Question Period: Thursday, May 13
Long live "the king"
No Premier DOUG FORD in the debate, but much heckling over the up to $1,000-a-ticket Zoom fundraiser he hosted for the PC Party Thursday night.
HIGHLIGHTS: When did you know elderly folks were dying from neglect? — Second-shot confusion — Cozying up to deep-pocketed PC donors — Dearth of science backing outdoor recreational closures — Shining a light on internal political party elections — Uncertainty for the AZ crew, Elliott commiserates — Mining for socio-demographic vaccination data — Repealing Bill 124’s cap on wage increases for nurses — Nursing school callout — Make SOLEIMAN FAQIRI report public — Regional approach to reopening schools? — Small biz grant woes.
When did you know elderly folks were dying from neglect?
TRANSCRIPT — Ms. Andrea Horwath: This morning my first question is to the Minister of Health. We know now that the Minister of Long-Term Care was writing notes about what was happening in long-term care. On April 17 her note was, “Military plan needed, get them in within 24-48 hours.” That was on April 17. April 17 is when Quebec had the military come in to their province and yet Ontario waited five full days before contacting the CAF—the Canadian Armed Forces—to come and help in long-term care. It’s clear that the Ministry of Health was part of the decision-making process around which homes would get military aid. My question to the Minister of Health is, when did she first learn that people in long-term care were dying from neglect and dehydration, and that military intervention was required?
The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): To reply on behalf of the government, the government House leader.
Hon. Paul Calandra: I appreciate the question from the Leader of the Opposition. As I mentioned yesterday, we very much appreciate the work of the Canadian Armed Forces in helping out those homes that required assistance. As I’ve mentioned on a number of occasions, we were clearly on the defensive for the better part of a year when it came to fighting COVID. Part of the reason we were on the defensive for so long is because there had been such a lack of investment before we had taken office, a lack of investment in staffing, a lack of investment with respect to the build of new homes. There was a lack of investment in refurbishing old and outdated homes.
We’re addressing that now, obviously, with the hiring of an additional 27,000 PSWs, a massive buildout of long-term-care homes across the province of Ontario and four hours of care. We’re grateful for all the work that the Canadian Armed Forces did but we’re well on our way to putting this behind us.
The Speaker: The supplementary question?
Horwath: It should have been addressed over a year ago. That’s when it should have been addressed. The minister, unfortunately, has decided to avoid questions, but she is responsible. She is responsible for the timing of the deployment of the Canadian Armed Forces to those homes that were in crisis, where people were literally losing their lives to neglect and dehydration. Yet the owners of these homes—the private, for-profit owners—deny that this happened.
My question is: Does the minister accept reports from the Canadian Armed Forces that 26 people—at least—died of dehydration and neglect in long-term-care homes in our province, or does she believe, as the owners of these for-profit homes do, that the Armed Forces were simply making it up?
Calandra: Mr. Speaker, that is, of course, one of the reasons why the Premier requested and ensured there was a commission to investigate some of the initial problems we saw in long-term care homes. Obviously, as I mentioned earlier on in the week, the coroner has been engaged on the file as well.
But ultimately, the Leader of the Opposition is correct, we have to make changes, and that is why before the pandemic hit, we started to make those changes, whether it was increasing the amount of homes that were constructed—you know, in the years previous, in the decades previous, I think it was something like 600 new beds were built in the province of Ontario that obviously was not something that could be sustained. That’s why we invested in thousands of new beds. We’re investing in four hours of care, a North American leading level of care for our residents of long-term care—thousands of new beds. So there was a lot of work that was done before, during and certainly after the pandemic so that we never see something like this happen again and we can finally put COVID behind us.
Horwath: My question is back to the Minister of Health, Speaker. I think she has some responsibility here that she needs to address. People lost their lives in long-term care, as we know, and families lost their loved ones in horrifying conditions.
Myrelyn Daley lost her sister, Daisy, in Downsview Long-Term Care Centre last year, and here’s what she told the press—in fact, I’m going to ask this page to bring this press clipping over the Minister of Health so she can see it. Myrelyn says this, and I quote, “She called me three days before she passed—oh, my God, she cried, she cried. She said, “I am hungry. I am hungry.” This is what happened to Daisy. She died on April 14. The CAF, Canadian Armed Forces, wouldn’t arrive in that home until June 1.
The family is still looking for justice. They’re still looking for accountability. The minister knew there were horrors that were unfolding in the long-term care system in these homes. Why is she allowing her government, this government, the Conservative government, to deny those families justice and accountability that they were promised?
Calandra: The government of doing no such thing, Mr. Speaker. Of course, we understand how difficult it was for Ontarians across this province, especially during that first and second wave. We saw that in all of our ridings. We saw how difficult it was for families, we saw how difficult it was for those people who were working inside these long-term care homes. As I’ve said on a number of occasions, we were put on the defence during the first and second waves in the province of Ontario because for generations before, for a decade and a half before, there were no investments made in long-term care. When you have a system that was understaffed, that had only had 600 new beds built in the 10 years preceding a pandemic, of course there were going to be challenges. That’s why we moved before the election to address challenges with respect to staffing. With respect to building new homes thousands of new homes were being built. We brought in thousands of new people during the pandemic, and we’re starting that before the pandemic. We’re building thousands of additional spaces. This is something that we want to fix, that we will fix and put this behind us for once and for all.
Second-shot confusion
Horwath: My next question is for the Premier. This government’s vaccine rollout has been convoluted and confusing, to say the least. We’ve just heard, of course, that the government is now cancelling its commitment to increasing help for the hot spots even though they’re still smoldering. There’s no plan for the second dose. There’s no details for parents around when or if their children can get vaccinated before school starts in September. There are no answers for folks who got their first shot of AstraZeneca.
I mean, the question is pretty clear: When will this government, when will this Premier get their act together?
The Speaker: Minister of Health.
Hon. Christine Elliott: Thank you very much, Speaker, and thank you to the leader of the official opposition for the question. There is a plan; the plan was formulated months ago prior to the delivery of the vaccines. It’s being rolled out in three phases. We are now in phase 2.
I can advise the House that we have now administered vaccines to 6.6 million people—over 50% of the adults in Ontario over age 18. We also have 4.8 million vaccines already booked. We are also proceeding with daily vaccines. Yesterday, we administered virtually 138,000 vaccines. We are well on track to our target of administering vaccines to 65% of adults over age 18 in Ontario by the end of May. I would say that this is a resounding success, and that people know how to receive and book their vaccines because over 4.8 million already have been booked.
Horwath: Speaker, the Premier and now this minister have been bragging for months that this province’s scavenger hunt of a vaccine rollout has been effective when we all know it hasn’t. In fact, it’s volunteer “vax hunters” who have been hooking folks up to their vaccines. That’s what’s happening in our province every single day. It’s not the Premier, it’s vaccine hunters who are getting people their shots. People who can’t get through the government’s confusing and convoluted vaccine system are left scrambling. So, what does it say, Speaker? What does it say when a group of volunteers working part-time are doing a better job of getting people their vaccines in the province of Ontario than this Premier and his minister?
Elliott: Speaker, I would say to the Leader of the Opposition, through you, that what you’re suggesting is simply not the case. We have people who are receiving their second dose administration and their second doses are booked through the booking tool or through the phone administration that we have already.
I’m not sure how the leader of the official opposition would define success, but I would say at this point having over half of the adults in Ontario over 18 receiving their first dose already is a success. We’re on course for 65% by the end of the month.
We also have a plan that we’ve been developing with the Ministry of Education to also vaccinate young people between ages 12 and 17. Further details of that will be available imminently, but we are well on track to achieving our goal of making sure that everyone who wants to receive a vaccine in Ontario will be able to do so in very short order.
Horwath: Speaker, while Ontarians are forced to play “vaccine Hunger Games,” here’s what’s going on in other provinces: In Alberta—today—everyone over the age of 12 can book their vaccine. In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, everyone has been told that they’re getting their second doses in July.
But here, it’s all still a mystery. If you’re over 12, maybe June, maybe not. If you’re waiting for a second dose, your guess is as good as anyone’s. Ontarians deserve so much better than this, Speaker.
When is the government going to get their act together and give Ontarians certainty about how the rest of this vaccine rollout is going to go?
Elliott: There is certainty about how this vaccine rollout is going to go, and it has been clearly explained to the people of Ontario. We know that, as of the week of May 24, people over the age of 18 will be able to book across the entire province.
We also know that our vaccine rollout in the communities that are the hot spot communities has been very successful such that people of most ages in the hot spot communities are already receiving 5% more of the vaccines than the people in the non-hot spot agencies, which is why we set this program up in the first place. It is clearly working; the statistics demonstrate that very clearly.
As for second doses, anyone who has booked through our vaccine booking tool already has their second dose booked. We’ve also indicated to pharmacies that they should be booking second doses, and in situations where they’re finding that difficult, we’re working with them to make sure that they can do that. Everybody is in the COVax system and people will be—
The Speaker: The next question.
Cozying up to deep-pocketed donors
Mr. Taras Natyshak: My question to the Acting Premier, Speaker. Last night, CTV reported that the PCs are doing everything they can to “protect the king.” It seems they’re more worried about building an iron ring to protect the king than they ever were about protecting those in long-term care.
On top of that, the Premier has been ducking public press conferences for about two weeks. But Speaker, alas, we know where to find him. Tonight he’s hosting a $1,000—
Interjections.
The Speaker: Stop the clock. The Associate Minister of Transportation (GTA) will come to order. The member for Northumberland–Peterborough South will come to order. Start the clock. The member for Essex has the floor.
Natyshak: Thank you very much, Speaker. We know where to find the Premier because tonight he’s hosting a $1,000-a-ticket Zoom call. So, my question to the government: Why is it that if you’re a PC Party insider with deep pockets, you can have access to the Premier while he dodges questions about his record from the media?
Calandra: It’s strange, coming from the NDP. We’ve been in this House since February, and when we came back in February, the NDP were upset that the Premier was too available. He was doing news conferences too often, and they didn’t like the fact that he was on TV at 1 o’clock every day, updating the province of Ontario—
Interjection.
The Speaker: Order. The Leader of the Opposition has to come to order. The government House leader has the floor.
Calandra: Sorry, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, I touched a nerve with the Leader of the Opposition, because even when the Premier is not out every single day, more people want to hear from him than they do from the Leader of the Opposition. I think that speaks for itself.
Natyshak: You know, I kind of feel sorry for the government House leader. He’s been carrying the load for this Premier for quite some time. I want to give him a hand: Congratulations. You’re showing leadership where there is obviously a vacuum in this House.
Speaker, while the PCs are worried about their fundraising to protect their king, Ontarians are trying to grapple with the realities of this ongoing pandemic. The government failed to protect 3,700 seniors who died in long-term care, some of whom died without even a glass of water. Our esteemed military, our Canadian Armed Forces, called that criminal. It boggles the mind why the Premier has no time to answer media questions, but all the time in the world to drum up cash from his deep-pocketed developer friends.
We all know the adage: If you can’t take the heat, you get out of the kitchen. This Premier has left the restaurant completely. Why has this Premier found the time in his schedule to host expensive fundraisers instead of letting Ontarians hold him to account?
Calandra: Obviously, there is nobody who believes anything that is coming from that side of the House. This is a Premier who has been in front of this right from the beginning. Whether it was leading into the pandemic—even before the pandemic, one of the things that this Premier ran on was ending hallway health care because of the lack of investments made by the previous Liberal government. We were well on our way to doing that, to increasing ICU capacity.
He identified the fact that we needed to put more money into long-term care. That’s why we’re hiring an additional 27,000 PSWs and building thousands of homes, new homes, and refurbishing old ones.
He knew that we had to put the fiscal situation of this province back on sustainable footing. We started to do that. He knew that we had to make it more affordable for the people of the province of Ontario, for our small, medium and large job creators to do business here, to live here. We are in the process of doing that and we’ll continue to do that.
Before the pandemic, we led the nation in job creation and, as it ends, we will do the same.
[AFTER A FRIENDLY SOFTBALL ON BORDER RESTRICTIONS…]
Dearth of science backing outdoor recreational closures
Ms. Catherine Fife: My question is for the Premier. Yesterday I questioned the Premier about what evidence was used to close outdoor recreational activities. According to the science table, the example the Premier shared with us was “not at all” what they said.
The Premier said he had a YES/NO chart of what you can do and what you can’t do. In fact, what the chart showed is that as long as you have two of the three criteria, like staying two metres apart, wearing a mask or staying outside—this is what the science table has said—then your activity should be considered low-risk.
I’ll give the Premier another chance—or anyone on that side: Can you please explain to the people of this province what scientific evidence was used to close outdoor recreational activities? They deserve an answer.
Elliott: I thank the member very much for that question. We certainly do encourage people to be outdoors. Especially with the weather getting much nicer, we want people to be able to spend time outdoors. For children especially it’s important. People can go out, they can go for a walk, they can go for a bike ride, walk the dog, all of those activities. We know that it is important for people to be outdoors.
There are some situations, though, where people are in closer contact. For that we encourage people—and ask people, actually—to continue to follow the public health measures that we know work. If you can’t maintain the physical distancing, please wear the mask. Do the physical distancing wherever you can. Frequent hand washing and all the measures that we’ve talked about since the beginning of the pandemic remain in effect.
Fife: The chart that the Premier referred to yesterday clearly states in big letters at the top: “Outdoor settings are considerably safer than indoor settings if precautions are taken against new variants.” In fact, I’m going to send the chart over to the government side.
Those precautions, as advised by the science table, are two out of three: being outside, wearing a mask or maintaining a two-metre distance. To make it even clearer, the science table went out of their way yesterday to say, “We are encouraging the government to reopen appropriate outdoor facilities where people can either mask or be two metres” apart.
To the Premier, to the health minister, to anyone on that side of the House: We are weeks into the third wave. Why does this government continue to resist scientific advice on opening outdoor amenities? The Premier knows he is wrong. The people of this province know you’re wrong. Please do right thing, walk this back and let people go outside.
Elliott: There is no question that the outdoor transmission happens much less often than indoor transmission and we do encourage people to be outdoors at this point. Especially with the weather getting nicer and with a long weekend coming up we encourage people to be outdoors as much as they wish to.
However, there are some situations where we are wanting to limit mobility. That’s the guide behind it. We heard from the medical experts that, yes, being outdoors is good. We also heard that we need to limit mobility while we’re still dealing with the variants of concern. So we have to put those two things together, and we’re encouraging people to still be cautious, because we are still not in the clear yet. While we are starting to see our numbers go down in our hospitals and in our intensive care units, we still need to follow those public health measures. But we do encourage people to be outdoors as much as possible. I think that’s important for physical health, as well as their mental health.
Shining a light on internal political party elections
Mrs. Belinda C. Karahalios: Good morning. My question is for the Premier. My constituents are shocked when I tell them there are no laws in Ontario setting consequences for individuals committing voter fraud in an internal political party’s election. Calling the police will not help you.
In November 2019, I tabled private member’s Bill 150, the Ensuring Transparency and Integrity in Political Party Elections Act to remedy this problem. If it were to become law, the bill would, for the first time in Ontario history, set consequences for voter fraud in an internal party election. Despite the Premier telling the media in 2019 that he was against the bill, it unanimously passed second reading. But since then, it’s been stuck with the Standing Committee on General Government, where it hasn’t even come up for discussion.
Does the government plan on bringing Bill 150 to the House for third and final reading so it can become law and finally make it an offence in Ontario to manipulate internal party elections?
Calandra: As you know, it’s not the government’s responsibility to order how committees do their business. We’ll let the committees identify which business they want to bring forward on their own.
Karahalios: Speaker, I’m not the only one who thinks there’s a problem with the internal party votes. A few days after I introduced Bill 150, the campaign manager of the governing Ontario PC Party—recently announced as lobbyist Kory Teneycke—had this to say on the CBC about votes held at party conventions to review a leader:
“It’s always rigged ... The people administering it are in an huge conflict of interest, they set when the delegate selection meetings are, they set all the rules around it, they can put their fingers on the scale in a very undemocratic way, and ... if the past is to be a predictor of the future, we’ll see that again, because that’s what we always see.”
Mr. Teneycke also has first-hand experience. You see, he was the co-chair of the 2018 Ontario PC Party convention that was supposed to elect that party’s executive, but which resulted in more ballots cast than voters who voted and is now before the courts.
Does this government, whose own Ontario PC Party has seen election irregularities decide internal elections under two different leaders, support Bill 150’s attempt to set consequences for such behaviour, or not?
Calandra: Again, Mr. Speaker, look, the government doesn’t order the independent committees of the Legislative Assembly—order their business. We have a number of private members’ bills that have made the floor of the Legislative Assembly from both sides of the House. In fact, today we will be debating private member’s business from the member for Willowdale, another piece of business from the member for Muskoka and a good bill from the member for Scarborough Southwest.
What unique circumstances all of these individuals have from both sides of the House when they brought bills forward and had them passed is that they’ve worked with their colleagues to get them to the floor of the House. Look, as government House leader, all I can say is for the member to do the same: Work with members on both sides of the House, and hopefully, the members will agree to bring the bill forward at committee and, hopefully, the members will agree to bring it to the floor of the House and, hopefully, members will agree to pass it.
Uncertainty for the AZ crew, Elliott commiserates
Ms. Bhutila Karpoche: Ontarians who received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine are anxious about their second dose. Bill, a constituent who received his first dose of AstraZeneca in March spoke for thousands of Ontarians when he asked my office, “When and where can I get a second dose? Can I get a Pfizer or Moderna shot in lieu of the AstraZeneca? I am confused and worried.” Ontarians shouldn’t have to ask these questions six months into the vaccine rollout.
Ontario will have 300,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine next week. My question to the Premier is, what is the government’s plan for these doses, and will Ontarians who received the first dose of the AstraZeneca get some answers about their second dose?
Elliott: Thank you, Speaker, and thank you very much to the member for the question. I’m also in that situation. I also received the AstraZeneca as a first dose. However, what I can also tell you is that the Chief Medical Officer of Health, out of an abundance of caution, has put a pause on the distribution of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine because of the concerns with the vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia, otherwise known as VITTs. This is out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of all Ontarians.
What we are waiting for right now are recommendations from the NACI, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, as well as Health Canada, to advise us with respect to the safety of further doses of AstraZeneca. But what we do know is that, based on international studies, any possibilities of harm or risk with respect to a second dose of AstraZeneca is much, much more limited than any concerns with respect to the first dose.
We’re also receiving information—and the boards are reviewing it—based on what’s happened in the UK where they have mixed doses of AstraZeneca first dose and another type of vaccine for the second dose.
Karpoche: Speaker, Ontarians who received their first shot at a pharmacy or a pop-up clinic are worried about their second dose as well. Their second appointments were not automatically scheduled and many are still waiting to be contacted months later. Pharmacists tell me they’ve heard nothing about a plan from this government. People want to know who will contact them to schedule their second appointment and when.
My question to the Premier is, how will you ensure that no one falls through the cracks of your convoluted web of different booking systems?
Elliott: Because we have a system to deal with that. As you will know, people who have booked through our online booking system for their first dose—
Interjection.
The Speaker: Member for Essex, come to order.
Elliott: —automatically receive their second dose time. Pharmacies are also using their system that they use for the administration of flu vaccines, booking appointments. We’ve directed them to be able to book the second dose at the same time as the first dose. Not every pharmacy has done that, but we are working with them to ensure that they do, to be in touch with people for their second doses. Anyone who has received doses at pop-up clinics or mobile clinics, they are in the system. They are in the COVax system and they will be advised well in advance of the time for their second dose.
Mining for socio-demographic vaccination data
Ms. Mitzie Hunter: My question to the Deputy Premier. Research from the Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine and UHN used national FSA data to demonstrate that people who live in hot spots in Toronto and Peel are, on average, twice as likely to be racialized, and more likely to meet low-income thresholds. This pandemic has shown the need for evidence and equity in health. People in hot spot postal codes are more likely to be working throughout the pandemic in low-wage, essential jobs, which puts them more at risk. Yet Ontario lacks in collection and availability of this necessary data.
This government put forward Bill 283, which requires the recording of some data during vaccination, but does not require individual socio-demographic data. We will be presenting amendments to address this gap. Will the PC government work with us and support these changes so that we can better track and address any gaps in terms of health outcomes for people in hot spot postal codes by mandating the collection of individual socio-demographic data in our vaccination process?
Elliott: Well, I thank the member very much for the question. As she will know, the bill that is now before the House will require the essential data that we need about the name, contact information for the person and the type of vaccine that they received in case there is a need for booster shots in the future. We don’t know yet. We don’t know. No one knows yet what we will require in the future for revaccinations or booster shots.
However, with respect to the collection of socio-economic data, this is very important information to collect. I agree with you. But this is something that we are going to be collecting on a volunteer basis from people, asking them with respect to their sex, their ethnicity, their total household size and income, so that we can understand those issues and make good decisions for health across the entire province to make sure that it is equitably informed and planned. So this information will be collected, should this bill pass, and it will be protected with the—
The Speaker: Thank you. Supplementary.
Hunter: Back to the Deputy Premier. If you say that data is essential, then we should make it mandatory. Having a voluntary collection just creates a patchwork and it doesn’t give us the health equity information that we need.
So my question is about Bill 283 in terms of how the government will go about helping and supporting the collection of that data, making sure that it’s safe to do so, but also the reporting of the results. Because we know that there is a problem with vaccine hesitancy in some communities, and the government is late in tracking the data on vaccinations, because it’s already underway. So we are just catching up and we are missing a big piece of it without the socio-demographic data.
You have collected some of this data on the testing side, and my question to you is that, at a minimum, will you make that data available so that we understand the health equity outcomes of this pandemic on individuals in this province?
Elliott: Well, this information will be collected on a voluntary basis. First of all, it’s voluntary for people to receive the vaccine or not. We know there is going to be a certain percentage of the population who will choose to decline the vaccine. In the same way, we are providing people with the opportunity to give us that socio-economic data, that is not something which, in our view, should be mandatory. We are encouraging people to provide this information, but if they choose not to, they will not be denied a vaccine. But this is important planning information going forward.
We are protecting privacy. We’re working very closely with the Information and Privacy Commissioner, as I indicated before. But this is going to be information that will be available in a non-personally identified way for the people in health and for the people of Ontario to understand where the gaps are, and where we need to fill in. We will work to do that as time goes on based on this information.
Repealing Bill 124’s cap on wage increases for nurses
Mr. Wayne Gates: My question is to the Premier. This week is National Nursing Week and the theme is “We answer the call.” For the past 14 months, we have seen the incredible strength, courage and commitment our nurses have for caring for our communities. These heroes have answered the call. Unfortunately, it seems this government doesn’t feel the same way.
Nurses in Niagara are clear: they feel a complete lack of respect from this Conservative government. Nurses on the front line of this pandemic work long shifts—they get drinks of water—with limited staffing support, help COVID-19 patients breathe or hold their hand when their families can’t.
If the Premier won’t repeal Bill 124, which sends a signal that nurses aren’t valued by this government. Nurses in Niagara and right across Ontario deserve better. They deserve to be paid fair wages, have mental health supports and proper PPE.
When will this government stop denying nurses the supports they need and deserve ??and stop calling them heroes while disrespecting them? When—when will the Premier and this government answer their call?
The Speaker: Parliamentary assistant and member for Willowdale.
Mr. Stan Cho: Thank you very much, Speaker. Yes, the member is correct. Nurses are very much valued. That is especially true by our government, and we appreciate the hard work they’ve been showing us, especially during this very difficult time.
The reality with Bill 124 is that Ontario’s public sector employees are still able to receive those salary increases for seniority or for performance merit, increased qualifications as they normally would. This legislation allows for that reasonable wage increase while respecting taxpayers and the services they rely on. It’s important to note that since the bill’s introduction, collective agreements covering over 340,000 unionized public sector employees have been settled in compliance with this act. That’s 40% of unionized employees in the broader public sector, Speaker. We’re going to continue responsibly managing our finances here in the province of Ontario while respecting and appreciating the hard work of nurses, and happy nurses—
The Speaker: Response.
Mr. Stan Cho: —to all of those nurses. We need to make sure those services are available for today and for generations to come.
Mme France Gélinas: To the Minister of Labour: This year, the Ontario Nurses Association’s theme for nursing week is: Still Standing. Still Strong. Still Proud, a theme that reflects the challenges that nurses have withstood throughout this pandemic and their remarkable resilience and dedication.
During the pandemic, nurses have worked hard each and every shift, month after month. They are exhausted, yet they persevere and continue to care for us. The courage, the professionalism and the compassion they display is humbling.
Ontario nurses have been called heroes, but the province has denied them the PPE they need. The government thanked them, then denied them paid sick days and WSIB coverage when they get COVID-19 at work. They have been praised for working long, difficult days and nights for months on end and then denied negotiating rights and workplace protection from the Ford government. Will the minister respect nurses and withdraw Bill 124?
Cho: Thank you very much. Of course, we respect the hard work of our nurses, as I said in my previous answer. That’s why our government has responded with a $51-billion financial package that has significant supports for countless Ontario families and businesses, including our hard-working front-line workers.
Speaker, it has to be said again that this Bill 124 still allows for those salary increases. It just does so on that reasonable scale. We still recognize nurses for their abilities, their increased qualifications, their seniority, and that doesn’t change. That is evident by 40% of unionized employees being able to settle in compliance with this act, Speaker.
What we need to ensure is that we respect these pay increases for our hard-working front-line workers, but again this has to be a sustainable system put in place for today but for generations to come, and that’s exactly what this government is going to do.
Nursing school callout
Mr. John Fraser: My question’s for the Deputy Premier. It’s Nursing Week in Ontario, and I have to give a shout-out to my favourite nurse, my mother, Mary. I truly believe to this day that—
Applause.
Fraser: Thank you; she deserves it—a solution to the primary care challenge is just to have a nurse in every family. It stops a lot of ER visits and a lot of doctors’ visits.
The Deputy Premier’s already aware of this. It’s expected that the number of nurses leaving the profession will substantially increase due to the stress and workload they’re experiencing this year. They’re going to leave younger; we know that’s going to happen. We know there’s a nursing shortage and a shortage of nurse practitioners in this province. The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario has written to the Minister of Colleges and Universities asking if we could increase the enrolment by 400 for nurses and 70 for nurse practitioners. Ontario’s universities have that capacity; they’ve let the minister know that. We know we’re going to need more nurse practitioners in long-term care and acute care, in corrections and primary care.
Speaker, through you, will the Deputy Premier support the RNAO’s urgent request to increase the number of students enrolled in nursing programs this fall?
Elliott: Thank you very much to the member for the question. This is a very important issue, and we are all grateful for the heroic efforts that our nurses have gone through over the last 16 months. We know that they’re under incredible stress, they’re burned out, they are exhausted, but they keep going. So we wish them a happy nurses week, but more than that, we all express our appreciation and thanks to them for the incredible work that they’re doing.
But we know [inaudible] who are stressed, who will likely leave after the worst of this pandemic is over. We have offered some mental health supports and counselling to them to help deal with some of the issues. I have discussed this with nursing groups during this week, as a matter of fact. But we also know that we need more people in our system. We know that we need to hire thousands more of all types of nursing professionals: nurses, personal support workers and others.
I’ll deal with the balance of your question in the supplementary.
Fraser: I’m looking forward to the minister’s response. I do very much appreciate the fact that every day I’m here to ask a question, you’re here to answer it.
I asked the minister to review the RNAO submission. I think it’s really important that we take action now. It’s urgent. The fall is coming up quickly. Institutions need time to ramp up, and I look forward to a response.
My supplementary is with regard to scope of practice. We all know that scope of practice is generally pretty glacial. It’s been that way for decades and decades. And I know there was some movement forward for nurse practitioners. In June 2019, the Ministry of Health expanded NP scope of practice to include point-of-care testing, ordering CTs, ordering MRIs. However, these changes were expected in the winter of 2020. I understand, given all the things that were happening, that that was a challenge. We also know that their scope can be expanded further.
So what I would like to know from the minister, as well as the answer in terms of the expansion of spaces, is when they plan to increase the scope of nurse practitioners, as they planned in June 2019.
Elliott: For the first part of your question, yes, I can tell you that we will take into consideration RNAO’s request for more positions in our educational facilities for more nurses to graduate. We know that we need more nurses, with the people who will probably be leaving as a result of COVID-19, and especially in long-term care, with the increase in care to four hours, from 2.75 hours. So, absolutely, I will take that seriously into consideration.
Secondly, with respect to the scope of practice, some of the work that has been going on in the Ministry of Health has been delayed because of the efforts that we’ve had to make to deal with COVID-19. But yes, we are still considering scope of practice for a variety of health professionals, including nurse practitioners.
Make SOLEIMAN FAQIRI report public
Mr. Gurratan Singh: My question is to the Solicitor General. In December 2016, Mr. Soleiman Faqiri died struggling to breathe as he lay on the ground of his jail cell in Lindsay as he was awaiting a mental health assessment. He was shackled and pepper sprayed after guards had placed a spit hood over his head. The details of this case are well known. Some of the guards involved or in question admitted wrongdoing, but no charges have been laid. The Conservative government continues to sit on the Correctional Services Oversight and Investigations report regarding Mr. Faqiri’s death.
Will the Solicitor General do the right thing: Make this report public and take a step closer towards justice for Mr. Faqiri’s family?
Hon. Sylvia Jones: There are so many things that we have been able to do since forming government, particularly in corrections, and I will highlight some of those, because I think the example that the member shared is very disturbing for many of us. When we formed government, when we had the opportunity to actually make some investments in corrections, we did that decisively and we did it quickly. You will remember that we committed to hire an additional 500 correctional officers—investments in expanding jail capacity so that we don’t have to house people in very small cells with two or three people to a cell.
These investments are going to protect individuals who are in our correctional facilities, they’re going to protect our correctional guards and other staff who work in these institutions and, ultimately, they’re going to make a better society, because we’re putting in the programming and getting this done. Finally, we have that opportunity in government.
Singh: Back to the Solicitor General. My question is about Soleiman Faqiri. At the time of his death Mr. Faqiri had not been convicted of any crime. He was sick and he was in need of care. In the wake of the government’s Correctional Services Oversight and Investigations report into his death, two out of the six correctional officers involved were fired. But the Conservative government refuses to make the report that led to these firings public.
At a bare minimum, Mr. Faqiri’s family and his community deserve answers as a starting point toward closure in this horrific and ongoing ordeal. Justice can’t be done while this critical information is hidden. Will the Solicitor General release the government’s report to the public regarding Mr. Faqiri?
Jones: There’s no doubt when individuals come into our institutions with mental health issues or with other concerns, like drug addictions, it is a very challenging environment. It is, frankly, why we as a government have made a commitment and invested. We’ve invested in ensuring that facilities have ion scanners so that people are not bringing contraband into our facilities. It’s ensuring that our staff are better trained to understand and deal with individuals who have mental health and addictions issues.
These are very challenging times, when our community has to deal with the issues that come into our institutions. But we are doing everything possible to make sure that our staff are well trained and well qualified and, ultimately, well prepared to deal with all of the issues that occur within our 26 institutions.
Regional approach to reopening schools?
Fraser: My question for the Minister of Education. Yesterday, Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, said that if local COVID-19 indicators keep declining it would be safe to send students back to school.
It’s likely that other communities will find themselves in this situation, so my question to the minister is simple: Can the minister please let Ontario families know whether the government is planning a regional approach to reopening schools?
The Speaker: The Minister of Education to reply.
Hon. Stephen Lecce: Obviously, we all are committed to having children in school. We know how important it is for their mental health and development. The Chief Medical Officer of Health has said we continue to face challenges in the province in the context of high rates of transmission, albeit they seem to be coming down. That is good, but we cannot let our guard ??down. We are seeking his advice on the way forward.
What we have done in the meantime, as we await that advice and the scientific analysis, is put in place a $1.6-billion investment as we look forward to September to ensure we can keep schools safe and keep them open. The Chief Medical Officer of Health has confirmed multiple times to the people of Ontario that our plan has worked to keep kids safe. We have one of the lowest positivity case rates for youth under 20 in the nation. That is because we listened to the science, because we invested and because we followed the best advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
Fraser: Thank you for your answer, Minister. The question I asked is, are you planning for it? One of the challenges is, you should plan for the advice that you may get before you get that advice. I just needed to know that answer, so maybe you could provide that in the supplementary answer.
This is about another plan. Access to affordable child care is a game-changer for families and restarting our economy. Women have predominantly shouldered the child care burden throughout this pandemic, either leaving the workforce or having to try and manage both at home. We know that every dollar that’s invested in child care returns $2.50 to the economy, and that full participation in the workforce is the best thing we can do for our economy.
We’ve recently put forward a plan to expand access to affordable, licensed child care to allow parents—mostly women—to re-enter the workforce. Speaker, through you: What is the government planning to do differently as we come out of this pandemic to ensure that licensed child care is accessible and affordable to all Ontario families?
Lecce: Part of our plan is to make sure that those who work within our schools and our child care centres can be vaccinated. We’re very proud that all staff who work within our education space are able to get vaccines as we look forward, as the Minister of Health and the Solicitor General have confirmed, to expanding that to young people ages 12 and up. That is a game-changer as we look forward to a more safe, more stable, more normal September for the kids of the province, who deserve that after a year of disruption.
We’re proud to be investing $1.6 billion, to be investing four times the rate of what the former Liberal government did, a 400% increase in mental health supports to help kids in this province get through this adversity. We’re going to continue to invest and follow the best advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
Small biz grant woes
Mr. Terence Kernaghan: My question is for the Premier. Ontario’s small businesses have struggled from the beginning of this pandemic. Businesses watched their finances dwindle and their doors closed while the government claimed to have their back. It took eight months until those supports came.
The Ontario Small Business Support Grant was a lifeline that hasn’t reached far too many businesses. Nadia opened Zaatarz Bakery and Sweets in February of 2020. She told me that she recently applied for the OSBSG, received a secondary email requesting a void cheque and a bank statement, only to get shut down after supplying them. Jean runs Sport Clips, one of the first to shut down in the lockdowns, and has been mistakenly told her business is ineligible. She emailed again and again, with no response.
I’m here to tell this government they’re not doing enough to help small businesses. Will you reopen the OSBSG and expand eligibility so people like Nadia and Jean can keep their businesses afloat and their employees paid?
Cho: Well, thank you, Speaker, and to Nadia and Jean: This government will continue to make sure we support small businesses. When it comes to the support grant program, already two and a half billion dollars has flowed into the hands of these small businesses. In the second round alone, over 75,000 businesses have received over $1.1 billion. But the member voted against that. It’s very important to note that the member not only voted against that, but against every support measure from the beginning of this pandemic, most recently reductions in hydro cost, reductions in property tax cost, elimination of the EHT—a tax on jobs. The member voted against that. Investments into broadband infrastructure—an historic investment of $4 billion, the member voted against that.
Fife: You voted against investing in long-term care.
The Speaker: The member for Waterloo, come to order.
Mr. David Piccini: Shame.
The Speaker: The member for Northumberland–Peterborough South, come to order.
Cho: The member voted against $4.9 billion to commit to the nation-leading four hours of care per resident in long-term-care homes.
Interjections.
The Speaker: The House, come to order.
Cho: So how—how can the member speak to the London businesses who have received over $30 million in the support grant program, and justify his voting record and the opposition—
The Speaker: The supplementary.
Kernaghan: The government may be here to cast stones, but the NDP has been calling for business supports since April 2020. I’m glad this government finally stood up—but they haven’t done enough, Speaker. There are other businesses in my riding that haven’t even yet received a response.
Interjection.
The Speaker: The member for Waterloo, come to order.
Kernaghan: Dani is one of the many other small business owners in my riding still waiting for answers. She first applied for this grant in January, but her application sat under review for months. Finally, in April, after the deadline had passed, she found out her application was denied. She was not given a reason even though the government has stated they always provide a reason for rejection. To make matters worse, there’s no appeals process in place for Dani to challenge this decision.
Why does this government keep turning their backs on small business owners like Dani instead of offering a helping hand? Do the right thing.
Cho: I’d like to remind Dani that the NDP, the opposition, since April of last year, has voted against every single support measure for Dani and her business—every single one. But here’s the curious fact for me, Speaker: After second reading of the budget, where the opposition has an opportunity to put forward constructive feedback—
Interjections.
The Speaker: Order.
Cho: Ideas on how to further support small businesses—well the independent members put forward several amendments, and we’re going to work collaboratively with them to achieve those outcomes. Well, the NDP, Speaker, zero amendments, zero suggestions.
Interjections.
The Speaker: Ahem.
Interjections.
The Speaker: We can go right through our lunch if we want.