Every day I'm coming to believe more and more that my honourable colleague has a bright future in creative fiction. He spins a wonderful tale and it's always interesting to engage in that kind of fantasy. But as I like to say, the facts are not entirely irrelevant in this place. I'm going to give my colleague the Minister of Health an opportunity to speak to this in the subsequent questions.

I can say at the outset that we're very proud of all those people who dedicate themselves to working through our local health integration networks and to delivering better Health Care on the ground.

The idea and the ideal that informed this new policy was to ensure that instead of having all the decisions with respect to local Health Care made here at Queen's Park or in downtown Toronto, we could delegate some of those responsibilities to people on the ground, who live in the communities, who understand the needs of their communities.

I'm pleased to take the question. I've had the opportunity to make reference to this before, but I think it bears repetition. Since 2003, when we first earned the privilege of serving Ontarians in government, we have increased hospital funding by 42%. I think that contrasts with cost of living increases of 11%. That represents a dramatic infusion of new dollars into our Health Care system, because they were absolutely needed.

I want to assure all the people who work inside and dedicate themselves to patients, in our hospitals and through their various services, that we will, through this budget, notwithstanding our difficult challenges, find a way to increase funding yet again. That's the truth. We've always increased funding for our hospitals. We will find a way to do that again.

Again, just a few facts: Almost 10,000 new nursing positions have been created in Ontario since 2003. I mentioned before that hospital funding has gone up by 42%; that's $4.6 billion.

Again, referencing this report that my honourable colleague refuses to acknowledge- Not a Tax Grab After All-it says, in part, "The central question of this paper ... was what effect the new tax package would have on the poor. More precisely, given that a political decision was made to move to a HST system did the Ontario government design this properly to protect the interests of the poor?" Answer: "In general, our answer would be in the affirmative.

"The interests of the poor are relatively well protected in this set of measures." Again, I reference this study to my colleague.

Health Care FUNDING

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.

Again, hospital funding has gone up every single year on our watch. It will go up again this year. It will not go up as dramatically as it has in the past because we're running close to a $25-billion deficit. My friend opposite believes that that's not particularly relevant; we think that's important.

My friends opposite also know that this is a function of governments everywhere acting in concert to stimulate our economy. We're borrowing money to stimulate our economy, in keeping with the very best advice. They're doing that in the federal government. We're doing it in Ontario. They're doing it in virtually every province and every part of the world. That's an important dimension that we have to take into account as we plan for this year's budget.

Health Care funding will go up, hospital budget funding will go up, but it will not go up as dramatically as it has in the past, given our circumstances.

LOCAL HEALTH
INTEGRATION NETWORKS
Mrs. Christine Elliott: My question is for the Premier. What qualifications do you look for in people you appoint to LHINs, Premier, other than donations to the Ontario Liberal Party?

I'm pleased to speak to an important issue. Obviously we're going to retain some expertise with respect to what it is that we might do with our assets, if anything. I certainly indicated that we think the responsible thing to do at this point in time is to review our assets to take a look at whether the money to be found within those assets is best deployed within those assets or somehow outside that in a way that gives expression to Ontarians' priorities today, like their Health Care, like their education.

We're going to continue to look at that. We want to do that in a thoughtful and responsible way. Of course, we think that includes seeking the guidance, advice and expertise, knowing that ultimately the decision rests with us.

I want to assure my colleague that the work that this particular firm is doing came about as a result of a competitive process. The only other thing I can say beyond that is that we will listen carefully to any advice we receive, whether it's from my honourable colleague, his party or the other party, any Ontarians. But, ultimately, we accept the decision lies with us, and we'll do that in a way that is in keeping with Ontarians' values and their priorities that they have today.

The question we continue to ask ourselves is whether we may not find ways to better deploy existing resources tied up in assets in the priorities of Ontarians today, whether that's something like Health Care or education.

CONSUMER PROTECTION

Every day I'm coming to believe more and more that my honourable colleague has a bright future in creative fiction. He spins a wonderful tale and it's always interesting to engage in that kind of fantasy. But as I like to say, the facts are not entirely irrelevant in this place. I'm going to give my colleague the Minister of Health an opportunity to speak to this in the subsequent questions.

I can say at the outset that we're very proud of all those people who dedicate themselves to working through our local health integration networks and to delivering better Health Care on the ground.

The idea and the ideal that informed this new policy was to ensure that instead of having all the decisions with respect to local Health Care made here at Queen's Park or in downtown Toronto, we could delegate some of those responsibilities to people on the ground, who live in the communities, who understand the needs of their communities.

I'm pleased to take the question. I've had the opportunity to make reference to this before, but I think it bears repetition. Since 2003, when we first earned the privilege of serving Ontarians in government, we have increased hospital funding by 42%. I think that contrasts with cost of living increases of 11%. That represents a dramatic infusion of new dollars into our Health Care system, because they were absolutely needed.

I want to assure all the people who work inside and dedicate themselves to patients, in our hospitals and through their various services, that we will, through this budget, notwithstanding our difficult challenges, find a way to increase funding yet again. That's the truth. We've always increased funding for our hospitals. We will find a way to do that again.

Again, just a few facts: Almost 10,000 new nursing positions have been created in Ontario since 2003. I mentioned before that hospital funding has gone up by 42%; that's $4.6 billion.

Again, referencing this report that my honourable colleague refuses to acknowledge- Not a Tax Grab After All-it says, in part, "The central question of this paper ... was what effect the new tax package would have on the poor. More precisely, given that a political decision was made to move to a HST system did the Ontario government design this properly to protect the interests of the poor?" Answer: "In general, our answer would be in the affirmative.

"The interests of the poor are relatively well protected in this set of measures." Again, I reference this study to my colleague.

Health Care FUNDING

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.

Again, hospital funding has gone up every single year on our watch. It will go up again this year. It will not go up as dramatically as it has in the past because we're running close to a $25-billion deficit. My friend opposite believes that that's not particularly relevant; we think that's important.

My friends opposite also know that this is a function of governments everywhere acting in concert to stimulate our economy. We're borrowing money to stimulate our economy, in keeping with the very best advice. They're doing that in the federal government. We're doing it in Ontario. They're doing it in virtually every province and every part of the world. That's an important dimension that we have to take into account as we plan for this year's budget.

Health Care funding will go up, hospital budget funding will go up, but it will not go up as dramatically as it has in the past, given our circumstances.

LOCAL HEALTH
INTEGRATION NETWORKS
Mrs. Christine Elliott: My question is for the Premier. What qualifications do you look for in people you appoint to LHINs, Premier, other than donations to the Ontario Liberal Party?

I'm pleased to speak to an important issue. Obviously we're going to retain some expertise with respect to what it is that we might do with our assets, if anything. I certainly indicated that we think the responsible thing to do at this point in time is to review our assets to take a look at whether the money to be found within those assets is best deployed within those assets or somehow outside that in a way that gives expression to Ontarians' priorities today, like their Health Care, like their education.

We're going to continue to look at that. We want to do that in a thoughtful and responsible way. Of course, we think that includes seeking the guidance, advice and expertise, knowing that ultimately the decision rests with us.

I want to assure my colleague that the work that this particular firm is doing came about as a result of a competitive process. The only other thing I can say beyond that is that we will listen carefully to any advice we receive, whether it's from my honourable colleague, his party or the other party, any Ontarians. But, ultimately, we accept the decision lies with us, and we'll do that in a way that is in keeping with Ontarians' values and their priorities that they have today.

The question we continue to ask ourselves is whether we may not find ways to better deploy existing resources tied up in assets in the priorities of Ontarians today, whether that's something like Health Care or education.

CONSUMER PROTECTION

It's good to be back, Speaker. I want to take the opportunity to welcome all members back. There is much work before us. We've accomplished much together, but there's still obviously so much more to do.

With respect to our local health integration networks, we are proud of the people who serve on those bodies throughout the province of Ontario. They are an effort on the part of this government to ensure that more and more of the decision-making with respect to the investment of Health Care dollars in communities is made by people living in the communities themselves.

I thank the people who do that work on our behalf and on behalf of the member opposite, and I look forward to more questions.

It has been said that hope springs eternal, but maybe from time to time it runs dry. It had been my hope that this year, my honourable colleague would begin to understand the nature of the real challenges facing the people of Ontario, particularly insofar as they relate to jobs, the economy, the desire for better Health Care and the like. But so be it; he pursues his own chosen path.

Again, I continue to have confidence in our local health integration networks. I have confidence in the new rules that we have put in place. We have confidence in my Minister of Health, who has recently sent a directive to our local health integration networks demanding that they abide by those same new, strong rules that were not in place at the time that my honourable colleague was in government.

1040

I just want to quote from a letter sent by the Minister of Health, Deb Matthews, to our LHIN board chair. The letter is dated February 4, and it reads as follows, in part:

"Public confidence and trust is crucial to continuing this progress. As Health Care leaders, we need to spend tax dollars wisely and we need to be accountable for our decisions. I can't overemphasize how important it is to ensure that every single dime we spend within our Health Care system is spent in a way that would be acceptable to a thoughtful taxpayer.

"Last summer and fall our government brought in tough new rules to increase accountability and transparency. The rules must be taken seriously and I expect them to be followed."

I could not have said it better myself. We expect LHINs and all of our government agencies to abide by the tough new rules that we've put in place.

GOVERNMENT'S RECORD

I know my colleague is interested in the quality of Health Care that we provide to all our families, and I want to remind her just a little bit about our record. During the course of the past six years, as we've enjoyed the tremendous honour of serving Ontarians in government, we have made dramatic new investments in Health Care: 42% more by way of increase in funding for our hospitals; thousands more nurses; more doctors-800,000 more Ontarians now have access to a family doctor. We've reduced wait times. We have nurse practitioner-led clinics, the first of their kind in North America. That's the kind of investment, that's the kind of priority that we attach to Health Care for our families.

So my colleague may say that there are outstanding issues with respect to Health Care, and she is right. There will always be more work to be done there, but she cannot claim legitimately that we have not made Health Care a priority for Ontario families.

GOVERNMENT'S RECORD

Again, we're very proud of the partnership that we have with all of our hospitals. We're proud of the continuing support that we provide at our hospitals, as I say, some 42% over the course of the past six years. Contrast that with a cost-of-living increase, I think in the range of 11%, and you can see that we are truly putting our money-it's not our money-taxpayers' money where their priorities are, which is their Health Care system. We're proud of the fact that we are able to find some assistance for this particular Salvation Army hospital. It's a hospital which is delivering services that are so important to the members of the community that it serves.

Just so we're clear, and I think it's helpful to understand what we've done with respect to hospital funding: We've increased funding by $4.6 billion since 2003. That's a 42% increase. Every hospital in the province has seen its budget increase every year. I contrast that to the days that were there under the two previous governments.

These are challenging times. There's no doubt about that whatsoever. I know that my honourable colleague understands that. I'm sure that every member in this Legislature understands that. We're going to have to make difficult choices, but they will be responsible choices. They'll be informed by the values and priorities of Ontario families. Ontario families insist that we be there for them when it comes to their Health Care and their education, and we most certainly will.

GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING

It's good to be back, Speaker. I want to take the opportunity to welcome all members back. There is much work before us. We've accomplished much together, but there's still obviously so much more to do.

With respect to our local health integration networks, we are proud of the people who serve on those bodies throughout the province of Ontario. They are an effort on the part of this government to ensure that more and more of the decision-making with respect to the investment of Health Care dollars in communities is made by people living in the communities themselves.

I thank the people who do that work on our behalf and on behalf of the member opposite, and I look forward to more questions.

It has been said that hope springs eternal, but maybe from time to time it runs dry. It had been my hope that this year, my honourable colleague would begin to understand the nature of the real challenges facing the people of Ontario, particularly insofar as they relate to jobs, the economy, the desire for better Health Care and the like. But so be it; he pursues his own chosen path.

Again, I continue to have confidence in our local health integration networks. I have confidence in the new rules that we have put in place. We have confidence in my Minister of Health, who has recently sent a directive to our local health integration networks demanding that they abide by those same new, strong rules that were not in place at the time that my honourable colleague was in government.

1040

I just want to quote from a letter sent by the Minister of Health, Deb Matthews, to our LHIN board chair. The letter is dated February 4, and it reads as follows, in part:

"Public confidence and trust is crucial to continuing this progress. As Health Care leaders, we need to spend tax dollars wisely and we need to be accountable for our decisions. I can't overemphasize how important it is to ensure that every single dime we spend within our Health Care system is spent in a way that would be acceptable to a thoughtful taxpayer.

"Last summer and fall our government brought in tough new rules to increase accountability and transparency. The rules must be taken seriously and I expect them to be followed."

I could not have said it better myself. We expect LHINs and all of our government agencies to abide by the tough new rules that we've put in place.

GOVERNMENT'S RECORD

I know my colleague is interested in the quality of Health Care that we provide to all our families, and I want to remind her just a little bit about our record. During the course of the past six years, as we've enjoyed the tremendous honour of serving Ontarians in government, we have made dramatic new investments in Health Care: 42% more by way of increase in funding for our hospitals; thousands more nurses; more doctors-800,000 more Ontarians now have access to a family doctor. We've reduced wait times. We have nurse practitioner-led clinics, the first of their kind in North America. That's the kind of investment, that's the kind of priority that we attach to Health Care for our families.

So my colleague may say that there are outstanding issues with respect to Health Care, and she is right. There will always be more work to be done there, but she cannot claim legitimately that we have not made Health Care a priority for Ontario families.

GOVERNMENT'S RECORD

Again, we're very proud of the partnership that we have with all of our hospitals. We're proud of the continuing support that we provide at our hospitals, as I say, some 42% over the course of the past six years. Contrast that with a cost-of-living increase, I think in the range of 11%, and you can see that we are truly putting our money-it's not our money-taxpayers' money where their priorities are, which is their Health Care system. We're proud of the fact that we are able to find some assistance for this particular Salvation Army hospital. It's a hospital which is delivering services that are so important to the members of the community that it serves.

Just so we're clear, and I think it's helpful to understand what we've done with respect to hospital funding: We've increased funding by $4.6 billion since 2003. That's a 42% increase. Every hospital in the province has seen its budget increase every year. I contrast that to the days that were there under the two previous governments.

These are challenging times. There's no doubt about that whatsoever. I know that my honourable colleague understands that. I'm sure that every member in this Legislature understands that. We're going to have to make difficult choices, but they will be responsible choices. They'll be informed by the values and priorities of Ontario families. Ontario families insist that we be there for them when it comes to their Health Care and their education, and we most certainly will.

GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING

My honourable colleague is well aware that Hamilton, like Ontario, like Canada, like North America, has not been sheltered from the terrible consequences of a global economic recession. It has affected all of us. But we have done a few things to help. For one thing, every single year we keep increasing the rates of social assistance. We've also accelerated the Ontario child benefit so that it is there for parents in our low-income families in a more meaningful way. Beyond that, of course, we are moving ahead with a package of tax reforms which are designed, centrally, to create more jobs.

If you ask the people of Hamilton, ask the mayor of Hamilton and ask Hamilton city council what it is that they need in their city, they will tell you that they want a stronger economy that creates more jobs. That is what we're all about. That was what the Pan Am bid was all about. That's what our HST package is all about. It's about creating more jobs for the people of Hamilton and, indeed, all the people of Ontario.

Health Care

There's nothing wrong with having a bit of fun in here from time to time.

I want to acknowledge as well the support of both our food banks and our business groups, economists like Hugh Mackenzie and Jack Mintz, newspapers like the Toronto Star and the National Post. I want to acknowledge a consensus growing ever wider that this is the most important thing we can do together to secure a bright future for our kids and make sure we have the capacity to support our schools, support our Health Care and have in place, at all times, measures to support our vulnerable. This is about building a brighter future-600,000 more jobs.

I've got to admit it's an interesting approach: What they really want to do is help the individuals involved, and that's their rationale for having them appear before the committee.

I'm not sure that they would see the opposition that way. But I think the point here is the one made by the auditor. He was very specific with respect to his findings. He said at least twice that party politics were not involved in this, that they were not at play in all this. I think we should respect that.

I think what Ontarians want us to do now is to move forward, do everything we can to ensure that we have in place at the earliest possible opportunity electronic health records for all of us. That will facilitate our Health Care, it will improve our Health Care, and it will help us better manage our costs when it comes to our Health Care.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

There's nothing wrong with having a bit of fun in here from time to time.

I want to acknowledge as well the support of both our food banks and our business groups, economists like Hugh Mackenzie and Jack Mintz, newspapers like the Toronto Star and the National Post. I want to acknowledge a consensus growing ever wider that this is the most important thing we can do together to secure a bright future for our kids and make sure we have the capacity to support our schools, support our Health Care and have in place, at all times, measures to support our vulnerable. This is about building a brighter future-600,000 more jobs.

I've got to admit it's an interesting approach: What they really want to do is help the individuals involved, and that's their rationale for having them appear before the committee.

I'm not sure that they would see the opposition that way. But I think the point here is the one made by the auditor. He was very specific with respect to his findings. He said at least twice that party politics were not involved in this, that they were not at play in all this. I think we should respect that.

I think what Ontarians want us to do now is to move forward, do everything we can to ensure that we have in place at the earliest possible opportunity electronic health records for all of us. That will facilitate our Health Care, it will improve our Health Care, and it will help us better manage our costs when it comes to our Health Care.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

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.

Again, what I can say is that we have, working together, made some tremendous progress. I think that's evident in how the vaccination is now being delivered in Ontario. We have doubled the number of public health clinics. There are now at least 2,000 sites, and that's probably a number that is growing in terms of places where people can obtain the vaccine: family health teams; community health centres; hospitals, certainly, for our Health Care deliverers; and the public health units. We've doubled that number from 50 to 100 right across the province. So we expect that we will continue to find ways to make more progress.

I'll say two things to Ontarians in particular: One, thank you so much for your patience; for allowing those people in the priority groups to get in the front of the line. They are most at risk, and we owe it to them to ensure that they get their vaccination first.

Secondly, I would say to the broader population: Continue to wash your hands. Continue to cough or sneeze into your sleeve. Stay home if you're sick. In the end we are still going to ask, we're going to plead with you and urge you to avail yourself of the vaccination opportunity. We want as many Ontarians as possible to get their vaccination.

FLU IMMUNIZATION

What I can say is that so far we have 3,300 Ontario doctors who are using electronic medical records, which are covering four million Ontarians. With this new $236-million investment, we want to have another 5,700 family physicians using electronic medical records, covering another six million Ontarians, for a total of 10 million Ontarians who will then be covered by our electronic medical record system. We think that's exactly what Ontarians want us to keep doing, which is making progress when it comes to laying the foundation for our electronic health record system.
RURAL HEALTH SERVICES
Mrs. Maria Van Bommel: My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. I know from experience with the Health Care issues in my riding of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex that there are many challenges unique to rural communities that need to be addressed, so I was very pleased to hear about the formation of the rural and northern Health Care panel earlier this year.

There are serious concerns being expressed about the process the panel is following and the lack of consultation to date. Hearing from Ontarians about Health Care issues and services in their communities is very important, and I know my constituents expect to have a voice. Could the minister please address the concerns of my constituents?

Again, what I can say is that we have, working together, made some tremendous progress. I think that's evident in how the vaccination is now being delivered in Ontario. We have doubled the number of public health clinics. There are now at least 2,000 sites, and that's probably a number that is growing in terms of places where people can obtain the vaccine: family health teams; community health centres; hospitals, certainly, for our Health Care deliverers; and the public health units. We've doubled that number from 50 to 100 right across the province. So we expect that we will continue to find ways to make more progress.

I'll say two things to Ontarians in particular: One, thank you so much for your patience; for allowing those people in the priority groups to get in the front of the line. They are most at risk, and we owe it to them to ensure that they get their vaccination first.

Secondly, I would say to the broader population: Continue to wash your hands. Continue to cough or sneeze into your sleeve. Stay home if you're sick. In the end we are still going to ask, we're going to plead with you and urge you to avail yourself of the vaccination opportunity. We want as many Ontarians as possible to get their vaccination.

FLU IMMUNIZATION

What I can say is that so far we have 3,300 Ontario doctors who are using electronic medical records, which are covering four million Ontarians. With this new $236-million investment, we want to have another 5,700 family physicians using electronic medical records, covering another six million Ontarians, for a total of 10 million Ontarians who will then be covered by our electronic medical record system. We think that's exactly what Ontarians want us to keep doing, which is making progress when it comes to laying the foundation for our electronic health record system.
RURAL HEALTH SERVICES
Mrs. Maria Van Bommel: My question is for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. I know from experience with the Health Care issues in my riding of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex that there are many challenges unique to rural communities that need to be addressed, so I was very pleased to hear about the formation of the rural and northern Health Care panel earlier this year.

There are serious concerns being expressed about the process the panel is following and the lack of consultation to date. Hearing from Ontarians about Health Care issues and services in their communities is very important, and I know my constituents expect to have a voice. Could the minister please address the concerns of my constituents?

Again, I think the appropriate thing for us to do in the circumstances is not to second-guess the decision made by Toronto Public Health. What we will do is undertake to conduct a review later.

What we have received-in fact, what Dr. McKeown at Toronto Public Health has received-is an assurance that this vaccine will now be made available to all people in priority groups.

I'm not really sure what my honourable colleague is trying to get at, at this point in time. Again, we will conduct a review. But for now the plan is to enlist as many people as we possibly can-experts on the front lines of Health Care-to deliver to our priority groups as quickly as we can. Medcan happens to be one of those groups at this time. Having said that, we will review this policy going forward.

I'm just staying home.

I'm always open to suggestions from the honourable member as to any specific approach that he might bring. What I am aware of is that the member would eliminate the Ontario health premium. That would add another $3 billion to the deficit. I don't think that would be a prudent approach.

We are going to take a little bit of time. Notwithstanding the member's haste and imprudence, we're going to take a bit of time. We're going to work both internally inside of government and externally and engage Ontarians. We have made it clear that we have three priorities: Health Care, education and strengthening our economy. If my honourable colleague has any specific suggestions, we would welcome those.

I know that we can get a little carried away in here sometimes-it's human nature-but there are no hospitals being closed and I would ask my colleague to acknowledge that. We continue to invest more and more, year over year, in Health Care. In fact, we're building hospitals and expanding existing hospitals.

But there is an important issue to be made here over and over again. I would ask my colleagues on all sides of the House to accept that we have to make some difficult decisions. We find ourselves at a point in time in our history when we're running a significant deficit, for all the right reasons. We're investing heavily in infrastructure, we're investing heavily in retraining programs, and we're helping people who are on social assistance and needy families through the Ontario child benefit. We're doing those things for the right reasons. But we are going to have to, together, now make some difficult decisions about those things where we may not be able to invest as quickly as we had originally anticipated and those things we may have to stop doing in order to put in place a plan to eliminate our deficit.

TAXATION

I'm just staying home.

I'm always open to suggestions from the honourable member as to any specific approach that he might bring. What I am aware of is that the member would eliminate the Ontario health premium. That would add another $3 billion to the deficit. I don't think that would be a prudent approach.

We are going to take a little bit of time. Notwithstanding the member's haste and imprudence, we're going to take a bit of time. We're going to work both internally inside of government and externally and engage Ontarians. We have made it clear that we have three priorities: Health Care, education and strengthening our economy. If my honourable colleague has any specific suggestions, we would welcome those.

I know that we can get a little carried away in here sometimes-it's human nature-but there are no hospitals being closed and I would ask my colleague to acknowledge that. We continue to invest more and more, year over year, in Health Care. In fact, we're building hospitals and expanding existing hospitals.

But there is an important issue to be made here over and over again. I would ask my colleagues on all sides of the House to accept that we have to make some difficult decisions. We find ourselves at a point in time in our history when we're running a significant deficit, for all the right reasons. We're investing heavily in infrastructure, we're investing heavily in retraining programs, and we're helping people who are on social assistance and needy families through the Ontario child benefit. We're doing those things for the right reasons. But we are going to have to, together, now make some difficult decisions about those things where we may not be able to invest as quickly as we had originally anticipated and those things we may have to stop doing in order to put in place a plan to eliminate our deficit.

TAXATION

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this. I think what Ontarians are asking of us is to be thoughtful in terms of the approach that we bring to balancing the budget. My honourable colleague advocates, let's say, a particular approach which we reject. He thinks that we should cut everything yesterday.

We want to do two things. We want to both chart a course towards a balanced budget and at the same time protect those services that Ontarians rely on, like their Health Care and their education. And there's something else they are asking us to do, which is to ensure that we also make the kinds of investments that will help grow our economy; hence the reason I was so proud to make an announcement just a few moments ago that we are going to proceed with full-day learning for four- and five-year-olds in the province of Ontario. That's the foundation for a highly skilled and educated workforce.

We've always brought balance as a government and we will continue to do that. When it comes to the matter of addressing the deficit, we will continue to hear on a regular basis from the party on the left that we need to spend more, ever more and lots more, and we should pretend that the deficit is not part of our reality. From the party on the far right, we will continue to hear every day that we need to cut and hack and slash in an unthinking way. What Ontarians want is balance. They want us to recognize our fiscal reality. They want us to protect their public services. They want us to invest in a stronger economy for tomorrow. They want us to protect their health and education. They want us to deliver their public services in a more efficient manner. That's the task that we have before us, that's the task that we really take on and that's the challenge which the Minister of Finance is taking on as he prepares his budget.
Health Care FUNDING

They're not. They're not losing services. The fact of the matter is that year over year we continue to invest more in our Health Care services. More than that, more than just simply putting in more money, we have more doctors, we have more nurses, we have more home care, we have shorter wait times, we have more drugs being funded, more surgeries, more technologies. The fact of the matter is, we have invested significantly more. I think the Health Care budget is up by about a third. Since 2003, the cost of living has gone up by about 11%. So we've gone up about three times the cost of living. We're proud of that and we're proud of the results that we continue to get for Ontarians when it comes to better quality Health Care.

The secret McKinsey report can be found online. Again, to be very clear, we put in place a new program that was designed to help us drive down the cost of certain drugs. We wanted to make sure that the program was doing well and accomplishing its intended objective. We asked McKinsey to review that for us, and they have done that.

So far, we've generated about $700 million worth of savings. All of that has been reinvested in purchasing more drugs for the people of Ontario. I think this is exactly the kind of approach that Ontarians want us to take. They want us to get the best possible value for the money they invest in Health Care and specifically the money they're investing in drugs. That's what we continue to do for Ontarians.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

I guess I'm going to have to encourage Mr. Crispino to send yet another letter to my honourable colleague, because he came to what I think is a natural and logical conclusion at the end of his letter. At the end of his letter he says, "Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to set the record straight," but apparently that has not worked. The record is not yet straight in the mind of my honourable colleague, so I'll encourage him yet again to send another letter to my honourable colleague.
Health Care

Just to finish, the fact of the matter is that there has been a significant investment in the foundation for our electronic health record. I think Ontarians understand why it's so important that we finish this work. It will introduce new efficiencies in the Health Care system, but more importantly, it will provide better Health Care for our families. That's why we're going to keep moving ahead.

I'm always pleased to take the question. As my honourable colleague knows we are in fact making great strides forward when it comes to reducing the number of consultants we are using. It's down by 34% in contrast to 2003.

My honourable colleague also knows that every year, year over year, we have increased our funding levels for Health Care in the province of Ontario. Hospital funding has gone up by 42%. I stand that in contrast with the increase to the cost of living over the same period, 11%. The facts are, consultants are coming down and funding levels continue to go up.

To the folks here from Fort Erie, I welcome them to Queen's Park. I can say that their commitment to the best possible Health Care in the community has been nothing short of inspirational, and I thank them for the work they have done.

We've been working hard with the local community, with our partners in the Niagara region. We've worked with the mayor of Fort Erie, Doug Martin, the local emergency system and doctors who are supportive of the plan that we are putting in place. What we're saying essentially is that 97% of the folks who are going to the Douglas Memorial now will be able to continue to go there in the future, but 3% of the folks whom we cannot manage at the optimum level in terms of quality of care are going to have to move on-

People feel strongly about their hospital and their Health Care in their community, and I understand that and I respect that. But I must say that we've been working long and hard with the community to put in place the best possible Health Care, we've relied on the best local advice that we can, and we're confident this will improve quality care within the community.

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No, I won't. I've said that several times over and I'm not sure I can be any more direct than that.

As in all of these matters, I not only trust the auditor but have a great deal of confidence in the people of Ontario, who ultimately will stand in judgment of all these things. I believe that the people of Ontario have confidence in the auditor's findings; I believe that they accept our commitment to putting in place every single one of his recommendations. I believe that Ontarians want to find a way together to move forward with the foundation on which we've built the beginnings of our structure for eHealth. I think Ontarians want us to move forward. That's what we accept on this side of the House, and that's what we are going to do.

Health Care
Mme France Gélinas: Ma question est pour le premier ministre également. The scandal surrounding eHealth just keeps going: $1 billion spent and very little to show for it. We've witnessed top bureaucrats being paid out of hospital budgets, exorbitant expense accounts, and untendered consulting contracts at Cancer Care Ontario. Yet last week my leader, Andrea Horwath, asked the Premier to call in the Auditor General to do spot checks on the Ministry of Health consultant contracts. Tomorrow I will bring a motion forward in the public accounts committee asking the auditor to do just that.

My question to the Premier is simple: Will the Premier assure us that the Liberal members on public accounts will be allowed to support this motion?

As I had the opportunity to say earlier today, and I think in this House yesterday as well, when it comes to hospital budgets, we have in fact increased those by some 42% during the course of the last six years. If we compare that to what has happened with the cost of living, it has gone up by about 11%. We've made some dramatic new investments in our hospital budgets.

We look forward to continuing to find ways to work with the hospital sector and all those good people who serve the public in the delivery of Health Care services, whether inside the hospital sector or outside. We will find ways, working together, notwithstanding our financial challenges, to continue to inspire confidence in our Health Care system.

We will do everything in our power to ensure that we get good value for taxpayer dollars when it comes to the money we invest in every public program, but especially in Health Care. I think we have gone a long way to demonstrating the value that we've got in return for those significant new investments in the Health Care system, whether you're taking a look at the number of new hospitals that are being built; whether it's the older hospitals which are undergoing reconstruction and renovation; whether you're looking at the number of new doctors and nurses who are out there practising and serving Ontario families; whether it's the number of new MRIs and other kinds of technology, treatments and drugs which we've been funding anew. I think we're demonstrating that we are in fact getting good value for the new investments that we continue to make in Health Care for all our families.
GOVERNMENT CONSULTANTS

Just to restate it, again, we have made some progress. There's more work to be done, but I think the progress we've made is significant. Since 2003, we've reduced the use of consultants by some 34%.

Now, my honourable colleague made reference to cuts-it's become fashionable these days to talk in those terms-but the fact of the matter is, in virtually every single program, we have continued to invest, year over year, more, especially in our most important public services like Health Care and education. So I would caution my colleague as he talks about cuts to revisit the budget and to see in fact that we continue to invest more money, especially in those public services that our families absolutely have to be able to count on.

Again, I thought we had a very thorough review of the matter at hand by the auditor. I accept that, I respect that and I endorse that, and we adopt it in its entirety.

I believe that my honourable colleague is more interested in engaging in political games than he is in accepting the auditor's report in its entirety. On this side of the House, we have decided that our responsibility lies in bringing the auditor in, in giving him complete leeway to conduct his investigation and in accepting fully and wholeheartedly his recommendations. We adopt each and every one of those. We have faith in the auditor. I only wish that my honourable colleague would do the same thing.

Health Care FUNDING

Although there's a lot of creativity in here-and I appreciate that, as the son of a professor of poetry-the facts are not unimportant. The fact is, we've increased funding, since 2003, for Health Care by 42%. That is a dramatic increase in funding for our hospital care. As a result of that, we're now funding 1.69 million new procedures, which are leading to reduced wait times. Nine hundred and seven thousand more Ontarians now have access to family care. We have 14 new MRI machines and double the number of MRI hours of operation. We have almost 1,800 more doctors practising in the province of Ontario. We have 150 family health teams now caring for 1.9 million Ontarians, with more of those family health teams on the way. We are certainly investing more in Health Care.

I accept the auditor's finding at the highest level, that we need to do more to bring better oversight to the management of dollars going through the Ministry of Health and, by extension, to its agencies. But I do not accept my honourable colleague's assessment that somehow we have not been moving forward together in Health Care during the course of the past six years. We're funding 1.69 million new procedures, and as a result we are reducing wait times in a dramatic fashion. Some 907,000 more Ontarians have access to family care. There are 14 new MRI machines and double the number of MRI hours of operation. We have close to 1,800 more doctors practising in the province of Ontario. We have, so far, 150 more family health teams now caring for 1.9 million Ontarians. We've hired more than 10,000 new nurses. We are building new hospitals in the province of Ontario. We have done much in Health Care.

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ELECTRONIC HEALTH INFORMATION

It is true that under two governments now there has been significant investment made in establishing our electronic health record system. But I would draw my honourable colleague's attention again to the auditor's report, where he specifically says, "The value of this investment, at least to date, has not been realized," and that is true. Much has been done, but we are not there yet.

We have in place now a strategic plan which is designed to ensure that we get to where we all want to go. I know my honourable colleague is not suggesting that we stop moving ahead with this work. She is not suggesting that there is not a broad consensus in the Western world that it's important to have, as a part of the foundation in your Health Care system, an electronic health record system.

There has been considerable investment made. There has been a lack of oversight. We accept that, we recognize that, and we'll take steps to ensure that it doesn't happen again, But we will continue to move forward with the electronic health record system in Ontario.

We have, in fact, increased funding in Health Care by over a third; it may even be approaching 40%. That represents a significant new investment, and we've translated that into significant improvements in the quality of Health Care available for Ontario families. Whether you're talking about wait times coming down; whether you're talking about investment in new diagnostics, new kinds of treatments and new drugs and medications; whether you're talking about investments in more nurses and doctors so that more Ontarians have access to better family Health Care; whether you're talking about opening up new frontiers like nurse-practitioner-led clinics; or whether you're talking about giving more authority to professionals, like our pharmacists and nurses, so they can take on more responsibility to improve quality of care for families, we've done a lot, and we'll continue to do more.
TAXATION

Actually, we've made some pretty dramatic new investments in Health Care, and we've seen some pretty dramatic positive results as a result of those investments, whether you're talking about the reduction of Health Care wait times, whether you're talking about the thousands of new nurses who are on the job or whether you're talking about getting access to doctors. Eight hundred thousand more Ontarians now have a family doctor or are associated with family Health Care. We have 14 new MRI machines, increased medical school spaces and the like. There have been dramatic new levels of investment in Health Care and dramatically new and better levels of service for Ontarians.

I think if you take a look at what has happened to Health Care in Ontario during the course of the past six years, and the combined efforts and the cumulative impact of those efforts for Ontarians, the efforts made by Minister Smitherman and Minister Caplan, I would argue that they have been the two most successful ministers of health who have worked together, hand in hand, to improve the quality of Health Care for Ontario families.

There has been an effort, and it's been an effort that has been engaged in by our government and the previous government as well. It's based on a pretty profound understanding that we've got to find a way to move toward electronic health records in the province of Ontario. We also understand that getting there is not easy. It takes time. There are costs associated with that. We have made some significant progress, but we're not satisfied with the progress that we have made to date and we're going to keep moving forward. I know that Ontarians have seen changes when it comes to their Health Care wait times. They can see changes in the new hospitals that we are building, they can see changes in the number of doctors they now have access to, and they also know that they continue to have a healthy appetite for more progress when it comes to electronic health records. We will not rest until we have a good system in place, a good, affordable and effective system for Ontarians.

When it comes to public services, we've made some dramatic new investments. Whether you look at Health Care, education or investments in strengthening the economy, there have been dramatic investments ranging from anywhere from 25% to 34% during the course of our mandate in government.

With respect to Courtyard, my colleague knows that we have a new rule in place now, one that the NDP government refused to put in place during its day and that the Conservative government refused to put in place during its day. We have now said that you cannot move ahead with sole-source contracts. We think that's inappropriate. We have now prohibited those. It is the appropriate thing to do, it's the right thing to do, and perhaps it's unfortunate it wasn't put in place before by previous governments.

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My colleague knows that we've closed the door once and for all, something that no government did before, with respect to prohibiting sole-source contracts. That's done and it won't happen again. I think Ontarians also know that we have smaller classes, we have higher test scores, we have higher graduation rates and we have more teachers than ever before. They also know that we've got shorter wait times in our Health Care. We've got more doctors. We have more nurses. We're now tapping emergency room wait times. We're doing more to ensure that more Ontarians get access to family Health Care as well. So they know that we have not been a perfect government, but I think they also recognize that when we come across particular issues and particular problems, we face up to those and take steps to ensure that they don't recur.
JOB CREATION

I just can't agree with my colleague's interpretation of reality. The fact of the matter is that we've invested significant new dollars in Health Care during the course of the past six years. I think Health Care spending has been increased by close to-

None of us want to see any waste in our Health Care system and none of us want to tolerate that. There is something that happened at a hospital in London-my friend makes an oblique reference to it-and it's the responsibility of the board of directors there to ensure that they're enforcing a rule they have on the books, and we would encourage them to do that as quickly as they can.

But again, as a government, we have moved quickly and effectively to improve the quality and number of services available to Ontarians. For example, we have funded close to 1.7 million new procedures and we've reduced wait times dramatically in a number of areas. Now, 907,000 more Ontarians have access to family care. We have 14 new MRI machines and double the number of MRI hours of operation. We have close to 1,800 more doctors practising. We've increased medical school spaces by 23%. There are 150 family health teams, with more to come. I can speak at length about the progress we've made-

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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Let's keep in mind the context and the real successes that we have enjoyed, working hard together with Ontarians. I just don't share my honourable colleague's negative and pessimistic view of where we find ourselves and where we're going.

If you take a look at the budget, for example, we have found a way, working hard, as I say, together with Ontarians, to introduce measures that will both make us a more competitive and a more caring Ontario. While we've reduced business taxes and reduced taxes for 93% of Ontarians, we've also effectively doubled the Ontario child benefit.

We're putting new money into social housing. We found more money for Health Care, more money for education and more money for colleges and universities, notwithstanding that we find ourselves at a time where our economy is contracting. We put forward a good, solid budget that is designed to meet the needs of the day and ensure that we can look forward to the future with a great deal of optimism.

I assume that what my honourable colleague is getting at is whether or not we ought to take measures to inform Ontarians about our recent budget, and I believe we should. I think at the beginning of the 21st century, Ontarians lead hectic, just-in-time lives and I think we have a responsibility to convey to them what we're doing on their behalf.

I think that overwhelmingly, Ontarians don't know that 93% of them will enjoy a permanent income tax cut; they're not aware of that. They're not aware of how we intend to move ahead with a single sales tax and why that's so important to all of us and our economy for jobs today and jobs tomorrow. Just as we have found ways to communicate with Ontarians in other areas on the matters of Health Care or education or social policy, we think it's also important to talk to them when it comes to financial policy or budgetary policy.

Again, I think the fair thing to do in the circumstances is to allow the auditor to do his work, and I think Ontarians are with us there. They are objective, interested, and they want to allow the auditor to complete his work.

But I think, in fairness, we should acknowledge that while we have been working with eHealth to move forward and make progress in that area of establishing an electronic health record system in Ontario, we've also been building new hospitals, hiring more nurses and putting in place family health teams. We've been funding new procedures and we've been improving the rate of getting access to procedures through our wait time progress. So it's not as if we've been focused exclusively on the eHealth challenges; we've also, at the same time, been breathing new life and new strength into the broader Health Care system for all our families.

Again, I support the sentiment expressed by my honourable colleague, but I think that the problem is so huge that it calls for the best minds in Canada.

One of the things that I would recommend to the Prime Minister is that we might pull together not only a summit, but put together a blue-ribbon panel, with recommendations from some of the provinces and territories, and take a look at how we might put into place something new, the first of its kind, modelled broadly along the lines of our Health Care plan-medicare-and broadly along the lines of employment insurance, notwithstanding its challenges, that speaks to a new program that ensures that all Canadians, from coast to coast to coast, can, in their retirement years, enjoy a decent standard of living. I don't think that's the kind of thing that we ought to approach on a province-by-province basis.

I think I answered that question pretty clearly the first time around. But what I can say is-and I don't want folks to lose sight of this. The opposition has raised a legitimate issue and we have a responsibility to contend with that, and we've put a process in place to get that done.

But I want to remind Ontarians of just why it's so important that we continue to move ahead as quickly as we can to put in place electronic health records. My colleague has made reference to the fact that the Obama administration is moving quickly on this front. We want to do this because we want to modernize our Health Care system. We want to find a way to make it more efficient. We want to eliminate waste. We want to avoid duplication. We want to bring better-quality Health Care to Ontario families. That's why we're moving on this.

At the same time, as we move, we have to be careful with taxpayer dollars. We've got to make sure we're as careful when the private sector uses those dollars, just as we are careful when the public sector uses those dollars.

ELECTRONIC HEALTH INFORMATION
Mme France Gélinas: Ma question est pour le ministre de la Santé et des Soins de longue durée. The minister is desperately trying to evade the disaster that is eHealth Ontario, both the flagrant waste of taxpayer money and the reality that Ontario still does not have a functioning electronic health medical record. Yesterday, the minister called for a third party review of eHealth, a review to be handed out to a private consulting company and a review that has, in effect, already been completed.

The minister continues to ignore reality. When will he finally admit and commit to real action to fix the disaster that is eHealth Ontario?