Dalton McGuinty on "Environment"

I'm not sure how many times I can say it or in how many different ways I might say it, but my friends stand against the plan that we have in place. They have yet to put forward an alternative of their own. It would be nice to see something at some point in time.

Let me tell you a bit more about our plan and why we are so proud of our plan and so sure that it's the right plan for our time. It's about ensuring that Ontario is competitive, not just for purposes of meeting our immediate needs today but for purposes of securing a bright future for our children tomorrow. We want to have in place the economic strength to ensure that we can continue to fund their schools, their health care, their Environmental protections and their jobs. That's what this package of tax reforms is all about. It represents about $4.5 billion in cuts for businesses and $10 billion in cuts for people. It's about ensuring that we take all the necessary steps today to strengthen our families, to strengthen our economy, to make sure that we have up to 600,000 more jobs.

I think Ontarians would like to hear a little bit more about what we've done together here during the course of this recent session.

In addition to working very hard on creating those 600,000 new jobs over the course of the next 10 years through our package of tax reforms, we just passed our cap-and-trade legislation. I'm very proud of the work done by my Minister of the Environment, John Gerretsen, in this regard-and Ontarians should know it was passed unanimously. That bill is all about we the people of Ontario, privileged global citizens, assuming our responsibility in the face of a global challenge: climate change.

We've also passed our student achievement legislation, which is all about ensuring that all our school boards everywhere, right across the province of Ontario, have student achievement, student growth and progress at the heart of their responsibilities.

We also won the Pan Am Games-and we're proud to have the support of the Conservatives on this particular package-creating all kinds of infrastructure and amateur sporting opportunities for our kids.

TAXATION

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.

My honourable colleague is not prepared to accept a fundamental precept of Ontario history: We have always come together during difficult times; we have always done whatever is necessary to build an ever-stronger province.

Today, what we are going to do is ensure that we maintain the economic capacity in the province of Ontario to continue to fund good schools for our children and their children, to continue to fund good health care for our children and their families, to continue to fund good and strong Environmental supports for our children and their families.

What I'm saying is, this is not an easy thing for us to do, but we have always, as a society, built good schools to serve all of us, built good health care to serve all of us and built a strong economy that delivers good jobs for all of us. This is about all of us. My friend opposite believes it's just about the individuals; it's about the individuals doing something together for all of us, a stronger economy and a brighter future.

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.

My honourable colleague is not prepared to accept a fundamental precept of Ontario history: We have always come together during difficult times; we have always done whatever is necessary to build an ever-stronger province.

Today, what we are going to do is ensure that we maintain the economic capacity in the province of Ontario to continue to fund good schools for our children and their children, to continue to fund good health care for our children and their families, to continue to fund good and strong Environmental supports for our children and their families.

What I'm saying is, this is not an easy thing for us to do, but we have always, as a society, built good schools to serve all of us, built good health care to serve all of us and built a strong economy that delivers good jobs for all of us. This is about all of us. My friend opposite believes it's just about the individuals; it's about the individuals doing something together for all of us, a stronger economy and a brighter future.

I want to take this opportunity to say to Ontarians that it's been a tremendous privilege serving as leader of their government and to thank and congratulate them for the work that we've been able to do together.

The fact of the matter is, we have more schools and more hospitals, we have more doctors, we have more nurses, we have more teachers and we have shorter wait times. We have more MRIs. We have higher test scores. We have higher graduation rates. We have more land than ever before protected and set aside for future generations to enjoy this wonderful, natural Environment that we have in the province of Ontario.

Unlike my friend opposite, I remain very optimistic about the future of the province and have every continuing confidence in the people of Ontario to rise to whatever challenge that they might-

Again, I want to remind my colleague that there is a very broad consensus of the need for us to stimulate the economy, of the need for us to take actions collectively around the world to ensure that a great recession did not become a great depression. I think many would argue that we have, in fact, done the right thing as part of a large, global, collective response to a global challenge. As I say, we are mindful of the dangers associated with running a deficit, but we chose specifically not to pursue the path recommended by my colleague. We did not make cuts to our schools, we did not make cuts to our hospitals, we did not make cuts to our Environmental protections, and we refused to make cuts to our business partners which are looking for us to support them in a time of great challenge. That's the approach that we've brought. Again, we are mindful of the deficit challenge, and we'll be speaking more about that through our fall economic statement and the budget as well.

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My honourable colleague will understand, I'm sure, that the HST or its equivalent has been around for some 40 years now, perhaps 50 years. She is aware that 130 countries have adopted it. She is aware that provinces of all political stripes have adopted that as well. I'm not sure if she has had the opportunity to speak to the Premier of Nova Scotia, who heads up an NDP government there. He is not prepared to rescind the single sales tax that is now up and in place in his province.

So why is it that once governments put this in place, they don't take it away? They do that because it serves the public interest. It serves to strengthen our economy. It serves to ensure that we have the resources to support our schools, to support our hospitals and to support our Environmental protections. But most importantly to our families, it puts in place the opportunity for us to create more jobs, which is the single greatest concern for our families today-

I was at the International Plowing Match held yesterday in Earlton and I don't know about the heckling and jeering that was raised by my colleague. But I can say that there is obviously continuing interest in the harmonized sales tax, and I can say that our intention here and our motivations are very clear. We think it's the right thing to do for Ontarians. We think it's the right thing to do for our future. We thing it's the right thing to do to ensure that we can grow this economy, that we can create more jobs so we can support services like health care, which my colleague just asked me about.

If we're going to continue to have the financial wherewithal to support the quality of life we enjoy here in Ontario, and particularly the public services that sustain that quality of life-our health care, our education, protections for the Environment and so on and so forth-then we must have a strong economy. And the single, most important thing that we can do to strengthen that economy is to move ahead with a harmonized sales tax.

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We're moving ahead with this. I understand that my friend has a responsibility to point out shortcomings in government policy. We will do our very best each and every day on behalf of the people of Ontario. We do nothing perfectly, and he has got a responsibility to point out imperfections. But on this one he is wrong and we are right. There is an overwhelming consensus among economists and business people, and when it comes to this package of tax reforms, we even have the support of poverty groups and food banks. This is not an easy thing to do but it is the right thing to do. It's the right thing to do for our families, it's the right way to change the foundation of our economy, it's the right thing to do to ensure that we can create more jobs-not just for today but for tomorrow, for our kids-it's the right thing to do to ensure that we have the financial wherewithal to support our schools, our hospitals, our Environmental protections and so on and so forth. It is not easy, but my friend knows in his heart of hearts that it is the right thing to do for Ontario.

I appreciate the question.

I had the really good fortune to meet with a legend: Dr. Lovelock, a British scientist. He's 90 years of age; he remains as active as ever. He developed the so-called Gaia theory, which I have known about for quite some time. The point is this: He's an acclaimed Environmentalist, and he thinks that we need to build nuclear. He thinks that we've got to make some difficult choices.

I appreciate the position that my colleague has taken on this, but the fact is that there's a division among Environmentalists as to what we need to do in the face of climate change, arguably the single greatest challenge confronting humanity. One of the things that we have decided to do is to shut down coal-fired generation in the province of Ontario.

We need to maintain baseload. The wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine. We've got to find a way to ensure we have baseload capacity. That's why we're looking at new nuclear.

USE OF QUESTION PERIOD

Well, a few things. My honourable colleague knows that there are a number of initiatives that we have taken in order to improve the business Environment so that we can create more jobs. He knows about our proposal to cut business taxes for our big companies and our small companies; he knows about the special tax initiatives for the entertainment sector.

I'm not sure whether he's telling me that we should not have participated in this venture with Starz Animation here in Toronto or whether he feels that somehow we've cut off others. The fact is we have a great program: It's the Next Generation of Jobs Fund. It's open to applications from companies around the province. This was a successful application. It resulted in some 265 jobs. We think that's worthy of celebration. We think it's a good foundation on which to continue to build, and we want to use that to encourage more businesses to apply to our fund, so we can find more partnerships.

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CORRECTIONAL SERVICES

I think that with the passage of time, Ontarians have come to understand the values that inform our thinking and inspire our efforts. They know that during the course of the past five or six years now, we have devoted ourselves to improving the quality of education for all of our kids. We have devoted ourselves to improving the quality of health care for all of our families. We have made some remarkable progress in terms of protecting the quality of our natural Environment, and we've worked hard as well to improve business opportunities to ensure that we have jobs for our kids in the province of Ontario. I think they have a good understanding of where we are coming from and the values that inform us.

So I welcome this debate. I believe it is just beginning. My friends opposite say that we should freeze, that we should do nothing, that we should wait for this recession to roll by, that everything will come back to the way it was. We don't believe that. We think the times call for leadership. It's not an easy thing to do. Ontarians know what we want to do for them, and we'll keep doing it.

PENSION PLANS

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.

One of the things that we did before we moved ahead with this budget is solicited, in a very meaningful way, the advice of the members of the opposition. It was modest at best. I would argue that the advice that we received from some was to make cuts; advice that we are building too many hospitals, too many roads, too many bridges and the kind of absolutely essential infrastructure that creates jobs in the short term and enhances our productivity in the long term.

We will be moving ahead. We will continue to find ways to strengthen this economy, to build both a more competitive and a more caring Ontario.

TAXATION
Mrs. Christine Elliott: My question is again to the Premier. Today is Earth Day. All across Ontario people are looking for ways to improve and protect our Environment. We all know that individual actions multiplied by thousands of people can have great economic benefits to our Environment. Premier, why are you stifling those actions with massive tax increases?

I think we were talking originally about some Environmental initiatives and costs which might be borne by tenants. One of the things that we're proud to participate in, together with the federal government, is a program valued at over $700 million, if my memory serves me correctly, to retrofit existing social housing to help get those costs down. I think that's an important step. There's always more to be done.

We're proud of the record that we also have when it comes to dealing with rents and, in fact, how little they've gone up relative to cost of living in so many other different areas.

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

It is true that we have to make some changes with respect to taxes. Unlike my honourable colleague, who believes that the world has not changed, who believes that we need do nothing differently-notwithstanding the fact that Ontario is being beaten up by this global economic meltdown and we're losing far too many jobs, he would have us do nothing. We believe that we have to do something. We've talked to business in particular; they've told us the single most important thing that we can do to strengthen our business sector so that we can create more jobs and generate more wealth to support good schools and good health care, strong supports for our vulnerable and better protect our Environment is to move ahead with a single sales tax. They have done it in 130 other countries; they've done it in four provinces. I'm not saying it is an easy thing to do. My friend would have us hang on to the past; we're not going back there. We're building a better, brighter, more promising future for the people of Ontario. We're asking them to support us as we do this.

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I get the sense that we're probably in the right place when it comes to the budget, because on the one hand we're being accused by the Conservatives of being in the hands of the left wing, and we're being accused by the NDP of being in the hands of the right wing.

What I think Ontarians want to know is that we understand that it's not about right or left; it's about moving forward. This budget is designed to move our province forward and it's designed to do that in a way that is in keeping with our fundamental values. We want a more competitive province and we want a more caring province at the same time. We want a stronger economy so that it generates the jobs and creates the wealth that enables us to support good schools for our kids, good health care for all our families and strong Environmental protections for all of us. Those are the kinds of values that have informed this budget and that have always informed our government policies.

TAXATION

I think that if you take a look at the record and what we've done, that represents our commitment to our families. We do everything that we can to allow ourselves to be informed by their values, their hopes and their aspirations. If you take a look at what we've done during the course of the past five years, whether it's investing in our families' schools, our families' health care, in Environmental protections and doing what we can to support our most vulnerable families, I think the record speaks to a firm commitment and conviction on our part that those kinds of things are the right things to do. This budget will once again demonstrate our commitment to our families.

Again, I'd encourage my colleague to wait for the budget, look at it in a comprehensive manner and get a good sense of what it's all about. I hope that he'll come to the conclusion that we're doing what needs to be done, both for our families and for the economy.

I know that families want us to find a way together to make the necessary investments to shore up the foundation, so to speak, to invest in our economy so that it continues to generate the jobs and create the wealth to do what we really all want to do in this House, which is to provide better support for our schools, our health care, our most vulnerable people in Ontario and, at the same time, do what we can to ensure we have Environmental protections in place.

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I'm not sure the inflammatory rhetoric is ever helpful, but let me say something: We're very clear as to what we want to do and what we need to do, and that will be disclosed momentarily when we have the budget in this House.

But I'm still not sure where the opposition wants to go, because on some days in the House they're asking us to spend more on not unimportant matters, and other times they're telling us that we ought to be making dramatic cuts. Recently, Mr. Hudak said that we've overspent by $17 billion.

I get the sense that, were they in government, what they'd want us to do and what they would be doing would be making dramatic cuts to our health care, to our education, to our Environmental protections-supports for our most vulnerable. We're not prepared to do that. I understand there is a stark contrast in approaches; I accept that. We will continue to stand up for families, good-quality public services and a strong economy

TAXATION

Let me start by saying that there's always more that we can and should do with respect to better support of home care, but I just don't have the perspective that my honourable colleague has. I think we've made some significant progress. When it comes to transportation issues, we've provided 30 million additional dollars. I think the results speak for themselves: 220,000 more Ontarians have been receiving home care since 2003. I know there's still a need, and because of the demographics of an aging population, there will be a growing need. So we need to find a way to do more. But I think it's important to recognize that we have made some real and meaningful progress, not only for families that are beneficiaries of home care but also for those workers who do such a fabulous job for our families, by making sure there's money available for some of their transportation costs.
CLEAN TECHNOLOGY
Mrs. Laura Albanese: My question is for the Minister of Research and Innovation. The Ontario Centre for Environmental Technology Advancement has recently released a groundbreaking report on Ontario's clean technology industry. The report analyzed Ontario's clean technology industry and identified best practices to help Ontario's clean technology companies improve their go-to-market strategies. Over 60 of Ontario's leading clean technology companies were surveyed, and 32 CEOs were interviewed about their strategies for growth and their companies' commercialization capabilities. According to this report, world-class technology alone will not guarantee commercial success. To grow and be profitable, these companies will need sufficient risk and growth capital, top management talent, strong market demand for their innovations and effective marketing and sales strategies.

My question, Minister: What actions is the government taking to act on this advice?

I appreciate the perspective that has been brought by my colleague. She has a long-standing career; she has done much good, I must say. I'm sure she would understand that in the end there is a tremendous wisdom to be found in our electorate. I firmly believe that what they want us to do is what we believe is right in the circumstances. We will always find a way to do what is right in the circumstances. Broadly speaking, what is right is to support our schools, support our health care, support Environmental protections, support our most vulnerable, and find ways to strengthen this economy so we can create jobs and support the standard of living and the quality of life that we have come to know here in this, the greatest province in the best country in the world.

It is true: There are some things that Ontarians will have a hard time forgetting. That $5.6-billion deficit which was hidden from their view was something that was very disappointing for them.

Fortunately, working together with Ontarians, we have eliminated that deficit. We have had a number of years of solid economic growth. We have fixed the roof while the sun was shining. Today Ontarians have better schools, better health care, better Environmental protections, better supports for our most vulnerable and a stronger economic foundation.

But now we need to do more. I'm in full agreement with that: We need to do more to protect our families from this storm and to strengthen the foundation of the economy so it will support public services going into the future.

TAXATION

Again, I can't speak to a specific tax measure in the budget. I know that my honourable colleague understands that. What I can say, and I know that my colleague would not want to lose sight of this, is that there are costs associated with each and every one of these measures. If there were to be a full uptake of this particular proposal, it would cost the treasury $4 billion. I'm not saying that it would go that far, but if there were only a 10% uptake, I think the cost is $400 million. So there are costs associated with each of these. There are competing demands, whether we need to do more for health care, for education, for Environmental protection, for forestry, for mining, for the auto sector, and the Minister of Finance's privilege is to find a way to reconcile all of these competing interests and come up with a budget that speaks to the values of Ontarians.

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I think I've spoken to the specifics of the question, but just to speak more directly to Ontarians, we have to find a way and we will find a way, through this budget, to both meet the urgent needs of our families today and, at the same time, build a stronger economy for the future. We need the Ontario economy to grow stronger; we need it to be more competitive. We need our businesses to hire more Ontarians so that they can enjoy better standards of living, so that we can create more wealth in Ontario, so that we can, in turn, support good schools, good health care, good Environmental protections and supports for our vulnerable. That's what it's all about.

I wish I would hear just a few more ideas from the leader of the NDP when it comes to suggestions as to what we might do to strengthen our economy, to strengthen the competitiveness of Ontario businesses so they can hire more people and create more wealth to support our public services.

SEVERANCE PAYMENTS

It's the same old story, it's the same old movie, it's the one-trick pony. There is a utopia; there is a magic elixir; there is a silver bullet. Pick your favourite metaphor; they're all to be found in simply cutting business taxes. That's all we have to do.

The other part of the story they don't like to talk about is the corresponding cuts to health care, cuts to education, cuts to Environmental protections, and cuts to support for our most vulnerable Ontario families. We've seen that movie before; we don't want a rerun.

We will continue to move forward with a thoughtful, balanced, comprehensive, progressive approach. We'll find a way to support the economy and support our families at the same time.

CHILD CARE

I'll let the people of Ontario be the judge when it comes to what is history and what is not. I look forward to that judgment.

I think our shared responsibility at this point in our history is to do two things in particular. One of those is to lend what support we might to families who are being hurt by this recession. At the same time, and just as importantly, we have to begin to build a stronger foundation for a new economy, one that will speak to the aspirations we have for our children and our grandchildren. For the past five years, we have significantly invested in and revitalized our public services. We have better schools, better health care and better protections for our Environment. At the same time, we are building infrastructure in this province like never before. We have a stronger workforce than we've ever had before. We've done more to support innovation and build an innovation culture than ever before. That is a very strong foundation on which we intend to continue building.

We intend to run a deficit. I think we were the first province to announce that. We've been followed by the federal government through its actions. I expect that we'll see deficits in many of the Canadian provinces, and I'll tell you why we're going to run a deficit, for a few reasons.

First of all, we've been asked by international organizations like the G20 and the International Monetary Fund, and the Prime Minister himself, to do what we can to stimulate our economy. We will have to borrow money to stimulate the economy in that particular way, more so than we've been doing already. At the same time, we are going to protect the gains we have made in our schools, in our hospitals and in our protections for the Environment.

Finally, in addition to helping people today who need help, through our immediate stimulus package we want to begin to build a solid foundation for a future economy at the same time. All of those cost money. We have no choice but to do those things at this point in our history.

I would encourage my honourable colleague to speak with some of the business community in Ontario to get a better understanding of their impression of our new Green Energy Act. For example, Paul Massara, who's chair of the Toronto Board of Trade said, "With the introduction of the Green Energy Act, Ontario will be at the forefront of progress, a dynamic force for change." I know that the Canadian Manufacturers' Association has also said much along the same lines. The Association of Power Producers of Ontario is supportive of the act.

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We're talking about a number of business communities. Here's what the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters have to say: We support "the intent of the Green Energy Act to create opportunities for manufacturers and exporters and improve the Environment. We recognize the opportunities that this legislation may present for many manufacturers to develop and commercialize new, more efficient products."

We're talking about jobs, economic growth, and at the same time, we're talking about clean and green electricity.

RENEWABLE ENERGY AND
ENERGY CONSERVATION

It's a bit cryptic, but I'll bring my own particular interpretation to it.

During the course of the past five years, not only have we revitalized our public services, restored confidence in our schools, in our health care, in our ability to protect ourselves by looking after the Environment and things like meat and water inspection, we have also invested heavily in the growth of our economy by investing in innovation, in infrastructure, and cutting business taxes, by investing in partnerships with our businesses. Those are the kinds of things we've done during the course of the past five years. That's a good record. I think it's a solid record, and it positions us to withstand the present economic challenges that we're going through together.

There was great receptivity to the idea that we can do something together as Ontarians to create jobs, to fight climate change, and get clean and green electricity. There was also an understanding that it's very important that we ensure that we have an economic Environment that welcomes those kinds of investments.

We're going to work with our municipal partners to make sure that we get a provincial standard right. What I am saying is, you can't say no to a wind turbine because you don't like the look of the darned things. We're going to find a way-

I'll tell you why I can't agree with my honourable colleagues opposite. I think we've done about as much as we can possibly do to ensure that people had a good heads-up in terms of where we're going to go on this. The bill is being posted to the Environmental Bill of Rights website for public comment. There will be committee hearings. We will fully respect the process. There will be ample opportunity for debate here and for debate during the course of committee, and we would welcome input from Ontarians.

I would be surprised-and I've already chatted with the minister about this-if there weren't one or more amendments we need to make in order to further improve the quality of the bill itself.

I must also say, time is of the essence. This economy is struggling. We want to create 50,000 new, clean, green jobs. We want to get our hands on clean electricity. We want to do more to fight climate change. So we're moving ahead, but we'll respect the process.

I want to say again that we intend to respect the process. There will be debate in this House. There will be committee hearings. We're going beyond that; we're posting this on the website of the Environmental Bill of Rights.

I want to remind my colleagues that many of the important elements found in our new Green Energy Act were found in their own platform in the 2007 campaign.

This is a very important piece of public policy; we agree on that. We think that time is of the essence. We need to get going with this. We need to do more to get clean electricity. We need to do more in the fight against climate change. We need to do more to create jobs for Ontario families.

We will respect the process and we'll move forward at the same time.

CHILD PROTECTION
Mme France Gélinas: My question is for the Premier. Premier, almost a quarter of the 90 deaths of children who died in care were in northern Ontario, although northern Ontario only represents about 7% of the population.

Commissioner Goudge reports that families who have lost children in First Nations communities never heard from the coroners about the cause of the children's deaths or the location of their children's remains, an issue that the Coroner's Act is trying to address.

Will your government commit to further changes to the legislation to ensure that the advocate for children and youth has access to the information he needs on the deaths of children in northern Ontario and in First Nations communities?

I'm pleased to speak to the issue of red tape and the importance of our government, and governments generally, becoming more competitive. It may strike some as a little bit odd to think of government being competitive, but the fact is that we do compete against other governments around the world, but particularly in the US, when it comes to landing new investment here.

One of the things we've already done, for example, to welcome new investment has to do with our public transit projects. We had in place an Environmental assessment process that sometimes took from 12 to 18 months. We have now put a cap on that. We said that those Environmental assessments can take no longer than six months.

We're now looking to see where we might expand that further. When we do, we'll of course be looking for support from colleagues on the other side of the House.

I'll go back to the issue of red tape, because I think that's an important one. In our recent First Ministers' meeting, one of the things that I asked the Prime Minister to consider, and I'm pleased to report that he has indicated he is prepared to pursue this, was that we just have one Environmental assessment per project. At present, there are many instances where an infrastructure project demands that there be both a provincial Environmental assessment and a federal Environmental assessment. I believe the Prime Minister is prepared to act in that regard.

There are other ideas as well, and we're open to suggestions on the part of the opposition with respect to this. But the point I'm making to Ontarians is that, just as we have to enhance the quality of our workforce and the competitiveness of our businesses, we also have to understand that government itself has a role to play in acting in a more competitive, friendly and open manner when it comes to investment.

Again, I talked about announcements we made four months ago, four days ago and just yesterday. I'll just speak in a little bit more detail about what we announced yesterday. Together with the Prime Minister, we announced $500 million for improvements in our GO Transit service. In particular, we're going to create 6,800 more parking spaces at 12 different GO Transit stations.

My friend says, though, that those are not a worthy investment, and I disagree strongly. Not only will those result in jobs-5,000 jobs alone for those projects-they will also speak to a cleaner Environment and a greater quality of life for our families who rely on our GO Transit service. That's 5,000 jobs as a result of one announcement just made yesterday, to say nothing of the others that we made before that and the others we will continue to make, in some cases in concert with the federal government.

I'm pleased to receive the question, and I will remind my honourable colleague once again of the stimulus efforts that we have in place and that are operating right now, including the $9.9 billion that we've invested in infrastructure this very year. That is reaching into virtually every Ontario community. It's going into construction projects as we speak, and it's creating up to 100,000 jobs today, when we need them.

I know my honourable colleague well understands that to get a new infrastructure project going often requires extensive planning, followed by an Environmental assessment, followed by other processes along the way, and that can mean it takes a long time. But fortunately, years ago, we put in place these kinds of projects. They're taking effect right now; people are working right now.

One of the important national-and even continental-debates has to do with the best way to stimulate the economy. I think there's certainly a growing consensus that one of the very best ways to do that is to invest in infrastructure.

In this very year, this fiscal year 2007-08, our government is investing $9.9 billion in infrastructure. In the transportation sector, it's $4.1 billion; in health, it's $925 million; education, $1.8 billion; the Environment, $390 million; municipal, $1.8 billion; justice, $250 million; and in other areas combined it's $720 million, for a total of $9.9 billion. On a per capita basis, I'm not aware of any other jurisdiction in North America that's putting that much money into their infrastructure. It's good for our economy and it's good for jobs.

ARTS AND CULTURAL FUNDING

I appreciate the question from my colleague, but I think that if he takes a close look at the numbers, he'll see that there are some additional costs which he has not incorporated into his question, which are properly the responsibility of some Toronto area municipalities.

Having said that, we have made it no secret whatsoever that we are absolutely committed to moving ahead with public transit in the city of Ottawa. We think it's important not just for our economy and not just for the Environment but for the quality of life of the people who are living there.

I have also said that I don't believe the $200 million will be adequate in the long term as we work together to develop a long-term vision and nail down a solid plan as we move forward.

So, again, we're delighted there's a plan in place, delighted to finally receive that. We will now carefully consider that and look forward to moving forward together even beyond that.

ONTARIO SECURITIES COMMISSION

I would just remind my honourable colleague of something he said as Minister of Economic Development and Trade. He said, ""As Ontario companies sell more to foreign markets, they make our province more competitive and our future more secure. That's why we continue to aggressively build on our global strategy."

My colleague was right then, and it speaks to the importance of us-that while we take the necessary steps here at home to manage our finances, we also continue to reach out as aggressively as we possibly can. I'm off to China shortly. I'll be spending two weeks there. I'll be joined by four other Canadian Premiers when I'm abroad; I'll be accompanied by a couple of dozen Environmental technology businesses from Ontario. China is looking for solutions to its pollution problems. We've got those solutions; we're going to sell those solutions to them and create jobs here.

POVERTY

I'm not sure if my honourable colleague is suggesting that the Premier should never travel on behalf of Ontarians and, in this particular case, should not join four other Canadian Premiers, each of whom represents a province that is being visited by the same international economic global turbulence. I'm sure he is not suggesting that.

The fact of the matter is that the Premier-I know that my minister would acknowledge this-can sometimes get meetings with higher-level officials than can the minister. The Premier can sometimes open a few more doors for a business that is accompanying him or her than can the minister.

I think there is tremendous value in myself as well as four other Canadian Premiers travelling together to China, and in our case it's all about exploiting opportunities for businesses with Environmental technologies.

I would just remind my honourable colleague of something he said as Minister of Economic Development and Trade. He said, ""As Ontario companies sell more to foreign markets, they make our province more competitive and our future more secure. That's why we continue to aggressively build on our global strategy."

My colleague was right then, and it speaks to the importance of us-that while we take the necessary steps here at home to manage our finances, we also continue to reach out as aggressively as we possibly can. I'm off to China shortly. I'll be spending two weeks there. I'll be joined by four other Canadian Premiers when I'm abroad; I'll be accompanied by a couple of dozen Environmental technology businesses from Ontario. China is looking for solutions to its pollution problems. We've got those solutions; we're going to sell those solutions to them and create jobs here.

POVERTY

I'm not sure if my honourable colleague is suggesting that the Premier should never travel on behalf of Ontarians and, in this particular case, should not join four other Canadian Premiers, each of whom represents a province that is being visited by the same international economic global turbulence. I'm sure he is not suggesting that.

The fact of the matter is that the Premier-I know that my minister would acknowledge this-can sometimes get meetings with higher-level officials than can the minister. The Premier can sometimes open a few more doors for a business that is accompanying him or her than can the minister.

I think there is tremendous value in myself as well as four other Canadian Premiers travelling together to China, and in our case it's all about exploiting opportunities for businesses with Environmental technologies.

I won't do that, and I know my colleague opposite understands that. We certainly feel on this side of the House that we can both grow this economy-we can do everything we possibly can muster in the context of a serious global economic challenge, but we don't feel that we can give up our responsibility to address Environmental issues at the same time. So we're going to have to do something about all those tires that we bury in the province of Ontario; we're going to have to do something about that electronic waste.

We've put forward some thoughtful policies. There are some costs associated with that-I will not deny that-but I think that families also understand that in their interests and in the interests of their children and grandchildren, we have got to come to grips with the waste that we're producing. So we move forward in thoughtful, responsible and, I believe, affordable ways to deal with those issues.

TAXATION

I'll begin by reading the motion:

I move that the Legislative Assembly of Ontario acknowledges our province faces economic challenges created by the high dollar, high international oil prices, the US economic slowdown, international economic turmoil, and increased global manufacturing competition from China and India especially;

That just as Ontario families do when finances get tight at home, the Ontario government should make adjustments as necessary to its finances while protecting our shared priorities, such as health care, education, the Environment and public safety;

That the investments made over the last five years in vital public services and Ontarians' key priorities like skills training, infrastructure, education and health care will help Ontario weather the economic challenges in the short term and emerge stronger than ever;

And affirms our strongest possible support for Ontario workers and families and for a healthy, growing economy by continuing to implement the five-point economic plan that includes: investing in the skills of our people, making targeted tax cuts, investing in research and innovation, investing in infrastructure and partnering with businesses, while also expanding trade ties within Canada and internationally and seeking fairness from the federal government for Ontarians.

I am very pleased to participate in the debate about the economy. This is an issue that weighs heavily on the minds of all Ontarians, and members of this House should have the opportunity to express their thoughts, and by that, I mean their concerns, their criticisms and their advice.

I want to make it clear that our government is open to advice. Ontario, indeed the world, finds itself in uncharted economic waters. This challenge will demand the best from all of us, so I look forward to criticism that is constructive and advice that is thoughtful.

For five years now, we have been moving forward with our plan to strengthen our economy. We will not abandon that plan. It's a solid plan, and we've made considerable progress under that plan, but we remain open to building on it, to improving it so it better meets our needs in light of changing circumstances.

In my remarks today, I want to do four things. I want to acknowledge the reality of our economic challenges and the impact these are having on our families and businesses. I want to address the causes of our economic challenges. I want to inform Ontarians of the plan we have in place to help us overcome our challenges and of the progress we are making under that plan. Finally, I want to reassure Ontarians that, just like previous generations in our province who faced and overcame their challenges, we, too, will overcome ours.

I'll begin with a few facts about our economy. During the past five years, the Ontario economy has grown steadily. We have 450,000 more jobs, our unemployment rate has fallen from 7% to 6.3%, and we've made these gains in the face of a high dollar, the high cost of oil and a sluggish US economy. These are all facts, but they're hardly the full story.

Nous avons connu d'importantes pertes d'emplois dans le secteur manufacturier pendant plusieurs années. Il s'agit du même genre de pertes qu'ont connu les États-Unis, le Royaume-Uni et l'Australie.

Depuis 2002, on estime que nous avons perdu 200 000 emplois dans le secteur manufacturier.

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The fact is that we've experienced severe job losses in manufacturing over several years now-the kinds of manufacturing job losses seen in the US, the UK and Australia as well. It's been estimated that 200,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in Ontario since 2002. Our forestry workers have also been hit hard.

We've created many more jobs than we've lost, but that's little consolation to Ontarians who have lost their jobs. A job loss should be seen for what it truly is. It's not a statistic; it's a hardship, it's traumatic and it's especially hard for parents with young families to support. Many Ontarians who are losing a job are getting another one fairly quickly, but some are not and their pain is real. We are committed, we are determined to do everything we can to help those families. I want to acknowledge the very real worry felt by all our families, even those that have not been touched by job loss.

We find ourselves today in a period of tremendous global economic uncertainty. Ontarians are understandably anxious and concerned for their future. I say to all our families: While we can't control global economic events, there is no better place to find shelter in the storm than right here in Ontario. We have enduring strengths, a shared commitment to look after one another and a sound plan to grow stronger. Of course, I'm talking about our five-point plan to grow the economy.

We knew from the day we first formed the government that beating out the Chinas and the Indias meant we needed to do a better job of turning the remarkable ingenuity of Ontarians, their creative ideas, into brand new products. That's why, three years ago, we created our province's first Ministry of Research and Innovation. By the end of this year we will have invested $1 billion to support about 1,000 research and commercialization projects which are helping us create the jobs of the future. We're not stopping there. We created a $205-million venture capital fund to attract investment in new companies with high growth potential, and we're offering a 10-year tax exemption to new businesses that commercialize Canadian ideas, so that our home-grown ideas can be turned into hometown jobs.

We've also long understood the need to invest in our infrastructure. That's why we got right to it three years ago when we launched a five-year, $30-billion infrastructure plan. Then, in 2006, we launched Move Ontario to help build transit, roads and bridges in every municipality in Ontario. Next, in 2007, we launched Move Ontario 2020, a massive $17.5-billion public transit plan for the GTA and Hamilton. Then, just this year, we provided $1.1 billion directly to municipalities for their infrastructure needs, like roads, bridges and transit. It was because of our decisive action on infrastructure years ago that I can report that today there are 21 major construction projects under way through Infrastructure Ontario, employing thousands and thousands of construction workers, and there are another 10 projects in the pipeline-all this because we understood and we moved quickly.

Something else our government understood from the beginning: It takes the best workers in the world to get the best jobs in the world. So, again two years ago, we launched our Reaching Higher plan, a plan to dramatically increase funding by $6.2 billion in post-secondary education. Thanks to that investment, there are now 100,000 more young Ontarians in colleges and universities, and 50,000 more learning a trade. Because of new funding in our high schools, over 22,000 more kids have graduated from high school instead of dropping out-but we didn't stop there. Just this year, we launched Second Career to help laid-off workers get the higher skills they need for their next career.

I recently read a story about a laid-off auto worker from Bowmanville, Jeff Statham. He's 38 and has two small kids at home, but because of Second Career, Jeff has the support he needs to train for the job he has always wanted. He wanted to be a police officer. We're helping him to get there.

Une solide économie a besoin d'une solide main-d'_uvre qui travaille pour de solides entreprises. Nous comprenons l'effet qu'ont les impôts sur nos entreprises et nous savions qu'en allégeant ce fardeau, cela les aiderait à connaître le succès et à créer plus d'emplois.

A strong economy needs a strong workforce working for strong businesses. We understood the impact of tax on our businesses, and we knew that lightening the load would help them succeed and create even more jobs. That's why we've already cut business taxes by $1.5 billion. Fully phased in, our tax cuts will save our businesses nearly $3 billion annually. Because of a very early agreement I reached with Prime Minister Martin, our new harmonized corporate tax collection system will save Ontario businesses a lot of money starting next year, up to $100 million annually in compliance costs and another $90 million in corporate income taxes.

This brings me to the last point in our economic plan. Ontarians have always understood we're at our best when we work together, so five years ago we made it clear we were ready to work with Ontario businesses to partner with those that wanted to grow by investing in their workers or in new technologies. Since then, we've invested $500 million in the auto sector to generate $7.5 billion in new investment and thousands of jobs. We're proud of our auto workers, who have made Ontario the number one auto producer in North America. Yes, we've lost jobs, but we'll keep fighting for more. The auto sector has a bright, green future in Ontario, and we are eager to help build that future.

We also see a bright future for a stronger manufacturing sector generally. That's why, three years ago, we created our advanced manufacturing investment strategy. So far, 18 projects have generated $880 million in investment and created or retained 4,000 jobs. Again, we didn't stop there. Earlier this year, we launched our Next Generation of Jobs Fund, a $1.15-billion fund to help new businesses create the jobs of the future.

Our support for the forest sector has created or secured nearly 5,000 jobs and generated $368 million in new private sector investments since 2005. We increased the rural economic development fund by $30 million over four years to support jobs and economic growth in rural Ontario.

I can tell you that our partnerships with business are paying off for our workers and their families. Over two years ago, I visited Diamond Aircraft in London to celebrate our government's partnership with that business, a partnership that saw us invest $10 million in that company's expansion. Two years ago, Diamond Aircraft had 340 employees; today, they have 600. That's progress.

Back in July, I visited a company in Vaughan called 6N Silicon. They build solar panels. We are investing nearly $8 million in 6N Silicon, and they're opening a new manufacturing plant, creating 84 new jobs. That's progress.

In Alliston just last month, Honda officially opened a new engine plant. We were proud to invest $15 million to kick-start that plant, a plant that's going to employ 340 people. That's progress too.

But it's important that we acknowledge that it's not enough, not as long as some families are hurting. We're going to keep working hard until all our workers and their families can find opportunity in this changing economy.

Finding that opportunity means looking beyond the US when it comes to trade. That's why, during the past five years, we've opened up seven new international trade offices. It's why we now have a minister, Sandra Pupatello, exclusively focused on enhancing our international trade ties. It's why Minister Pupatello is today leading Ontario's first-ever trade mission to the United Arab Emirates. And it's why, later this month, I will return to China with people representing Ontario's Environmental technology businesses.

Not only have we moved aggressively to exploit opportunities outside of Canada; we've also moved just as aggressively to obtain fairness for Ontarians in Canada. We want a full partner in Ottawa, a fair partner in Ottawa. This Legislature has been united in our demand for fairness, and for good reason. It's now well documented: Ontario taxpayers are sending over $20 billion every year through Ottawa to other provinces to cut their taxes and invest in their programs.

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Si Ottawa nous traitait équitablement, et si nous pouvions conserver plus de nos impôts ici en Ontario, nous pourrions progresser bien plus avec notre plan en cinq volets visant à renforcer notre économie. En particulier, nous pourrions accorder un meilleur soutien aux Ontariennes et Ontariens qui perdent leur emploi, nous pourrions accroître l'infrastructure permettant de créer des emplois, et nous pourrions fournir plus d'aide au secteur manufacturier qui crée des emplois.

If we were treated fairly by Ottawa, if we could keep more of our taxpayer dollars in Ontario, we would move faster and further with our five-point plan to strengthen this economy. In particular, we could better support Ontarians who are losing their jobs, we could build more infrastructure to create jobs and we could provide more assistance to manufacturers who provide jobs. You see, as proud Canadians, Ontarians want more than anything else to build a stronger Ontario for a stronger Canada. Giving us fairness will give us the tools we need to get that job done.

The events of recent days, with wildly fluctuating stock markets, failing US banks and a spreading global financial crisis, have Ontarians very concerned. Some, especially our seniors, are very worried about losses to their retirement savings. The truth is that none of us knows exactly how global economic events will unfold. We do know that Ontario will be affected; we don't know exactly how. But just as we need to be honest about the global economic challenge before us today, so should we be honest about something else, and that is our truly remarkable proven ability as Ontarians to overcome whatever challenges come our way.

Every generation of Ontarians has faced and overcome challenges unique to its time. The first Ontarians-our First Nations-and then our settlers who followed centuries ago fought the harsh elements and carved out an existence for themselves here, and we won. In the early days before we were even a province of Canada, we faced invasion and rebellion, and we won. Some of our generations faced world war and fought for our freedom, and we won. Ontarians came together to beat back the economic despair of the Great Depression, and we won. We overcame the OPEC crisis in the 1970s and economic slowdowns in the early 1980s and 1990s, and we won. Through it all, Ontarians have remained steadfast and strong and resilient. We have always come back stronger, and this time will be no different.

Our commitment to Ontarians is this: While your government can't do everything, we will do everything we can to help. We will keep moving forward with our plan to grow this economy. We will keep investing in innovation, in the skills and education of our workers, in infrastructure, in lower business taxes and in partnerships with business. We will keep fighting for fairness from Ottawa. We will keep seeking new economic opportunities around the world. And if changing circumstances demand it, we will change our plan to make Ontario stronger. Above all, I want to ensure the people of Ontario that we are in your corner. We are going to get through this together, and we're going to look after one another. We will do what Ontarians have always done: We will overcome our challenges, and we will build a better, stronger, more caring Ontario for all our children.