliorer leurs compétences pour qu’il leur soit plus facile de progresser sur les marchés de l’emploi d’aujourd’hui et de demain.

In our cities, we’re building more than 350 kilometres of new rapid transit over the next decade. We all know in this House, Mr. Speaker—and I think everyone would admit it—that new and upgraded transportation infrastructure is essential to improve the quality of our communities and the quality of life for Ontarians.

We’re choosing to build an even more competitive business environment, driven increasingly by innovative, low-carbon industries. We’ll keep working to attract businesses and the good jobs that they bring here to Ontario. Putting those conditions in place—the highly skilled workforce, the infrastructure, the partnering with business—those are the conditions that bring business to Ontario and allow businesses that are here to expand.

Government is about making choices. Our choices are clear, and they’re in the interests of all Ontarians.

In 2014, the people of Ontario entrusted us with a new mandate. Ever since, we have been working to build our province up. Because of the choices made by this government, because of our balanced plan, the people of Ontario have, at this point, new and better transit options to help with the daily commute; new schools and hospitals; more nurses and better home care; cleaner air and a reliable electricity system; free post-secondary tuition for students from middle- and low-income families; and we will all soon have a balanced budget, which will help make Ontario even more attractive to those job-creating businesses that we know are coming and want to come to Ontario.

Many in our province are seeing the benefits of economic growth but, as I said, some have yet to share in Ontario’s resurgence. That is not acceptable to us. We believe that everyone should be able to share in the progress that we are making. That’s why our top priority will therefore remain job creation and economic growth, to make sure that everyone can share in the prosperity that we are building together. That is the point of economic prosperity: to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to live their lives in the way that they want to and provide for their children and future generations in the way that they need to.

Notre grande priorité demeurera la création d’emplois et la croissance économique pour veiller à ce que tout le monde puisse profiter de la prospérité que nous bâtissons ensemble.

That’s our choice. That’s the choice of this government, because we know that those choices, that economic growth, that job creation, the services that we’re providing for people in the province will improve quality of life across the province. That’s the choice that we’re making on behalf of the people of this province and the future of Ontario.

This is not about a four-year cycle; this is about making sure that generations—our children, our grandchildren and their children—have the benefit of a thriving Ontario to live in, an Ontario that we can all be proud of.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further debate?

Hon. Indira Naidoo-Harris: Mr. Speaker, I’d like to start out by saying how great it is to be back here in the Legislature with you and all of my colleagues. I hope everyone had a great summer and I hope you all had some quality time with your constituents, your family and your friends, because I know this is an important time and an important way to have a break.

Yesterday’s throne speech was remarkable. It was remarkable because it was a perfect way to return to Queen’s Park, but it was also remarkable because it was a way to reflect on the work we’ve been doing to build Ontario up and the steps we’ve been taking to expand on that progress. No question, we have an ambitious plan that will secure a strong Ontario for years to come. It’s about people, it’s about investing in their skills and their talents, and it’s about providing security for their families and for our kids.

I am fortunate to represent one of the fastest-growing ridings in all of Canada. Communities in Halton region are expanding at a remarkable pace. In fact, all you have to do is walk, cycle or drive down virtually any street in Halton and you will see growth: bulldozers, tractors, graders—they can be seen everywhere—along with houses in various stages of construction. It’s truly amazing.

Our population is surging as more and more people choose Halton as the place that they want to live, work and raise a family. Several years ago, my husband and I had that very same thought. We chose Milton as the place we wanted to live and raise a family. Now, we’ve lived in Halton for close to 25 years, and the changes are astounding—quite remarkable.

Both of our children were born and raised in Milton, and it has always been a very family-oriented community. When our kids were little, we didn’t have family nearby, like so many other families, so we counted on the help of our friends, our neighbours, teachers and local community programs to keep our children engaged and safe. Today, as I see parents walking their children to school or picking them up from daycare, I’m reminded of how important it is that Ontario has a strong support system for our kids and for our families.

The early years of life are important and have a long-lasting impact on a child’s future. It really does take a village to raise a child. It takes the best efforts of all of us to provide kids with the tools that they need to thrive, because those kids are our future. They will one day grow up to be our artists, our engineers, our teachers, our leaders, our mothers and our fathers. That’s why I was honoured when Premier Wynne announced my appointment as Associate Minister of Education for early years and child care.

Every child deserves the best start in life, and it’s our responsibility in government to make sure Ontario families have the right supports so our children can grow and learn in a healthy environment. It’s vital for families to have in place a child care system that is high-quality, accessible and affordable. I want to thank the Premier for having confidence in my ability to take on this new portfolio and I am excited about the future of child care in Ontario.

In recent years, we’ve made significant investments in programs and supports for our earliest learners, including, of course, the rollout of full-day kindergarten in every publicly funded school across Ontario. But we also recognize that a child’s path to success begins long before they head off to school. Child care and early years programs help get our little ones ready for full-day kindergarten and success beyond the classroom.

Over the past three years, the government has helped to create 56,000 new licensed child care spaces. This builds on investments since 2003 that have helped to support the increase in licensed child care spaces by 87%, to a total of nearly 351,000 spaces. Less than two weeks ago, I was privileged to announce that the government is creating even more spaces by adding 4,000 new child care spaces in schools.

But we’re not done yet. There’s more work to do. Right now, approximately 20% of zero-to-four-year-olds in Ontario are in licensed child care and it’s estimated that that demand is approximately 45% to 50%. We’ve heard from parents that finding a child care spot can be challenging. We know that current capacity just isn’t enough. so we’ve been listening. We’ve been listening to the parents out there and we’ve been listening to the caregivers, to the community leaders, to the families and, of course, to our children. We’re listening and we’ve decided that we’re going to be helping more families find quality, affordable, accessible and flexible care.

In order to meet the demands of our growing province within the next five years, our government will help to create another 100,000 licensed spaces for infants, toddlers and preschoolers—100,000 new spaces, Mr. Speaker. This will double the current capacity of the zero-to-four age group, creating spaces for close to 40% of our children. It’s an investment that’s going to help so many Ontario families—families who want better access, more choice and greater convenience when it comes to licensed child care.

I know that in my riding of Halton, there is a growing demand for child care. I’ve spoken to Halton parents concerned about whether they will be able to find licensed spaces for their kids. I’m proud that I’ll be able to share with them that Ontario is getting 100,000 new spaces in the next five years.

We’re going to do this by providing one-time capital funding and operating dollars that will support dedicated spaces through a mixed approach of expansion. This will include spaces created in school settings through new builds and retrofits. We’ll work closely with municipalities to create new spaces in community- and workplace-based settings with a mix of leased, new and retrofitted spaces. We’re also going to work with our partners in the licensed home child care sector to create more capacity there.

This is a historic investment in child care and in our future as a province. This is all part of our promise to students and to parents that Ontario will continue to develop a world-class child care and early years system.

Ontario is building on the foundation we have established for the early years through the introduction of full-day kindergarten for four- and five-year-olds in publicly funded schools, the doubling of child care funding since 2003 to $1 billion annually, and our commitment to ensuring before- and after-school programs are available for four-to-12-year-old children in all schools where there is sufficient demand. Imagine that.

By January 2018, we are committed to putting in place a renewed and coordinated system for the Ontario Early Years Child and Family Centres to better serve families. We are transforming early-years supports for families, including free drop-in centres for kids, with better integration and coordination of services. This plan will include working together with our partners, including municipalities, school boards and other community partners in supporting new parents and our youngest learners, no matter where they live. This is about partnerships, this is about conversations and this is about working with the people in the sector to ensure that we are listening and that we get it right.

First and foremost, we know that a high-quality child care and early years system supports families, and it is an essential start to a child’s cognitive and social development. But we also know that the effects are far-reaching and long-lasting. Quality, affordable and flexible options for child care are an important part of women’s economic empowerment. They will allow them more freedom to choose if they want to go to work, and if they do join the labour market, it helps close the gender wage gap and strengthens the overall economy. We also know that investments in education help to reduce poverty and homelessness.

It’s going to take a lot of hard work, Mr. Speaker, but in the long run, investing in our children is beneficial to all of us, and it’s the right thing to do. In fact, the return on public investment in early learning is at least 7 to 1. Think about that: 7 to 1.

In our ongoing efforts to modernize the child care system in the coming months, I’ll be working with federal, provincial and territorial partners on a pan-Canadian early years and child care framework.

Since 2010, Ontario has provided $63.5 million annually to help fill the gap left when the previous federal government stepped away from its responsibilities to child care. This is about laying a foundation that will start children on an early path to success. It’s about giving parents access to high-quality, affordable child care where they know their kids are safe, happy and developing their skills. Families, communities and the province all benefit from having in place a quality child care system.

I grew up in a family of educators. Education is a gift that no one can take away from you. As a child growing up in South Africa, it was the path to success for children like me. So I am thrilled and pleased to be working on a file that will give Ontario youngsters a head start in life and set them on a strong, healthy path to success.

Our government is demonstrating its commitment to providing parents with the options and access they need to know their children are getting the best possible start in a safe and supportive child care environment. It shows our commitment to Ontario’s hard-working families who want fair access to Ontario’s child care and early years system—a system that is high-quality and accessible; a system that better serves the province’s children and families; a system that better serves Ontario.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): I recognize the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Hon. Jeff Leal: It’s always an honour to have the opportunity to get up and deliver a few remarks on behalf of the throne speech that Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor delivered yesterday.

I just want to work in a couple things about Peterborough here before I start off. I want to say that last Saturday night was the 80th anniversary of the Peterborough Lions Club receiving their charter. It’s a very distinguished group in Peterborough doing great work.

Also last Saturday in Keene, Ontario, was the 100th anniversary of the junior farmers in the riding of Peterborough. We were all there to assist them in their wonderful celebrations.

I always like to promote my wife’s school—my wife, Karan, who is the principal at St. Patrick’s. This Thursday, her school council is having their annual barbecue. I’ll be there to help barbecue about 500 all-Ontario-beef hot dogs. I invite all members of the Legislature, if you’re in Peterborough on Thursday afternoon, to make sure that you get a wonderful hot dog and a drink, no charge. So please be there.

But I want to start off my remarks. I’m a subscriber to the eastern Ontario Farmers Forum. It is a wonderful newspaper. I just want to make reference today—and this is about the throne speech—to page A30. The headline is “Black Gives Up on Brown.” Now I want to tell you who Tom Black is. Tom Black is the leader of the Ontario Landowners Association, and he’s “disappointed with Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown and ... no longer actively supporting him.” Mr. Speaker, I feel that there’s probably a letter coming on to all the landowners to try to get them back on side.

But having said that, I know that this little marriage spat can be really healed up, and I call upon my good friends, the member from Lanark–Frontenac–Lennox and Addington and the member from Carleton–Mississippi Mills, to work with Mr. Black and Mr. Brown and get this relationship back on the rails again.

Interjection.

Hon. Jeff Leal: Well, good luck with that.

Mr. Steve Clark: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.

Hon. Jeff Leal: I want to now talk about—

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Excuse me, Minister. We have a point of order. I recognize the member.

Mr. Steve Clark: Is he sometime this century going to talk about the throne speech rather than the Ontario Landowners Association?

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): I thank the member for the reminder, and I would just remind the minister that you refer to what we’re speaking about now. Thank you.

Hon. Jeff Leal: I do apologize. I appreciate the intervention of my good friend and colleague from Leeds–Grenville. But I know that when it comes to the Ontario Landowners Association, when there’s a split between Mr. Black and Mr. Brown, I just want to make sure the people of Ontario know that.

I was pleased yesterday to hear about the throne speech and how it’s going to help the everyday needs in rural Ontario. Just last Wednesday, I had the real honour to do a tour of eastern Ontario with my good colleague and friend the chair of our caucus, Lou Rinaldi. We visited farmers and rural residents who have been impacted by the dry conditions this summer due to the lack of rain.

I saw first-hand the abnormally dry conditions we’re experiencing in some regions, including the city of Kawartha Lakes, the county of Peterborough, Hastings county and Prince Edward county, and in my own riding, of course, Peterborough county, and the impact these dry conditions are having on the growing season for many crops and livestock operations across the province of Ontario.

I know our farm communities are all out working very hard this morning and I appreciate the difficult weather conditions they’re having on family farms. I know each and every one of us in the province of Ontario—and I do know you, Mr. Speaker, in particular, come from a farm community—share all our concerns.

This morning I want to assure all the people from Ontario’s ag community that our government has existing resources available to help them deal with the impacts of dry weather, including a range of robust business risk management programs to assist producers in dealing with circumstances out of their control.

Farmers, Mr. Speaker, as you well know, as all of us on all sides of the House know, have a very hard job and do it well, even in challenging times. During our tour, Mr. Rinaldi and I sat down with a number of farmers at two round tables, and it was eye-opening to hear how low water levels, something out of control of farmers and rural residents, is taking a toll on every one of them. There are everyday needs and challenges for rural residents that are out of their control, and our government is here to help them to find solutions that they need.

Yesterday’s throne speech directly addressed the needs that are so vital—so vital—to the health and well-being of rural Ontario, things like hydro, child care, education, health care and infrastructure; the kinds of things that people talk to me about when I’m sitting at their kitchen tables and travelling every back concession in the province of Ontario. I’m pleased that our government, your government, is addressing these key issues, issues that I’ve heard about from rural residents in my conversations, as I said, on back concessions and at kitchen tables all across rural Ontario.

That is why in the throne speech we announced that we’ll provide additional relief on electricity bills by introducing legislation that would rebate directly and make permanent on consumers’ monthly residential electricity bills—reducing the amount of residential electricity bills by 8%, the amount of GST. Mr. Speaker, philosophically, I’ve always felt that that’s very important because something as important as a commodity like electricity should not be subject to consumption or sales taxes.

This 8% savings will go into effect on January 1, 2017, and would result in savings of about $130 a year for a typical Ontario resident. In rural Ontario, for those people who are in the R2 category, we will provide them an additional 12% on the rural delivery charge for eligible rural customers, which, with regard to the 8%, becomes a 20% decrease, an average of $45 per month, which equates to $540 a year. Mr. Speaker, that’s leadership. That’s leadership.

This relief will benefit rural Ontario businesses like First Ontario Shrimp in Campbellford, Ontario—and I recommend everybody take the opportunity to visit this thriving industry. Paul and Tracy Cocchio have the first indoor Pacific white shrimp farm in the province of Ontario. I’m not one who goes to the fancy restaurants in Toronto—I like to eat at the East City Coffee Shop in Peterborough and Swiss Chalet—but for those folks who go to those upper-end restaurants in Toronto, I can tell you that the shrimp that’s on the table comes from this shrimp farm in Campbellford, Ontario. So for those of you who want to go there, I recommend it. It’s shrimp second to none.

Mr. Rinaldi and I had the opportunity to visit that thriving operation, and one of the things they said to us was, “Mr. Rinaldi, Mr. Leal, I want you to take decisive action on electricity prices in the province of Ontario,” so I know Paul and Tracy are watching this morning and they’ll be calling my good friend Mr. Rinaldi’s constituency office today. And I know what they’re saying to Mr. Rinaldi: “Thank you, Lou. You listened to us and you’re delivering action.” So thank you, Mr. Rinaldi.

Of course, this newly announced reduction in their electricity bill will surely be welcome news to a lot of farmers right across the province of Ontario. This news will be welcome. I can tell it’s welcome: They were calling my constituency office yesterday afternoon—all the good folks from the 40% of my riding that’s rural—to say thank you very much for helping those farms in the thriving agri-food sector of the province of Ontario. Mr. Speaker, it’s a sector that now contributes in excess of $36 billion to the GDP in the province, and one in nine jobs—a thriving sector.

Reducing red tape and new measures to reduce injury costs are welcome news, of course, to many farmers in the agri-food businesses and helping us to collectively meet the Premier’s agri-food growth challenge, which we are facilitating through dedicated trade missions and by making strategic investments in this area. We’re well on track to create 120,000 new jobs in the sector by the year 2020.

As I like to say to audiences right across this province, the two key public policy questions of the 21st century will be food security and the provision of fresh water, and Ontario is in a position to be an international leader in both of those areas.

Another way we’re fostering growth is through a strategic investment through our Jobs and Prosperity Fund. Just recently, I was with my wonderful friend Ted McMeekin. We were in Hamilton, Ontario, to visit the new Maple Leaf Foods processing operation under a great leader, Michael McCain, who’s a member of the famous McCain family from Florenceville, New Brunswick. What was so impressive there were the new jobs that they’re creating in that operation. Mr. Speaker, just a side fact: They actually produce 700 packages of Schneiders all-beef hot dogs every minute. That’s remarkable progress and productivity and innovation.

The province continues to partner with job-creating businesses, including farmers and processors. These partnerships mean good, well-paying jobs right here in Ontario—certainly very important to the good folks who live in Chatham, Ontario.

In addition to reducing hydro rates, addressing other key issues for rural residents was evident in yesterday’s throne speech. Our government is addressing critical needs like child care by creating 100,000 licensed spaces to get more children the quality care they need. This is about middle-class households in the province of Ontario, because when mum and dad go off to their jobs each and every day, they want to know that they have reliable, safe daycare that they have confidence in and can depend upon. This commitment will make that happen.

We’re continuing to ensure that our young people have the right tools for a changing workforce, putting a new emphasis on math skills—and I know that’s very important—and ensuring that the Ontario Student Grant will help tens of thousands of low- and middle-income students by making average college and university tuition free. My wife, Karan, and I are very proud that our son, Braden, is actually starting at Trent University in environmental chemistry. We’re very pleased about that.

Building a health care system that everyone can rely on is also very important to us. That’s why we’re delivering on our primary care guarantee: connecting a doctor or a nurse practitioner to everyone who wants one; helping seniors with the cost of prescription drugs; reducing wait times for specialists; and helping families by adding an additional 350,000 hours—Mr. Speaker, I want to repeat that for all Ontarians, particularly the people in Peterborough riding that I know tuned in this morning at about a quarter to 10: 350,000 hours of nursing care and 1.3 million hours of personal support. That will make a difference in every part of Ontario.

Something that I feel is very, very important for rural residents and businesses, of course, is infrastructure. By investing in infrastructure, you create the foundation for a dynamic private sector economy in the province of Ontario. Through the largest infrastructure investment in Ontario’s history—over $160 billion over 12 years—we’re helping people with their everyday lives by reducing road congestion and the time spent in traffic.

Just a personal story: My good friend the Minister of Transportation—back in June, we opened phase 1 of the 407 extension that’s coming towards Highway 115/35. It has taken an hour off my commuting time. That’s what people want in Ontario today. I tell my friend from Wellington–Halton Hills that he should take the opportunity to travel that new

section of the 407. There are no tolls on it, and we’re going to keep the new 407 under public ownership—not like that deal back in 1999, when they took an asset valued at $9 billion and they had a fire sale for $3 billion. We remember that all too well. Shame on that one, Mr. Speaker.

I just recently announced, with my good friend Lou Rinaldi, a significant investment of $17 million for Northumberland–Quinte West through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund for critical infrastructure projects, including bridges and waste water treatment facilities. This predictable, stable, annual OCIF funding will give to small, rural and northern communities investments in projects that will help communities attract other investments and create jobs and economic growth. Our government plan has always been to create a balanced plan for rural Ontario.

I want to talk about infrastructure for a moment. My good friend the member from Northumberland–Quinte West was a very distinguished mayor of Brighton for many years. I remember being with Mr. Rinaldi when we went to AMO in Ottawa in 1998-99.

I remember the speech by one Michael Harris at AMO, when he stood up and talked about the Who Does What committee and said, “My friends, I want to assure you that this will be revenue-neutral.” But as all of us said, and to quote my good friend when he was the mayor of Brighton, Ontario, a very distinguished mayor, it wasn’t the Who Does What committee, it was the who-got-done-in committee, and that was municipalities. We remember that very well. In eastern Ontario—and this is quite relevant—43% of all the roads and bridges were downloaded.

That was an infrastructure ditch that, with our government’s investments, we’re gradually growing out of. We’re very proud of that.

You know what? I just happen to have a spreadsheet here. I like spreadsheets because I used to use them when I was working for the Coyle Packaging Group back in Peterborough. I want to maybe help some of the members opposite organizing some press conferences to spread the good news about the OCIF. So I want to—

Interjections.

Hon. Jeff Leal: Well, first of all, the member from Wellington–Halton Hills is a very good friend of mine, and I know he’s listening. He’s got his hand up there.

What are we going to look at here? Let’s look at the town of Halton Hills. In 2017, under the formula, that wonderful community will receive $717,670. In 2018, it grows to $1,018,549, but get this: In 2019, it grows to $1,581,524. I know that member is going to have a press conference within the next week. He might do it in conjunction with the plowing match, which we look forward to being at in Harriston, the town of Minto, next week. I encourage my good friend to call a press conference—I’ll help him organize it—and share that good news with the good folks of Halton Hills.

Mr. Speaker, I’m just getting warmed up. Let’s go to my other good friend—I’m just looking here; I’ve got it here somewhere. I’ve got enough here to talk for hours. What about my good friend from Hawkesbury? Just bear with me here for a moment.

Well, no. First of all, we’ll go to the member from Perth–Wellington. He’s a great guy too. Let’s look at Perth county. With Perth county there, the formula allocation right now, this year, is $125,000. It goes up to $222,000 in 2017, $315,000 in 2018, and it then goes to $485,747. I’d help him, too, to organize a press conference to share that very good news.

What about this fine member, a guy I like a lot, the member from Kitchener–Conestoga? Let’s look at one of his numbers here. We’ll take Wilmot township, a beautiful part of the province of Ontario. Currently, under the formula, they get $128,861. It grows in 2017 to $301,680, and then in 2019 it goes to over $700,000. Again, I’d like to help him organize a press conference.

My other good friend Monte McNaughton, who has a wonderful Home Hardware in Wallaceburg—I think his family runs it. I recommend people go there. I think paint is on sale this week so you’ll be able to get a bit of a bargain there.

Let’s look at what we have here. Here’s a good one in his riding: Middlesex Centre municipality. Currently, under the formula, they get $259,749; in 2017, it grows to over $440,000; in 2018, over $600,000; and in 2019, just under a million dollars.

I want to get these numbers. I have my good friend from Oxford next; I’m going to get to his list.

Why is this important? This is important because many people in this chamber had very distinguished careers in municipal politics. One of the most important things in municipal politics is the ability to plan your capital projects. By us reforming the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund—which was widely lauded. I was at AMO on the Monday. I met with my good friends the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus. My warden from Peterborough county, J. Murray Jones, is the vice-chair. He and I were at an event together last night in Peterborough county. I also met with the mayors from eastern Ontario, and they’re on board.

They said, “Thank you for what your government is doing in providing predictable infrastructure funding.”

I want to go to my good friend, a predecessor in the current portfolio I have, another guy I like a lot, Mr. Hardeman from Oxford. Let’s look at Oxford county. This is a very good one. I know he’s listening very carefully, and I’m sure he’s going to do a press conference, not this week but maybe next week. I’ll make myself available. Currently, under the formula, Oxford county is getting $530,194; in 2017, I say to my friend the member from Oxford, it grows to $966,441; and then in 2018, it grows to $1,373,162.

Interjections.

Hon. Jeff Leal: Hold on, folks. That’s not the end.

Then, in 2019, it grows to $2,145,702.

I want to come to Oxford county, Mr. Speaker, and do a press conference with my friend just to tell him that Christmas is coming early. I do know that my good friend David Mayberry, who is the warden—I can feel his excitement right now, that he’s going to be there.

A guy I have a lot of respect for because he did such a great job on the farm credit donation—farmers giving to food banks—and I always take the time to acknowledge him, is my good friend Mr. Bailey, the honourable gentleman from Sarnia–Lambton.

Let me talk about the city of Sarnia, because this is another good one too. The city of Sarnia currently, under the formula, gets $765,745; in 2017, it climbs to $1,351,634; in 2018, it climbs to $1,914,421. Now here’s the cream on that cake, Mr. Speaker: In 2019, it grows to $2,938,620. That is success.

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: Where did you get the numbers, Jeff?

Hon. Jeff Leal: Well, I say to my friends, my spreadsheets here are available to everybody. They should have these in their constituency offices and take the time to call these press conferences. This should be a 4 by 8 in every constituency office, so when your mayors and reeves and elected people come in, you can point to these kinds of things right here to show the investment that we’re making.

Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to really lay out this morning what this throne speech does, what it does for every corner of the province of Ontario—north, south, east, west: our investments in infrastructure, our relief on the electricity file, creating daycare spaces, creating health care. This province is moving ahead.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further debate? I recognize the member from Leeds–Grenville.

Mr. Steve Clark: I move we adjourn debate.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): The member moves adjournment of debate. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

Debate adjourned.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Orders of the day?

Since there is no further business, this House stands recessed until 10:30 this morning.

The House recessed from 0955 to 1030.

Introduction of Visitors

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Niagara Falls.

Mr. Wayne Gates: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and welcome back.

I’d like to welcome Weston Miller, a young man from the great city of Niagara-on-the-Lake, to the Legislature today. Thanks for coming, Weston. I’m looking forward to having lunch with you today.

Mr. Bill Walker: It’s my pleasure to welcome page captain Paul Grein. His mother, Melanie Grein, and father, Keith Grein, are in the public gallery this morning. Welcome, Paul. I’m looking forward to a great session.

Mr. Percy Hatfield: On behalf of the member for Algoma–Manitoulin, today’s page captain is Amelia Spacek. Her father, David Spacek, is in the members’ gallery this morning.

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: I’d like to welcome the Charles Tatham family in the gallery, along with a lot of people from my great riding of Oxford, who are here this morning for the tribute to Charles Tatham.

Hon. Michael Gravelle: I very much want to greet my new director of communications in our minister’s office, Mallory Clyne. Welcome.

Mrs. Cristina Martins: Good morning, Speaker. It’s my pleasure to rise here today in the House to introduce the mayor of Povoa de Varzim in Portugal: Aires Henrique do Couto Pereira, who is here on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Casa dos Poveiros Community Centre in my riding of Davenport. Accompanying him here today is Laurentino Esteves and Manuel Ferreira from Casa dos Poveiros. Welcome.

Wearing of pins

Mr. Bill Walker: Point of order.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): A point of order, the member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound.

Mr. Bill Walker: I’d like to seek unanimous consent for everyone in the Legislature to wear gold ribbon pins to recognize Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound is seeking unanimous consent to wear the pins for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and I’m sure that all members have the pins available to them. Do we agree? Agreed.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The government House leader on a point of order.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I believe you will find that we have unanimous consent to pay tribute to Charles Tatham, a former member for Oxford, with a representative from each caucus speaking for up to five minutes.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The government House leader is seeking unanimous consent to do the tribute. Do we agree? Agreed.

Charles Tatham

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Before we entertain our first speaker, would the members please join me in welcoming the family and friends of the late Charles Murray Tatham, MPP for Oxford during the 34th Parliament, who are seated in the Speaker’s gallery: his daughter Charlene Gavel; her husband, Lee; his daughter Pat Garrod; his son Peter Tatham; his daughter-in-law, Patricia Morton, wife of Charles’s late son, Andy; and many friends and family. We welcome you here to the Legislature.

Applause.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): A former parliamentarian, organizer and, also, Speaker in the 35th Parliament, Speaker David Warner is here representing as well.

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: I’m pleased to rise to pay tribute to Charlie Tatham, the member for Oxford from 1987-90. He was a statesman, a dedicated public servant, an environmentalist and a loving husband and father.

On Saturday, the city of Woodstock arranged a tribute to Charlie. It was touching how many family members travelled long distances to be there, including people from British Columbia, California and Alberta. Many of those family members are here today, including three of Charlie’s children—Pat, Charlene and Peter—along with Charlie’s grandchildren, nephews and cousins. I want to say thank you to them and to Charlie’s wife, Millie, for sharing Charlie with the people of Oxford county.

Charlie started his career in the Royal Canadian Air Force and then worked at Woodstock General Hardware with his father and his brother, Sid, but it was serving the people through politics that was his calling. In 1956, Charlie was elected as an alderman and, the next year, became mayor of Woodstock when he was just 32 years old. At that time, Woodstock wasn’t part of Oxford county, but Charlie was always interested in county issues and looking out for the best interests of Oxford as a whole. In fact, Charlie was the first and so far only city of Woodstock politician ever elected as warden of Oxford, and he once told me that it was the nicest job you could have in politics.

I followed in Charlie’s footsteps as warden and then as MPP. Charlie was always one of those people that set an example for others. When I was elected as warden and had to do a warden’s address, I went through the council papers and found his. You can compare mine to that and you will find that there are a lot of similarities.

When we were both in municipal politics, I served with Charlie on the land division committee. After each applicant had left, he would read us a poem that he had created to sum up the situation. Charlie’s poems were well known and when he was elected an MPP in 1987 he brought those poems to Queen’s Park. In fact, in 1988 he sent a Christmas poem out to all the people of Oxford as a Christmas message. He used those poems to bring attention to some of the issues that were important to him, such as high-speed rail.

Charlie was always a big believer in railways and that high-speed rail was an important part of dealing with our traffic and environmental problems. As an MPP, he served as the Premier’s representative on the Ontario-Quebec high-speed rail committee. He also chaired a committee that toured around the province and looked at the restructuring of county government. That may ring true to some of the other members of the Legislature, as that went on after Charlie’s time here at Queen’s Park.

Despite his work on municipal issues around the province, the people of Oxford were always his first priority. I remember that when he was MPP we went to a meeting in Brownsville together because there were problems with the water system. There was a huge rainstorm that night, so Charlie observed, “Water, water everywhere and nary a drop to drink.”

The people were understandably frustrated with the lack of water and wanted answers on why it was taking so long and what they could do to get rid of the mayor of the day. Charlie could have easily blamed the mayor for the whole problem, but instead he explained that, before the water system could be rebuilt, it needed provincial funding and approval, which he was pushing for, so the people shouldn’t dump the mayor just yet. Since I was the mayor, I was pretty grateful for that position. But that was typical of Charlie: He put the good of the people before partisan politics.

After the Peterson government was defeated, Charlie once again ran for municipal politics because for him it was always about serving the people.

After Charlie retired from his second stint into municipal politics, he and Millie moved to British Columbia, where three of his children lived. He told me that it was the only way that he could really retire and stay out of Oxford’s politics, but it was also keeping a promise to Millie and so that they could be closer to their family.

Of course, being on the far side of the country didn’t stop Charlie from having opinions, and it didn’t keep him from being involved in Oxford’s politics for very long. When I was first elected, every few months I would get a call from Charlie, who had been reading the Woodstock Sentinel Review and wanted more information or to tell me, sometimes, how something should be done, and I really valued those calls.

On Saturday, I heard from the former editor of the Woodstock Sentinel Review that he also had received the calls, and how much they had meant to them. I heard that Ann Ash at the city had been receiving the calls—and Woodstock city councillors. It turns out that from British Columbia, Charlie was even more involved than any of us knew.

Part of that continued involvement was because Charlie had a long-term vision for the future of our community, much like he did for high-speed rail. Many of his ideas only became reality long after he’d moved away, such as the trail along the Thames River and connecting Highway 2 to the 401, but he could see them and the benefits that they would provide to our community.

Charlie wrote a letter to his grandchildren and explained the philosophy that he had inherited from his father, that there are three things in life: “First you arrive, the last thing you do is depart. In between there are a lot of changes, so try to make them on the plus side.” Charlie took that to mean helping people and he made a whole lot of changes on the plus side.

He was an environmentalist long before it was popular and was instrumental in creating the Men of the Trees and the Landsaver Award, which recognized a person for protecting the environment and conserving our soils. His contributions were recognized when the Charlie Tatham Peace Park was named in his honour, and last week were recognized again by putting a bench in Victoria Park, where he used to practise as a cadet.

Charlie was a true gentleman, and everyone who knew him and served with him was better for it. The people of Oxford and the people of Ontario were better for the fact that Charlie served.

As Charlie said in one of the last poems he read in this Legislature, shortly before the 1990 election:

We shall lose their fine talents when they have withdrawn.

We shall always remember the kindnesses shown,

The happiness, sadness of battles long gone.

But the qualities human they have in full measure,

And love for our province we all join together.

Thank you very much for allowing me to participate in his tribute.

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

Ms. Catherine Fife: For anyone who’s had the privilege of spending any meaningful time at Queen’s Park, we can all attest to the unmistakable impact that this place has on you. It’s a feeling that’s both unexplainable, yet at the same time incredibly familiar to those who regularly walk through those doors: a mix of nostalgia balanced by a sense of historical magnitude and present-day purpose; of what this building signifies and what it inspires.

Because buildings like Queen’s Park will outlive us all, we invest in them a special significance. They become the embodiment of the aspirations and values that we hold dear, either collectively or individually, and for better or worse become shared cultural touchstones of our collective experience.

When in a place like Queen’s Park, we sometimes forget that, as impressive as bricks and mortar can be, it’s the people who make it matter, both those who have the privilege of walking these halls and those from the ridings across this province who entrust us with the hopes and dreams for the communities we’re proud to call home. They are the reason that this place has the power to inspire or, sometimes, to frustrate, and why these halls have the power to signify change.

That’s why it’s a privilege to hear these tributes to former MPPs: Because it give us, in the present, a unique insight into the people who came here before us and a look into the communities they had the honour to serve.

I never knew Charles Tatham nor did I have the opportunity to serve with him, but as we prepared for today’s tribute, it was incredibly clear that he loved his riding of Oxford and its people, and whenever he got up in this House, there was always a positive word about Oxford county. You see, to Charlie, public service wasn’t about finding a job, but honouring a colleague. Like many MPPs past and present, his roles as mayor, warden and MPP weren’t about titles, but about finding the best way to use his talents and his abilities to make his community a better place.

Charlie was just as passionate and hard-working in his volunteer roles as he was in his official ones, a trait clearly demonstrated by his commitment to the environment. As an outspoken advocate for conservation and stewardship, Charlie saw a greener society as a part of our collective responsibility to protect and preserve our natural treasures for future generations. This led him to join organizations such as the Ontario Forestry Association, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority and the Soil Conservation Society of America.

But Charlie’s passion for the environment was only one example of a life committed to working for the greater good. Upon retirement, Charlie and his wife, Millie, moved from Ontario to British Columbia, where his passion for community and people found him new ways to serve. Charlie was as determined to be involved in the advancement of his new home as he was in his old one, serving as a volunteer on the local library board and co-founding the Powell River Community Foundation, among other volunteer roles.

Even though he changed addresses, Oxford and his hometown of Woodstock always retained a special place in his heart, and he in theirs, as evidenced by the Charlie Tatham Peace Park commemorated in his honour for his years of service.

Perhaps the most telling thing about Charlie’s career wasn’t the offices he held or the elections that he won but the way he was remembered. In the tributes following his death earlier this year, a common theme was his impact on people, not his record of service. In the recollections of family, former colleagues and lifelong friends alike he stood out for his dedication to the community and the way he made the most of his time and talents to help it become better than it already was.

Today we are joined by members of Charlie’s family in the Speaker’s gallery: His children Charlene, Pat and Peter; his daughter-in-law, Patricia; and his grandchildren Andy and Zachariah, to name just a few. As elected officials and dedicated volunteers, we’re acutely aware of the sacrifices our loved ones make to allow us to heed our calling. We thank you for sharing him with the people of Woodstock, Oxford and with the people of Ontario.

Finally, I’d just like to publicly thank Charlie for his service during the Second World War. He was a member of the Oxford Rifles reserve from 1940 until 1943. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force when he turned 17, and he served until 1945.

On behalf of Andrea Horwath and Ontario’s New Democrats, we thank you, Charlie, for your service to the county and the people you loved, and for your service to Ontario. May you rest in peace.

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

Mr. James J. Bradley: I guess one of the advantages I have is that I’ve served with most of the people we pay tribute to in this House, including Charlie Tatham, who was a very remarkable person.

I heard mention made of poetry. There were different people who came forward with poems that they read in the House. It made them quite distinctive. The other was Patrick Lawlor of the NDP, who used to recite poetry from time to time; he was the member for Lakeshore at that time. Dalton McGuinty, Sr., I noted from time to time, would come forward with poetry. It was really nice to hear the different poems that would be read in the House as part of the debate that took place. The Speaker was tolerant in those days and allowed that to happen.

Previous reference has been made to Charlie’s service in the Armed Forces. I noted, when I was reading back about some of the things he had done, that I think he joined the RCAF when he was 17 years old, which is a clear demonstration at a very young age that he wanted to serve the people not only of his own community but the people of Canada. We pay particular tribute to those who served in very difficult times because there was action in those days—it was a time of war—and we thank Charlie for that as well.

As the present member for Oxford said, it was Oxford first for the member, and I think that’s particularly true in rural areas. It’s different for those of you who represent rural areas. There’s a different kind of representation that takes place, and the issues can be somewhat different.

Charlie always brought a good sense of humour. Some days I didn’t know if he was kidding or not kidding when he said certain things. His humour was very, very nice in this House, and, as has been mentioned already by Ernie, he was a person who put aside partisan considerations in the deliberations that took place, or in the service of his community.

It’s interesting to note as well that he was on the task force for high-speed rail from Windsor to Quebec. I think that task force has been going on forever at the present time and we still don’t have that train, but he was very interested in that and the restructuring of the counties, of course—a very significant issue and a contentious issue from time to time. He was prepared to take that on because, as is the case with not all but many in this House, his first introduction to politics was at the municipal level of government. That’s a good reading of the population.

Whether we like to believe it or not, the closest you can be to your people is when you’re serving at the municipal level of government, and he knew that very much.

I saw something that I thought was particularly amusing because it talked about rats. He raised the issue of rats in the Legislature at one time. It says:

“The homespun former warden and Liberal MPP for Oxford got maximum attention in the Legislature by holding up”—now that’s back in the days when they allowed props, which I think we should allow again, but that’s another thing—“by holding up a piece of chewed electrical wiring and giving a 90-second dissertation on the depredations of rapacious rodents.

“‘If you came out to your chicken house and saw your three-week-old chickens dead with their heads off, you would want to find out why,’ he said to astonished MPPs.”

Again, no issue was too small. That would be a significant issue to people. In the urban area, they would probably find it somewhat odd or even amusing. In the rural area, that was something they had to confront, and Charlie wasn’t afraid to raise that.

I also know that he was persistent. He ran for the federal Liberals about three times before he ran for the provincial Liberals. Oxford county couldn’t be called a bastion of Liberal support. Although there is Liberal support there, I don’t think it could be called a bastion of Liberal support. He was prepared to take on that particular riding on a number of occasions, eventually being elected in 1987 with Mr. Peterson as the leader.

We are always thankful to members of the family for sharing, even in this case, for three years, but for many years in municipal government, the person from the family with the rest of the population. It is a sacrifice which is made, particularly with the number of children who were in the family and a very, very long marriage that had taken place. You would like the person to be there every day of the week with you, and they are not able to be with you. So we are very thankful to the family.

Lastly, I want to say that I was the Minister of the Environment between 1985 and 1990 for five years, three weeks and four days, I think it was. Charlie, for the full time from 1987 to 1990, was prepared at that time to give me a lot of advice on the environment, and it was homespun advice and front-line advice that was very good.

There was a tribute. It mentions, “Heart FM”—which is a local radio station—“caught up with the former CAO of Oxford County Mike Bragg who says that Charlie Tatham really was a great man who loved his community.”

Here’s the quote which I think captured what Charlie was all about:

“‘Well, Charlie was a consummate politician wrapped up in a true gentlemen’s cloak, he cared deeply about our communities in Oxford and he was well-informed on local issues and how to get consensus on the multiple parties. When I heard of his passing, I had great sadness, yet recognition: Here was a man who waited for nothing and had his own ideas of where life should end up.’”

That was Charlie Tatham, and we, the people of Ontario, are grateful that he served us here in the Legislature from 1987 to 1990 and served the people of Oxford county for so many years in a very dedicated fashion.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I thank all members for their heartfelt and kind comments in your tributes. Again, to reinforce what has been said, thank you to the family for the gift of Charlie. We would like to show our affection by providing you with a copy of Hansard and the DVD of the tributes that are paid today. Thank you for our colleague and friend.

It is now time for question period.

Oral Questions

Hydro rates

Mr. Patrick Brown: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Yesterday was too little too late. This government has ignored the hydro rate crisis for too long. It wasn’t a crisis when the Minister of Finance said his bill was going down. It wasn’t a crisis when the infrastructure minister said Ontario hydro rates will “remain competitive.” It wasn’t a crisis when the rookie Minister of Energy said he wouldn’t even use the word “crisis.” But then the Liberals lose a long-held Liberal seat and suddenly they take notice. So will the Premier thank the member for Scarborough–Rouge River for finally opening her eyes up to Ontario’s energy crisis?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Well, I will welcome the member for Scarborough–Rouge River to the Legislature, Mr. Speaker. I’ve known Raymond for many years as a city councillor. Welcome to the Legislature, Raymond.

Yesterday, the Lieutenant Governor read a throne speech that was an extension of the work that we have been doing for the last two years, since we were given a mandate by the people of Ontario in 2014. We have been working to build this province up. We have been working to make sure that as we see the results of the investments that we have made, we see the economic growth, we see the job creation, we make sure that everyone in the province shares in that. And so we did make a decision to take the provincial portion of the HST off electricity rates. That is but the next step in the changes that we have been making to deal with electricity prices.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Patrick Brown: Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier: The Premier can tout this plan all she wants. But let’s be clear: Hydro rates are not going down. In fact, they will go up again on November 1, before this band-aid solution kicks in.

If the Liberals were actually serious about tackling the province’s energy crisis, they wouldn’t have given away $3 billion worth of energy in the last three years. This government wouldn’t have just signed another 12 renewable contracts for energy we do not need. And they wouldn’t have continued with the fire sale of Hydro One.

So, Mr. Speaker, will the Premier commit to signing no more contracts for energy we don’t need and will the Premier announce she’s going to stop with the reckless fire sale of Hydro One?

Interjections.

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

Premier.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: As I said in my remarks this morning in the Legislature, governing is about making choices. It’s about making choices to make sure that we have clean energy. It’s about making choices to make sure that, for example, greenhouses in the Leamington area have the power that they need. We have to continue to invest.

It’s about choices like—and, obviously this is not a choice that the Leader of the Opposition would make—helping people who live in northwestern Ontario get off diesel. In order to be able to connect them to the grid, there needs to be continued investment.

We are making a choice to reduce electricity bills. We are taking the provincial portion of the HST off electricity bills. We’re making sure that in remote and rural communities, not only will they have an 8% relief; they will have a 20% relief, because of distribution changes. So, Mr. Speaker, we’re making a change that’s good for the people of the province.

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

Mr. Patrick Brown: Back to the Premier: The Premier says government is about choices. Well, the Premier is choosing to give Ontario hydro away to Michigan, to New York, to Quebec. That is not responsible.

I realize there’s been a lot of attention lately on math scores in Ontario, how students are slipping and students are struggling. But I want to know if the Premier could pass her own government math test. Can the Premier please tell me, if you take an Ontario hydro bill and first take away the 10% Clean Energy Benefit, then add an 8% band-aid solution, while at the same time raising rates on November 1, how does that equal any form of relief? You’re raising bills. You’re raising hydro rates.

Interjections.

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

Premier.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Just to be clear, Mr. Speaker, I think the Leader of the Opposition knows full well that as we sell power to other jurisdictions, on balance that is a profit to the province of Ontario. It’s a market and the price goes up and down, but overall—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I guess my attempt at patience is not going to last very long.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Leeds–Grenville, come to order.

Wrap up, Premier.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Mr. Speaker, I think the opposition also knows that it’s why we are in an agreement with Quebec in terms of peak and off-peak hours. It’s why our officials are talking with Manitoba. I think it makes sense for us to co-operate with adjacent jurisdictions.

Health care funding

Mr. Patrick Brown: My question is for the Premier. Since I can’t get an answer on hydro, I’ll talk about health care.

Yesterday, this government said, “Every person in our province deserves high-quality public health care.” That, I don’t disagree with, but it’s pretty rich, coming from a government that has been rationing health care for the last three years. It’s pretty rich, coming from a government that cut $815 million from physician services for patient care, cut 50 medical residency positions, cut $50 million for seniors’ physiotherapy services, and fired over 1,400 nurses in the last year. Yes, this government says that every person deserves high-quality health care, but this government won’t guarantee it.

My question is, will the Premier stand by the cuts we’ve seen in the last three years?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Let’s look at what’s actually going on in the health care system, including in our recent budget that we’ve increased spending in health care by a billion dollars, up to $51.8 billion.

There have been increases in health care year over year, consistently. We’ve increased funding to hospitals by $345 million in this recent budget. The increased number of nurses since 2003 is over 26,000. The reality is that there are more health personnel in the system. There are more nurses, more doctors, more personal support workers.

There is money being invested in the infrastructure in health. Part of the $160 billion over 12 years—we’re in year 3 of that investment—is going to hospitals and health care facilities.

That is the commitment that we have made to the health care system in this province.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Patrick Brown: Mr. Speaker, back to the Premier: The Premier can say all the PR, all the spin that she likes, but you can’t find a single physician or nurse in the province of Ontario who supports these cuts.

We’ve seen time and time again that the Liberal government’s scandals, waste and mismanagement are taking funding away from health care services. That was evident in the speech from the throne yesterday. There was no commitment to reduce the nearly three-year wait at Extendicare Rouge Valley. There was nothing to shorten the incredibly long seven-year placement time at the Hellenic Home for the Aged in Scarborough. There was zero commitment to reduce the eight-year wait at the Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care.

Mr. Speaker, why is the Premier leaving these vulnerable seniors with no help in health care?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Our investments that we announced earlier this year go far beyond the hospitals and the nurses and, indeed, the doctors that we continue to support in this province. It’s 75 million new dollars for hospices—many of those hospices, actually, in the ridings and the constituencies of the opposition parties. We’re investing in palliative care, in end-of-life care, in home and community care—$250 million.

But I want to ask a question of the member opposite of the official opposition, because he opened the door to doctors. We were proud of the agreement that we had put forward, that was endorsed by the OMA board and endorsed by the president of OMA, of a more-than-$1-billion increase in doctors’ compensation over the next four years, a more-than-10% increase—2.5% each and every year for our doctors—over the next four years. I’m going to ask him a question in terms of his position in the supplementary, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Patrick Brown: Back to the Premier: This by-election wasn’t decided on hydro alone. We heard over and over again about the government’s attack on health care.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Come to order, please. Start the clock.

Please finish.

Mr. Patrick Brown: I see the government is sensitive about their loss in Scarborough–Rouge River.

The Premier let her minister pick a fight with our province’s physicians. He singled out doctors’ compensation, but implied that overhead was part of salaries. If you counted money that way and included overhead in terms of compensation, the highest-paid doctor in the province of Ontario would be the Minister of Health at $7.7 million.

Does the Premier believe it’s okay to allow the Minister of Health to include staff—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. When I stand, you sit.

Minister.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Of course, he’s including my entire office: all of the assistant deputy ministers and the deputy minister. But my overhead would be 99.5%. What I need to know—because he talked about Scarborough and the recent by-election—we’d like to know whether the—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Leeds–Grenville will withdraw.

Mr. Steve Clark: Withdrawn.

Interjection.

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

Minister.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I would like to know from the member opposite whether his party would immediately offer binding arbitration before negotiations. They have a responsibility to the people of Ontario. Because what we’ve seen from Scarborough, what we’ve seen from the sex ed question, is that the party across from me will say what they believe is in their political interest in the moment.

Will you support binding arbitration prior to negotiations? Yes or no?

Government policies

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is for the Premier.

Yesterday’s throne speech could have done so much more to give immediate relief to families, to stop the sell-off of Hydro One, to make sure everyone has the health care that they can count on, to improve the quality of work in this province, to make sure our kids have the supports they need to succeed in the classroom, and if new child care spaces are indeed created, making sure that they are not-for-profit and that parents can actually afford them.

Why didn’t the throne speech have the sort of action that Ontarians need to see?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Let’s talk about what was in the throne speech. I’m happy that the leader of the third party has asked this question because I’m very proud of the results that we were able to talk about in the throne speech yesterday: the economic growth that we’re seeing in Ontario and the job creation that we’re seeing in Ontario. That allows us to invest in child care spaces to give people the options that they need with their youngest children, the zero-to-four-year-olds who need an opportunity, need a space. We’re happy to be able to make those investments.

We’re also pleased that we’re able to give further relief on electricity bills. The member opposite knows that we have the Ontario energy support program in place, but that there is more that needs to be done. We’ll be acting immediately to get legislation in place to remove the provincial portion of the HST. I would think that the leader of the third party would be supportive of those actions.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Yesterday the throne speech said that “government has been dedicated to reducing electricity costs wherever possible....” I don’t think the people of Ontario feel that effort. The Liberals haven’t been doing much at all, as we all know, on the cost side. In fact, they’re increasing the costs by selling off Hydro One. Yet again, the Premier is letting people down.

The Premier needs to stop the privatization of Hydro One so that families and businesses will get permanent relief. Will she do that?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Well, again, I know that we’ve been over this a number of times, but I just want to reassure the leader of the third party that the broadening of the ownership of Hydro One is about making investments in transportation infrastructure: in transit, in roads, in bridges. Again, those are investments that will ensure assets that people of the province of Ontario need. The Hydro One changes have nothing to do with the energy prices. The Ontario Energy Board sets those energy prices.

Let’s look at what we are doing and what we have already done to improve electricity prices: The Ontario Electricity Support Program is a program that saves eligible low-to-middle-income families an average of $430 a year. The Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit: Individuals can save up to $1,008 a year. I think the leader of the third party knows that there have been a number of programs in place, and we’re taking another step to—

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, people are finding it harder and harder to make a good life for themselves, and they’re worried that it’s going to be even worse for the next generation, even tougher for the folks that are coming down the line. They need good-quality jobs. Ontarians deserve a $15 minimum wage. Temporary workers deserve the same rights and pay as permanent workers. People should be able to have the benefits and the stability that comes with a union. But there was nothing in the throne speech yesterday to offer hope for struggling families and young people. When will this Premier take action to improve the quality of work in Ontario?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: The plan that we ran on in 2014, the plan that we have been implementing and will continue to implement and the changes that we are making are all about helping people in their lives every single day. Whether it is about helping a young student get into post-secondary and have their tuition free, whether it’s about one of those 100,000 child care spaces for zero-to-four-year-olds or whether it’s recognizing that there was a need for us to do more on electricity price reduction, we understand that those are things that affect people every single day. That’s why we are implementing them. That’s why we’re acting on them.

Mr. Speaker, our plan has been about building this province up so that for the long term—because I agree with the leader of the third party that it is extremely important for government to recognize what those long-term needs are to act in the present so that we build that foundation for the future. That’s exactly what we’re doing.

Government policies

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is also for the Premier, Speaker. But I would say quite straight up that the Liberal Premier’s plans are failing Ontarians. That’s where we are right now in this province.

When people across Ontario go to the hospital, they deserve to know that they’re going to get the care that they need and that they won’t be waiting for hours in overcrowded hospitals or be treated in hospitals that are literally falling apart. But yesterday’s throne speech has no vision for hospitals. It doesn’t even take the most basic action of ensuring that hospital funding keeps up with inflation and population growth. The Premier could have done so much more.

New Democrats are going to keep fighting for patients and for hospitals. My question is, when will we see some action from this government?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I know the Minister of Health will want to speak to this in the supplementary, but he will, I know, begin with the $345 million that was included in our budget directly for hospital funding.

I just want to say to the leader of the third party and to the people of Ontario that the plan that we ran on, that we put in place, has meant that Ontario is leading the country in economic growth: over the last two years, 6% in economic growth, and nearly 600,000 net new jobs since the recession. We are leading the way.

The reality is that that accomplishment, because of the investments that we have made, because of the choices that we have made, means that we are able to invest in 100,000 new child care spaces. It means we’re able to give people relief on their electricity bills. The plan is working, and it is working for people across the province.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Students across Ontario will be in sweltering classrooms today. In a few months’ time, when things start cooling off in terms of the weather, they might actually have to start wearing their jackets inside their classrooms. That’s because the throne speech doesn’t do anything to address the $15-billion repair backlog for Ontario schools.

Ontarians need action and they need that action now. Why isn’t the Premier doing anything to fix schools across Ontario?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: The $1.1-billion investment to repair and renew school buildings on top of $1.6 billion in existing funding—a total of $2.72 billion—that $1.1 billion is money that is in direct recognition of the fact that school boards need to have additional funding to deal with school renewal.

I had the opportunity to talk to one of the folks from one of the parents’ groups that have been advocating for change. They are very happy about the $1.1 billion. They want us to know—and it’s fair—that we recognize that there is an ongoing need. We do recognize that, but the reality is that school boards have acquired more money, they’ve received more money from this government, to repair schools. We understand that there is more to be done, but they are using that money to do those renewals right now.

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

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, $15 billion in classroom repairs—$1.1 billion is barely going to touch the problem. I don’t understand how the Premier doesn’t see that. Look, this province is at a tipping point. That’s where we are right now. We know that it can be a great place to live. I think we all know that that’s the case, but unless there is some action soon, people are worried that things are only going to get tougher for them and tougher for the next generation.

This government has got to start looking out for people. Whether it’s the cost of hydro, the lack of good jobs, proper care for patients, or dealing with the high costs of child care, the government is failing the people of Ontario.

I know that things can be better in this province. When will we see action from this Ontario government?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please. Premier?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I agree with the leader of the third party that it is very important that the government pay attention to people’s lives every day and understand the affordability issues they have in their lives, which is exactly why we have put in place free tuition for low- and middle-income families. It’s exactly why we understand that there’s a need for more and more affordable child care, so 100,000 new child care spaces is an important part of that.

It is exactly why 30,000 more seniors every year will have access to the seniors’ drug benefit—because we understand that that is an extremely important day-to-day expense for seniors who have to buy medication. It’s exactly why we fought so hard to get an enhancement to the Canada Pension Plan across the country, because in retirement people need to have those additional resources. All of those things are in recognition of the fact that people need support from their government.

Interjections.

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

Government fiscal policies

Mr. Victor Fedeli: My question for the Premier. Yesterday, the government squandered an opportunity to provide families and seniors with meaningful relief from skyrocketing hydro rates. Instead, they introduced a $1-billion Band-Aid that does nothing to actually reduce hydro costs.

What they didn’t tell us was how they intend to pay for it. Let’s face it: They’re going to borrow another $1 billion to do this. That’s money that has to be paid back, plus interest. They’re either adding this to the provincial debt or they’re adding it to our hydro bills. So Speaker, I ask the Premier: How are you paying for this? Are you adding it to our tax bills or to our hydro bills?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I think the member opposite should know that as we see the results of the plan that we’ve put in place, as we see the economic growth that’s happening, we are in a position to put these dollars into relief for people on their electricity bills.

So the member opposite is absolutely wrong when he talks about borrowing to do this. That’s not the case, Mr. Speaker. We have made changes. We have put the Ontario Electricity Support Program in place, and we are now able to take the 8% provincial portion of the HST off people’s electricity bills. The member opposite will see, as the public accounts come forward, that the province is in much better shape than it was three years ago. The economic growth, as I said, leads the country. We’re outstripping the growth in the United States and other jurisdictions, and we are very happy that we are going to be able to help people across the province with their—

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

Mr. Victor Fedeli: Back to the Premier: The government has also squandered an opportunity to address the sad state of Ontario’s finances. The Financial Accountability Officer confirmed that they’re attempting to artificially balance the budget—through the one-time sale of assets—only to plunge us back into deficit immediately after the next election. The throne speech did nothing to address the government’s structural deficit, nothing to address the fact that Ontario is the largest subnational borrower on the entire planet. There’s nothing to address the more than $1 billion a month spent on interest payments.

Now they’re adding this additional billion dollars without explaining how they’re going to pay for it. So I ask the Premier, how do you intend to pay for your government’s years of waste, mismanagement and scandals?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Finance.

Hon. Charles Sousa: Mr. Speaker, the member opposite has had a difficult time trying to understand how it is that we’re coming to balance—because we are. We’re taking the necessary steps to balance the books next year. We’re growing the economy. Ontario’s housing starts are the highest in the country. Our merchandise exports are the highest in the country. Our retail sales and manufacturing are growing, and we’re outpacing not only Canada but around the United States in comparison. We have more jobs than we had before. Our borrowing over the next year is the lowest it’s been since 2008 because of the steps we’ve taken.

The member opposite doesn’t understand the degree of reserves and contingencies that we put in place in our budget purposely so that we can account for ways to making life more affordable for Ontarians. As we are succeeding, we’re also providing for more relief and we’re very proud of the efforts that this Premier and our caucus have taken to improve the economy—notwithstanding the opposition’s contrary measures that enable us not to do so.

Energy policies

Mr. Peter Tabuns: My question to the Premier: For a century there was no provincial sales tax on electricity in Ontario. Liberals introduced the tax in 2010. Then, with an election looming, the Liberal government brought in a hydro rebate. Then, with the election over, they took it away. Now, with another election on the horizon, the government has introduced another rebate. If history is any guide, this rebate will disappear after the next election as well. Instead of playing games with temporary rebates, will the government make electricity permanently exempt from the HST in Ontario?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: First of all, Mr. Speaker, I would suggest from that little rendition that the member for Toronto–Danforth would be happy with the move we announced in the throne speech yesterday. We will be introducing legislation that I hope, given the stance that the third party has taken, they will be eager to support, and will not stand in the way of getting the legislation passed. We will bring in legislation that would allow us to take the provincial sales tax off electricity bills. As I say, I think it’s something that the member sounds like he’s very supportive of.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: I’m sure, Speaker, that we will see many wonders in this chamber.

This temporary rebate will save Ontarians 8% on their hydro bills next year. The problem is, each year hydro rates have been rising by more than 8%, this in part because we have a massive energy surplus here in Ontario. This government has been on a spending spree, contracting for energy we don’t need, can’t use and have to pay for. And bills will rise even higher as Hydro One’s new private owners demand their profits.

What will the government do to stop privatization and rein in Ontario’s massive energy surplus so the savings from this temporary rebate won’t be immediately wiped out by rate increases?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: So let me just get this straight: This is a member of the NDP railing against green energy. This is a member of the NDP railing against a stable, clean electricity grid. This is a member of the NDP railing against extending power and the grid to First Nations people who are on diesel power. This is a member of the NDP who doesn’t think that we should be finding ways to partner with Manitoba and with Quebec to make sure we have clean energy in peak periods.

Really, everything that the member has said runs counter to my understanding of how we have a progressive, clean, green energy system in Ontario. That’s what we support, Mr. Speaker.

Interjections.

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

New question?

Government policies

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

By the way, Minister, thank you for visiting Northumberland–Quinte West and Prince Edward–Hastings last week. It was a great opportunity to meet with local farmers.

Minister, our government recognizes that rural residents across the province work hard each and every day to build a better tomorrow for their children and their communities. Part of planning for the future means those families must know that they have access to dependable infrastructure such as high-speed Internet and reliable energy. Yesterday’s speech from the throne made it clear that all Ontarians are important and that our government hears the needs of its rural residents.

Speaker, through you to the minister, can the minister tell this House how our government is ensuring a brighter, better future for the people of Ontario’s rural communities?

Hon. Jeff Leal: I want to thank my good friend and colleague, the hard-working member for Northumberland–Quinte West, for his wonderful question this morning. I want to thank Mr. Rinaldi. We had a wonderful tour last Wednesday, an opportunity for me to be at the kitchen tables on the back concessions of Northumberland and Prince Edward–Hastings.

Yesterday’s throne speech, of course, responded directly to Ontarians’ concerns about rising electricity prices. I want to thank the member from Northumberland–Quinte West, who has been a real advocate on this file.

Mr. Speaker, come January 1, 2017, we’re taking the 8% off the HST in the province of Ontario to help families, individuals, farms and small businesses, and, more importantly, for the hard-working people in rural Ontario, an extra 12% off on their R2 designation, which will help everybody—

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

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I stand, you sit.

Supplementary?

Mr. Lou Rinaldi: Thank you, Minister Leal, for that answer. It’s great to hear that this government has a plan to help people in their everyday lives, and that saving on residential electricity bills is part of that plan.

While the rebate on electricity prices is great news for residential electricity bills, I have heard from businesses and they are concerned about the rising electricity prices and how this affects their competitiveness.

Speaker, through you to the minister, can he please tell this House how our government is ensuring that businesses stay competitive in our global economy?

Hon. Jeff Leal: To the Minister of Economic Development and Growth.

Hon. Brad Duguid: The member is absolutely right. I think an important part of leadership is listening, and that’s exactly what this Premier and this government do. In fact, Mr. Speaker, we’ve listened very carefully to our business community as we’ve made Ontario the number one jurisdiction when it comes to creating jobs, when it comes to creating economic activity. We have listened carefully to our Ontario Chamber of Commerce, to our Toronto Region Board of Trade, to the CFIB, and to small and medium-sized businesses right across this province when they have told us that energy rates are a bit of a challenge to them, despite all the competitive advantages that we have.

That’s why, yesterday, we responded to what we have heard. Small businesses across Ontario will benefit from an 8% savings on their energy bill. This will ensure that businesses continue to thrive and grow. We’re also expanding the industrial conservation initiative so our industry across this province will continue to be competitive, continue to lead North America, continue to create jobs and continue to lead this country.

Government policies

Mr. Raymond Sung Joon Cho: My question is for the Premier.

It is my honour to stand here in this chamber today to represent the people of Scarborough–Rouge River. They sent me here with a strong and clear mandate: I will fight for lower hydro rates, better access to health care and better transit to Scarborough–Rouge River. Because of that, yesterday, I noticed a huge omission: There was no mention of a Scarborough subway.

When will the Premier commit to extending a subway north of the 401 in Scarborough, a subway that reaches Scarborough–Rouge River?

Interjections.

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

Premier?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Transportation.

Hon. Steven Del Duca: Of course, I want to begin by acknowledging the question from the new member from Scarborough–Rouge River and congratulating him on his election to this Legislature.

I think it would be encouraging to all Ontarians to hear that, somewhat belatedly, there is now a member of the opposition caucus who actually supports public transit. But what I will say—because we’ve waited for a long time. We in Ontario—not just as Liberals—have waited, frankly, for an eternity to hear that a member of the opposition, the Conservative caucus, supports significant investments in public transit in this region.

That member, I think, would know that in addition to our ironclad commitment to make sure that we extend the Scarborough subway—the Bloor-Danforth line—we are in the process of building GO regional express rail. For example, the extensions of those tracks through the Stouffville area, on the Stouffville line, would be servicing people in that part of Scarborough.

In the supplementary, I’d be happy to expand on—

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

Mr. Raymond Sung Joon Cho: Back to the Premier: My predecessor, former Liberal MPP Bas Balkissoon, spoke his true feelings. He said that the Scarborough hospitals do not meet “the needs of modern medicine.” The Scarborough Hospital wasn’t in this government’s past capital projects and it does not seem to be in their future plans. The Liberals will not commit to a much-needed new hospital in Scarborough, and there was no mention of Scarborough in the throne speech yesterday.

Mr. Speaker, isn’t it time for the Premier to stop ignoring the needs of Scarborough?

Interjections.

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

Minister?

Hon. Steven Del Duca: Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I know that if the member opposite had been elected six months ago he would have embraced the opportunity to join me with literally every other member from Scarborough and from Durham to make an important announcement with regard to health care in Scarborough.

We announced a $10-million increase in operating funds for Rouge River and Scarborough hospitals; we announced a $19-million capital investment in a new diagnostic imaging corridor within the Scarborough Hospital; we announced a $5-million planning grant to build new capital infrastructure going forward; we announced a $10-million investment for a new ER at Rouge Valley hospital; and we appointed, as our special adviser, Mark Rochon, who I know the Conservatives know well because he did some work for them as well—an individual who knows very well how to manage this process going forward to ensure that the quality of services in Scarborough are top in this province.

Hospital funding

M me France Gélinas: Ma question est pour la première ministre.

Improving health care is one of the most important priorities for families, for seniors and for all of us, but apparently not for the Wynne government. Today, hospitals are overcrowded. Nurses and health care workers are being laid off. Patients are waiting far too long in emergency rooms and even longer for their surgeries, and the wait time for long-term care has increased by 280% since the government came to power.

Why is the Premier refusing to take real action to strengthen public health care and stop the cuts to our hospitals?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Mr. Speaker, I know the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care is going to want to speak to the supplementary, but I just want to make it clear that we recognize the importance of health care in people’s lives. There are few things that are more important to a family, whether a child is ill or a senior loved one is ill.

Making sure that we continue to reduce wait times—which we are doing; we are committed to that—and making sure that people have access to a primary care provider, a physician or a nurse practitioner; and making sure that local hospitals have the resources that they need, putting $345 million into the budget, for an overall increase of $1 billion: Those are choices that we have made.

We have not, as some in this House would have us do, chosen to put all of those resources into physician salaries, but Mr. Speaker, we believe that making the health care system work for everyone is the role that government should play. That should be our objective.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

M me France Gélinas: According to the throne speech, Speaker, the government has no plan to solve the overcrowding in our hospitals, no plan to stop the layoffs of nurses and hospital workers, no plan to repair trust with Ontario’s physicians, no plan to come clean about the huge repair backlogs in our local hospitals and, above all, no plan to protect public health care as we know it.

Why is the Premier offering so little action, so few solutions, to fix the silent crisis in health care?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: We are making extraordinary investments in our health care system right across the province. The throne speech referenced how there are roughly 35 new hospital capital activities going on, many of them new hospitals and many of them renovations. They are either happening right now or they’re in the planning stage.

We tripled for deferred maintenance. We tripled the funding this year that we’re investing to allow hospitals to upgrade their services and the buildings that they rely on to provide those services.

The $345 million in new operating expenses for hospitals and thousands of new nurses who are working in this province, as referenced in the throne speech—an increase in the past number of years, including an increase in our hospitals.

And we are continuing to make that shift into home and community care, providing services where people want them. That means investing in hospitals, but also across the system.

Child care

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: Speaker, welcome back. My question is for the Associate Minister of Education for early years and child care.

Minister, I would first like to congratulate you on your new role. The creation of this office demonstrates the government’s commitment to giving our children the best start in life and ensuring Ontario families have the right supports so that kids can grow and learn in a healthy environment.

It is crucial to Ontario families to know that they can rely on access to safe and affordable child care. It means parents can choose to go off to work, confident in knowing that their child is being well cared for and developing their skills while they are there.

Hon. Indira Naidoo-Harris: Thank you to the member from Barrie for raising this important question. I want to thank the member for her hard work and dedication in improving the lives of the residents in her community.

I’m looking forward to building on the progress we’ve made to create a high-quality early years and child care system that is affordable, accessible and flexible for Ontario’s hard-working families.

Since 2003, we have doubled child care funding to more than $1 billion annually. Already this year, we have made a significant new capital investment of $120 million to create 4,000 new child care spaces.

And we’re not stopping there: We are also ensuring before- and after-school programs are available for four- to-12-year-olds in schools where there is sufficient demand. We committed in yesterday’s throne speech to create 100,000 new licensed spaces for infants, toddlers and preschoolers across the province in the next five years.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: Thank you to the minister for that answer. It was great to hear in yesterday’s throne speech that we are committed to helping parents find child care because parents in my riding and other ridings have expressed frustration with the hurdles they face when looking for licensed child care spaces. For some, it can be a lengthy and costly process to try and find quality care.

Would the minister please explain how the government is simplifying that process and making it easier for Ontario families?

Hon. Indira Naidoo-Harris: I’m pleased to say that we have made significant progress when it comes to providing parents with easier access to high-quality child care, but we know we have more work to do. In the next five years, we will be doubling the capacity of the child care system for children aged 0 to 4. That’s equal to 100,000 new spaces. This means that we are investing between $1 billion to $3 billion in capital to build these spaces and an additional $600 million to $750 million in operating dollars.

Thanks to the member from Beaches-East York for his work that pushed us to ban licensed child care centres and home child care agencies from charging wait-list fees or requiring deposits to join wait-lists. This delivers on our promise to make life easier for parents frustrated with costly fees.

These investments will provide the essential start to a child’s journey of education, supporting their social, emotional and cognitive development, so that children can get the best start in life.

Energy policies

Ms. Lisa M. Thompson: My question is for the Premier. January 1 is a big day for this government. It’s the day that this government’s Band-Aid solution will be applied to Ontario hydro bills. It also happens to be the day that this government’s cap-and-trade scheme hits the pocketbooks of Ontarians.

According to this government, starting January 1, an average household will begin to save $130 a year on their hydro bills. But wait a second, Speaker. The government’s own projections say the cap-and-trade cash grab will cost a family $156 a year. The money is simply going in one pocket and out of another. What a shell game.

Why is the Premier trying to fool Ontario families and what is she trying to hide?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I know that the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change is going to want to weigh in on the supplementary. But let me just be clear that what the member opposite is talking about is not giving people relief on their electricity bills and not fighting climate change.

The choices that we are making are to fight climate change, because we believe that all of us on this planet should be taking responsibility for fighting greenhouse gas emissions. That’s what cap-and-trade is about. I know that the party opposite does not have a coherent position on that and does not believe that fighting climate change is what we should do. We are working with leadership across the country and around the world to find ways to tackle climate change and we’ll continue to do that.

At the same time, we believe that reducing people’s electricity bills, continuing on the path that we have been on because we have put other programs in place—this is the next step in reducing people’s electricity bills. We believe that’s the right thing to do to help people every day in their lives.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Lisa M. Thompson: Back to the Premier: This government can’t wait for the HST band-aid solution to show up as a line item on hydro bills across the province. But it’s interesting to note that this government also refuses to show the cost of cap-and-trade on natural gas and energy bills. As the member from Trinity-Spadina once said, this government supports “openness and transparency but at the right time.” Sadly, that right time is only when it’s convenient for this government’s political survival.

I must say that it’s rather self-serving that the throne speech explicitly said that the reductions will be seen on electricity bills yet cap-and-trade costs will be hidden from natural gas and energy bills. Frankly, that’s unacceptable.

Will the Premier commit today that she will mandate the cost of cap-and-trade to be shown on energy bills in this province?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.

Hon. Glen R. Murray: I want to commend the member opposite and her leader for being so consistent—consistently inconsistent. On sex ed, they’re in favour of it and then they’re opposed to it. On carbon pricing, they’re in favour of it and then they’re opposed to it and then they’re in favour of it and then they’re opposed to it. It is mind-boggling.

The member opposite listed all of the reductions and measures we’re taking to reduce expenditures, and she’s right. What she doesn’t say—

Interjections.

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

Hon. Glen R. Murray: Her party supports a tax-only system, which costs $150, increasing costs seven times over anything anyone else in Canada imagines. At the same time, because it’s revenue-neutral, you’d cut all the retrofit programs for farmers, for families, for apartments, the Electric Vehicle Incentive Program, all the investments in public transit and all the carbon offsets. You’d cut $8 billion in subsidies to help families while charging $150 a tonne for carbon compared to a cap-and-trade system. That’s what—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please. New question.

Employment standards

Mr. Taras Natyshak: My question is to the Premier.

Ontarians, especially young Ontarians, want to work. They want good-paying jobs where they know they’ll be valued and where they know they’ll be able to meet their needs: food on the table, clothes on their backs and the ability to build a future for themselves and for their families. That’s why New Democrats believe that Ontarians deserve a $15 minimum wage.

Will the Premier stand here today and commit to increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Labour.

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Thank you to the honourable member. What you will see when you look around the country right now is that Ontario is leading the way when it comes to the minimum wage—not only the minimum wage itself, but the way that that minimum wage is set. In the past, it was unpredictable. Business asked us for predictability, and those people who are working in those types of jobs asked us for predictability as well.

What we did is, we went out in the field, we talked to experts from the field of poverty, from employment law and from advocates for people who are working in these jobs, and we came to the conclusion that we could put in a system that was better than the one that was in place when the minimum wage was frozen for years. Ontarians are proud of the system we have in place today. It gives a guaranteed increase based on the rate of inflation and gives predictability to business.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Taras Natyshak: Hard-working Ontarians, whether they’re just starting out or whether they’re starting over, don’t think that $15 an hour is too much to ask. No one wants to risk their lives or worry about being fired if they get sick or miss work. That’s why, if someone wants to join a union, they should be able to join a union with fewer barriers, and when they do join a union they ought to be able to negotiate a contract quickly.

We think that people deserve good jobs that help them into the middle class. Why wasn’t there anything in the throne speech that does that?

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Once again, thanks to the member for this question. We know that work is changing in the province of Ontario. As a result of that, we did something that no other government has ever done in the past: We looked at the Employment Standards Act and we looked at the Labour Relations Act and we examined them clearly in detail in a way that simply hasn’t been done before in the province of Ontario. The last time this was looked at was in 1990 and in 2000.

We’re determined to bring the legislation that governs employment law and that governs labour relations in the province of Ontario up to date so that people who work in workplaces in Ontario, and those employers that do an excellent job and those employers that need perhaps a little bit of work are all brought into the same fold.

Ontario remains an incredible place to work, an incredible place to raise a family.

Health care funding

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

I know that health care is a top priority for our government, and with yesterday’s throne speech, our government has reiterated our commitment to make everyday life easier for Ontarians. I know, as the member for Kingston and the Islands, that an important part of this commitment is providing Ontarians with timely access to the health services that they need.

We have seen major progress in Ontario, including reducing wait times for surgeries, increasing the number of Ontarians who have a health care provider, reducing wait times to see specialists and expanding service for Ontarians at home and in their community, but we also know there is more work to be done.

Can the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care please inform this House of the important investments our government is making to make everyday life easier for Ontarians?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I want to thank the member for Kingston and the Islands for this important question.

We are making those investments in our hospitals: $345 million, and a $12-billion capital investment over the next 10 years.

I want to acknowledge and thank the member for the extraordinary work in advocacy that she has done for her community. I had the honour of joining her about a month ago in Kingston when we were able to announce not only a $2.5-million planning grant for the future capital expansion of Kingston General Hospital, but increases in the operating budgets of all three hospitals, with almost $7 million for Kingston General this year alone, an additional $4 million for Providence hospital this year, and additional funding for Hotel Dieu.

And importantly, we also announced funding for an incredible program called community paramedicine, where paramedics go into the home and work with seniors to make sure that they can stay independent and healthy longer, avoiding those unnecessary trips to the ER and to hospitals.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Sophie Kiwala: Thank you, Minister, for that response.

I know that health care is a top priority for our government. In August, I was proud to announce that the three hospitals, as mentioned, in my riding of Kingston and the Islands would receive more than $14.9 million this year through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund.

But I also know that our government is doing more than just investing in hospitals. Our government has made a commitment to provide Ontarians with the care that they need closer to home. The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care was in my riding, as mentioned, this summer to announce a $13-million investment to ensure that patients in Kingston and the Islands have faster access to the right care in the right place, now and in the future.

Can the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care please inform the House of the investments that this government is making to improve and expand home and community care?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: We’re investing about 250 million new dollars this year in home and community care. Of that, we’re taking $100 million specifically to invest in support for home care clients who have the highest needs, and we are providing support for their caregivers as well, because we all understand the critically important role that caregivers play with regard to home care. So $80 million of that $100 million is going to support enhanced care; $20 million is going to caregiver respite.

We’re going to have 350,000 additional hours of nursing care, more than a million additional hours of personal support workers working, 100,000 more hours of rehabilitation and 600,000 additional hours of respite services for caregivers who need it most.

Energy policies

Mr. John Yakabuski: My question is for the Premier. The Premier knows that for years ratepayers have been crying out desperately for help, the help they need on high hydro bills. They need to be lifted out of the crisis that this Liberal government has created. Yesterday, the Premier announced that they’re going to give them a rebate that amounts to 36 cents per day for the average family, all this during a period of time since 2003 that your government has raised electricity rates by over 400%.

Speaker, will the Premier simply admit that yesterday’s too-little-too-late announcement was only a band-aid solution and it confirms that they refuse to reverse the damage done by their failed energy policies that are hurting everyone across this great province of Ontario?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: It is a pleasure to be back in the presence of the orator from across the way.

He referenced 2003, when we came into office. Mr. Speaker, if you remember back to 2003—brownouts, blackouts, an unreliable, dirty system—we’ve moved away from that. We have made investments. We have rebuilt transmission lines—over 10,000 kilometres of transmission lines. We’ve shut down coal. We have a clean, green electricity grid in Ontario.

There has been a cost associated with that, so what have we done? We’ve put programs in place: the Ontario Electricity Support Program, in which eligible low- and middle-income families save $430 a year; and the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, in which individuals and families save up to $1,008 a year.

We have put programs in place. We are now taking off the HST, the provincial portion. That’s the next step.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. John Yakabuski: Back to the Premier: The voters of Scarborough–Rouge River sent a clear message to this government that the current chaos in the energy system is all on them. They said in no uncertain terms