It's good to be back.

I want to welcome the question from my colleague. We have never taken our eye off the ball, which represents the interests of our families. Right now, today, at this point in our history, they're very concerned about jobs and the economy. That's why, since this House recessed, for example, we have rolled out the first part of our plan to bring full-day learning to our four- and five-year-olds, knowing that a strong start in school makes for a strong finish that ends with jobs. I know that my honourable colleague supports that program.

I know that my honourable colleague also supports our new partnership with Samsung, the biggest deal of its kind anywhere in the world: 2,500 megawatts of clean Energy, four new manufacturing plants, 16,000 jobs.

Finally, I know that my colleague supports the tax cut received by 93% of Ontarians, effective January 1 of this year.

Again, we're very proud of the work that we continue to do as a government and proud of the leadership demonstrated by Minister Smitherman when he served in his capacity as Minister of Energy and Infrastructure.

Our commitment is to create 50,000 new jobs in the green Energy sector and to do that as quickly as we can. If there's any company anywhere in the world which wants to approach us and has some kind of an offer or proposal with respect to doing business, of course we're going to sit down with them, and if we can come to terms that are advantageous to the people of Ontario, then of course we will do that; that is what is expected of us.

TAXATION

The purpose of the Green Energy Act, as you well know because we stated this in the Legislature many times over, is to create new jobs. In fact, our commitment is to create 50,000 jobs in the next three years in domestic manufacturing and assembly, architecture, construction, trucking, servicing and installation, financing, engineering, electricians, inspectors and computer software and hardware.

My honourable colleague tells us that he's somehow concerned about the implication this will have for domestic business. The single most important thing that we can do to strengthen this economy and create jobs is to put in place a harmonized sales tax, so I would ask my honourable colleague to stand up and do something that is admittedly difficult for that party, which is to lend their support for the HST in the province of Ontario.

I appreciate the continuing interest on the part of my honourable colleague when it comes to us aggressively prosecuting the Green Energy Act. It would have been nice to have had their support at the time when we introduced the legislation and it became law in the province of Ontario. But now I gather he wants us to find other ways to involve more people. What I say to the leader of the official opposition is, if he's aware of any business that wants to do business with the province of Ontario, wants to get on board when it comes to building a new and stronger green economy, then we're open to his suggestions.

We now know that the leader of the official opposition remains firmly planted in the 19th century. He stands opposed to the Green Energy Act. He is against any initiatives pursued by Ontario, collectively through their government, to pursue new opportunities in the green economy. We are moving ahead. We're moving ahead aggressively. We have the most proactive and aggressive legislation in all of North America. There's only one other place on this planet which is moving more quickly-and we're on the move-and that is Germany.

Again, I repeat: We are moving as quickly as we can to put in place more capacity when it comes to manufacturing our wind turbines and our solar farm materials, the kinds of-

Every day we learn more and more about what the leader of the official opposition stands against. Some day it would be nice to learn what he stands for. He now tells us he's against Ontario's Green Energy Act, which I can tell you is making -

Interjections.

This is a great opportunity for me to speak about our Green Energy Act and the tremendous influx of investment it has created. One of the things we set out to do is to ensure that we-that is Ontario, the people of Ontario-stood head and shoulders above every single other North American jurisdiction. In six years we've gone from about 10 wind turbines to 670. They recently built, just outside of Napanee, the third-largest solar farm in North America. That is just the beginning of an explosion of new investment that we're going to attract here in the province. It's about finding new opportunity in the green economy, creating green jobs and doing ever more so that we can shut down our coal-fired plants and produce a cleaner environment for the people of Ontario.

Again, we're very proud of the work that we continue to do as a government and proud of the leadership demonstrated by Minister Smitherman when he served in his capacity as Minister of Energy and Infrastructure.

Our commitment is to create 50,000 new jobs in the green Energy sector and to do that as quickly as we can. If there's any company anywhere in the world which wants to approach us and has some kind of an offer or proposal with respect to doing business, of course we're going to sit down with them, and if we can come to terms that are advantageous to the people of Ontario, then of course we will do that; that is what is expected of us.

TAXATION

The purpose of the Green Energy Act, as you well know because we stated this in the Legislature many times over, is to create new jobs. In fact, our commitment is to create 50,000 jobs in the next three years in domestic manufacturing and assembly, architecture, construction, trucking, servicing and installation, financing, engineering, electricians, inspectors and computer software and hardware.

My honourable colleague tells us that he's somehow concerned about the implication this will have for domestic business. The single most important thing that we can do to strengthen this economy and create jobs is to put in place a harmonized sales tax, so I would ask my honourable colleague to stand up and do something that is admittedly difficult for that party, which is to lend their support for the HST in the province of Ontario.

I appreciate the continuing interest on the part of my honourable colleague when it comes to us aggressively prosecuting the Green Energy Act. It would have been nice to have had their support at the time when we introduced the legislation and it became law in the province of Ontario. But now I gather he wants us to find other ways to involve more people. What I say to the leader of the official opposition is, if he's aware of any business that wants to do business with the province of Ontario, wants to get on board when it comes to building a new and stronger green economy, then we're open to his suggestions.

We now know that the leader of the official opposition remains firmly planted in the 19th century. He stands opposed to the Green Energy Act. He is against any initiatives pursued by Ontario, collectively through their government, to pursue new opportunities in the green economy. We are moving ahead. We're moving ahead aggressively. We have the most proactive and aggressive legislation in all of North America. There's only one other place on this planet which is moving more quickly-and we're on the move-and that is Germany.

Again, I repeat: We are moving as quickly as we can to put in place more capacity when it comes to manufacturing our wind turbines and our solar farm materials, the kinds of-

Every day we learn more and more about what the leader of the official opposition stands against. Some day it would be nice to learn what he stands for. He now tells us he's against Ontario's Green Energy Act, which I can tell you is making -

Interjections.

This is a great opportunity for me to speak about our Green Energy Act and the tremendous influx of investment it has created. One of the things we set out to do is to ensure that we-that is Ontario, the people of Ontario-stood head and shoulders above every single other North American jurisdiction. In six years we've gone from about 10 wind turbines to 670. They recently built, just outside of Napanee, the third-largest solar farm in North America. That is just the beginning of an explosion of new investment that we're going to attract here in the province. It's about finding new opportunity in the green economy, creating green jobs and doing ever more so that we can shut down our coal-fired plants and produce a cleaner environment for the people of Ontario.

Again, it's not a case of us not having a plan; it's a case of my colleague opposite not supporting our plan, and I understand that.

With respect to buy-Ontario provisions, I know my honourable colleague would understand that it's important that we continue to find a way to strike a balance. We want to be as aggressive as we can to promote Ontario jobs using the money that we spend through the government, but at the same time we happen to be mindful of our obligation to the international community. We've got to be respectful of the reality that we enjoy today, that we live in a globalized economy.

We have been very aggressive in particular on our Green Energy Act, so much so-my colleagues may not be keeping up on this score-that there have now been concerns raised in the European Union community and discussion of some kind of a countervailing measure to be taken against Ontario.

We will hold firm. We will do everything we can to protect our jobs, but we'll be mindful as well of our globalized reality.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Mrs. Liz Sandals: My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. This morning, the Ontario Hospital Association put out a press release to propose that the government extend the province's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to the hospital sector. The association's president, Tom Closson, said, "While Ontario's hospitals are extraordinarily transparent and accountable, their justifiable pride in past achievements should not prevent us from moving to become even more transparent as a sector tomorrow."

Minister, Ontarians want to have confidence that their hospitals are using tax dollars wisely. Ontario's hospitals say they are willing to open themselves up to additional scrutiny. So I ask the minister, is the OHA's proposal something that this government will consider?

What I can say is that-and I may have to refer some supplementaries to my colleague the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure-there was a specific plan to build infrastructure-schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and the like, to not only create 300,000 jobs in the short term but also to enhance our economic productivity over the long term.

But there is a strong consensus on Parliament Hill, across the country, in the US, the European Union, India, China and the like, which is that it is very important for us to invest in infrastructure, to stimulate the economy. That necessarily requires that we run a deficit for the time being. We acknowledge that creates challenges in the long term, but we think it's the best thing for us to do together right now: strengthen this economy, stimulate the economy and create jobs.

The complaint that my colleague seems to be making is that we're not governing in keeping with the polls. She's right. That's what leadership is all about. We're doing what we believe is right for Ontario.

We didn't move ahead with the Green Energy Act because there was a groundswell of support for that. We did that because we want to put Ontario at the forefront in North America. We're not moving ahead with early learning in Ontario because there's a groundswell of support that prompted that in the original case. We're doing it because it will put Ontario at the forefront in North America. We're not moving ahead with the HST because of the groundswell of support for it. We're doing it because it's going to put Ontario at the forefront in North America.

These are all about leadership. They're all about doing the right thing for the people of Ontario. They may not be easy, but they're the right thing to do.

HOSPITAL SPENDING
Mrs. Christine Elliott: My question is for the Premier. A pattern is developing. Executives in the McGuinty government are following the example the Premier and the Minister of Health set when they hired Sarah Kramer, who gave $16 million in untendered contracts. Diane Beattie, vice-president at London Health Sciences Centre, recently gave untendered contracts worth over $3 million to her former business associate.

The Premier and the Minister of Health clearly don't have a handle on these scandals. Why does the Premier continue to have confidence in a Minister of Health who clearly doesn't have control of his portfolio?

We had a very productive session in fact. It was our most productive session since we've earned the privilege of serving Ontarians as their government. I say that not simply in terms of number of the bills that we've passed during the course of this session, but in the quality and the substantive aspect of those bills. Take a look, for example, at just one of those: the Green Energy Act. It places Ontario at the forefront in North America.

I recently had the opportunity to visit New York City and hosted a dinner there with a number of venture capitalists in representative ethical investment funds. It is perfectly clear that we have risen to the front of the line when it comes to putting in place the kinds of legislation that will harness Energy from the sun and wind and biomass and create some 50,000 jobs, although I should tell you that our American counterparts are saying that in fact we've underestimated. They expect it will create many more than that. That's just one substantive bill-

Of course there are real dangers associated with radioactive waste. Of course it's something with which we have to grapple as a society. But fortunately, there are some very strong rules and regulations in place, put there by the federal government. The upside to dealing with nuclear waste is that we know how to contain it and we know how to store it. We understand, if we are honest about it, that we are foisting this responsibility on our great-great-great-great-grandchildren. We understand that, but the good news is that we know how to contain it and we know how to store it-unlike carbon dioxide emissions coming from coal-fired generators, for example, where there is no technology in place, where there is no science in place that would have us embrace some kind of technology to store that. That's why we've chosen to proceed with more nuclear Energy.

We think that sometimes there are challenges that are so great that the best way to approach them is for all of us to tackle them together. I believe that's the nature of the challenge that is before us now when it comes to considering that about two thirds of Canadians in their retirement years will not enjoy a decent level of income. We think that's a national challenge that demands a national response, and that's why Minister Duncan is-at this very moment, I believe-engaging his counterparts from across the country in a new dialogue.

I understand my colleague's impatience. In the face of failure in Ottawa to move forward, obviously the ball will be thrown back to the provinces, for us to see what we might do. But I believe that at this point in time there in fact is a genuine interest on the part of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance for the government of Canada.

NUCLEAR Energy

There is a report, and I don't share that perspective.

I think we can speak to some fundamental truths which we all share, that over time the price of oil and gas is going to go up, and there is a very strong consensus that over time the price of renewables will come down. We're moving away from oil and gas and coal and we're moving towards more and more renewables. We're moving away from those things which we know are going to go up in price; we're moving towards those things which we know will go down in price. At the same time, we're creating more and more opportunities for homeowners and businesses alike, and for our hospitals and schools as well, to find ways to conserve Energy, to use electricity in a more efficient manner. We're convinced we're moving forward in the best way, and our best information is that we're talking about increases of about 1% a year.

CHILDREN'S MENTAL
HEALTH SERVICES

I'm pleased to speak to this issue. I know that Ontarians are very interested in their government providing leadership when it comes to addressing climate change and, as well, speaking to the cost of their electricity. That's a real issue; there's no doubt about it.

Our best advice that we're getting tells us that we can expect prices to go up about 1% a year, but one of the ways that we're going to keep overall costs down is to do as much as we can to drive Energy conservation and create more and more opportunities for both businesses and homeowners to use less electricity, to use their existing electricity in a more efficient manner. That's the approach that we want to bring. I think Ontarians want us to do that. They want us to find a way to generate electricity that is cleaner and less harmful to the environment but at the same time puts as little cost pressure on them as possible.

We're going to do everything that we possibly can to manage the costs on behalf of Ontario ratepayers when it comes to nuclear generation. That's one side of it, and we're doing much there, but there are other sides as well. It's a multifaceted and, I would argue, responsible approach for dealing with electricity needs in the province of Ontario.

We've got a very aggressive plan when it comes to promoting Energy conservation. We've got the most aggressive act of its kind in North America when it comes to harnessing Energy from renewables. We're the first government to have in place a 20-year plan to meet our electricity needs.

At this point in time, it is very obvious to us that nuclear remains an important part of our base load capacity. We intend to do nothing more than maintain that base load so that we can continue to power our hospitals, our schools and our economy.

SPORTS FUNDING

I know that my colleague is going to want to acknowledge that Ontario's Green Energy Act is the most progressive and aggressive of its kind in North America. The only other jurisdiction that is in the same league, I would argue, would be Germany.

I think my friend also needs to be honest about his perspective on these matters. He believes that we should get rid of nuclear generation in the province of Ontario. Fifty per cent of our electricity comes from nuclear generation. It's not generating carbon emissions for us, and it has that going for it. There have been some cost issues in the past; there are some downsides associated with nuclear waste. But we have to make some difficult choices. We have chosen to move away from coal-fired generation. We intend to maintain the base that we have of nuclear generation in the province of Ontario.

Again, just so we can deal with the facts, because I think they're pretty important, on Monday, between 2 o'clock and 5 o'clock, a computer mistake caused the wrong date to be printed on 92 of the tickets sold on Monday. By the way, on that day, 563,639 tickets were sold, and there was a mistake on 92 of them. That was acknowledged. They have been made null and void. They will be replaced or refunded. Again, I think that's the appropriate thing to do under the circumstances.

There have been significant changes made with respect to the executive at the OLG. I think they're moving in the right direction, and I think it's symbolic of that when they acknowledge this publicly and move efficiently to rectify the situation.

NUCLEAR Energy

A couple of things on that score: First of all, in our recent budget, we once again extended the electricity rate support for business in the province of Ontario, particularly assistance for those in the forestry sector, for example. As well, the purpose of the Green Energy Act is to help us not only generate new electricity from renewable sources but, at the same time, to aggressively pursue Energy conservation opportunities.

We want to work well and hard with Ontario businesses to help them find savings. That's what conservation is all about. We have a number of programs in place to help incent the kinds of investments that will produce those savings which help make those businesses more competitive, so that they have more profit, so that they can hire more Ontarians.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

My colleague may have a point. There are so many programs out there right now in combination with the federal government that I think we need to find a way to make it easier for homeowners in particular to find their way through these and come up with a simpler approach to helping them.

But here's the good news. You can earn up to $10,000 in savings and in refunds, both from the province of Ontario and the federal government, if you choose to pursue an Energy audit and renovate your home. I think that's an important financial contribution being made by Canadian taxpayers and Ontario taxpayers to incent Ontario families into pursuing Energy conservation policies.

I will agree that we can and should do something to make the process simpler, but I disagree that we're not doing a lot when it comes to helping Ontarians.

Again, I want to assure my honourable colleague that Minister Smitherman is consulting on the appropriate number. But I do want to bring home to her and members of the House just how important a signal we send to the international investment community when it comes to our new Green Energy Act.

I want to quote briefly a story that appeared in the Toronto Star just last week. It says:

"Asia's largest maker of wind turbines is seriously sizing up the Ontario market as a potential home for new manufacturing, citing what it considers the right combination of policies, infrastructure and local activity.

"Tulsi Tanti, founder and chair of Suzlon Energy Ltd., told the Star ... that the Ontario government's proposed Green Energy Act is a `very strong' initiative that helps set the province apart from other jurisdictions in North America."

Sometimes we never really know how progressive we've become until it's recognized internationally. I'd like my colleague to look at the international response to this Green Energy Act.

Energy RATES

My colleagues opposite may not be particularly enamoured with this notion of Energy from renewable sources, but we think it's a smart way to go and we think that Ontarians want us to do this.

My colleague knows that Minister Smitherman is consulting on what might be the right number for this particular matter. But I would hope that we'd get her support when it comes to our new Green Energy Act. It has been received internationally as being very bold, very progressive and puts us at the front of the line in North America. Our intention is to create 50,000 new jobs. It's to unleash an explosion of economic activity and new investment in Energy from renewables.

Interjections.

I just want to draw my colleague's attention to an announcement we made just yesterday. I had the opportunity to visit St. Paul, I think it was, yesterday here in Toronto, an elementary school. While there, we announced that we're investing $550 million into retrofitting at least 1,000 Ontario schools. I'll tell you why I think that's such a great idea. Not only will it create 5,500 jobs, not only will it reduce Energy bills for our school boards when it comes to heating and cooling their schools, but at the same time I'm not sure there's a better place for us to practise Energy conservation than in our schools, where our kids can see first-hand the positive effects of that kind of a collective action.

An important part of the budget is the $32.5 billion we're going to invest in infrastructure, in schools, roads, bridges, hospitals, public transit and the like. On top of that, there's our Green Energy Act, which is designed to stimulate construction of new renewable sources of electricity, everywhere from remote parts of northern Ontario to farms in the southwest. We think that we're going to do a lot of good when it comes to creating new construction opportunities for workers right across the province.

Again, my colleague speaks of 25% and 50%; we're at 82%. We're seeing that 82% of all the monies that are going to be invested in public transit will be spent right here in the province of Ontario to support our economy, our workers and their families. We think that's pretty strong and pretty bold.

Again, with respect to our Green Energy Act, we're now going to consider options as to what we might do there to ensure that we are doing everything we possibly can to have those dollars spent inside the province of Ontario.

Again, I say to my honourable colleague, if there are specific recommendations she has in that regard, we would welcome those.

I appreciate the question. We've had a number of opportunities to speak to this in the House and I'm sure we will have more. It's only natural, especially in times of great economic challenge, that we want to do everything we can to support our domestic and our provincial economy. I understand that.

When it comes to monies that we're investing in public transit in the province of Ontario, 82% of those dollars will be invested right here in the province of Ontario, and we are proud of that.

With respect to our new Green Energy Act, we've made provision within the legislation itself to put in place a specific figure, and I would appreciate any advice that the honourable member may offer in that regard.

I'm also advising Ontarians on an individual basis, for example, when we go out there and shop for food, to give preference to Ontario foods. Those are the kinds of things that we need to do on a day-to-day basis. At the same time, we don't want to go so far down that protectionist path that we're saying that we wouldn't want Americans to buy the 85% of the cars that we produce up here for them.

I appreciate the enthusiasm, as usual. But I think, again, we should wait for the budget in its fullness, and we'll get a much better sense of what it specifically will do. I think that Ontarians will understand where we're coming from and where we're going. Perhaps more than anything else, what we want to do for Ontarians is to give them a sense of hopefulness and understanding that what we're doing with our resources that we have together, as taxpayers and Ontario families, is investing in supports for families today and at the same time investing in a stronger economy for tomorrow.

We've already spoken in large measure to that through our announcements that will create new jobs and provide more supports for our families. Again, if you take a look at the beginning of the consequences of our Green Energy Act, it's pretty clear that's going to be very helpful to families, too.

TAXATION

In addition to those supports that we've put in place for our most vulnerable families, enhancing the Ontario child benefit and investing in social housing and affordable housing-by the way, that last program, that $1.2-billion investment in social housing infrastructure, will create 23,000 jobs. I think the member knows that through our Green Energy Act, we're going to be creating tens of thousands of jobs in that area as well. I think she knows as well, because of the $32.5-billion investment we're going to be making in infrastructure over the course of the next couple of years, that represents some 300,000 jobs. I can tell you, if there's one thing that Ontario families continue to say they want, it's jobs, so our policies continue to help those who are most vulnerable and do what we can to create jobs as soon as possible.

I just don't share the perspective and, I guess, the outlook of my honourable colleague. One of the things I want to draw to his attention and to Ontarians' attention as well is that there was some great news in the Kingston Whig-Standard today that talked about a Toronto-based company, Everbrite, that is going to invest in the city of Windsor. They're going to build a $500-million manufacturing facility. It talks here about some 1,200 jobs that might come from this. The principal of the company specifically says:

"The Green Energy Act is a clear signal to global lenders that Ontario is serious about solar power, and that has proved helpful in our financing efforts. We have strong interest from investors both here in North America and in Europe."

The fact is, we are doing things and we will continue to do things to strengthen this economy and create jobs for Ontario families.

TAXATION