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

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 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

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?

Let me just remind all the members of what we did at the time. My honourable colleague is correct: We found that the rules that we had inherited from the previous government were inadequate, so we made them stronger. We've said under our new rules that there can be no more sole-sourcing of consulting contracts; we will not pay consultants for any Hospitality, incidental and food expenses; we're requiring that expenses in fact be posted online for our senior executives of our 22 largest agencies; and what's more, those same 22 largest agencies' employees must now have their expenses approved by the Integrity Commissioner. We think that's a huge step forward in an era of heightened transparency and accountability.

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

I really do appreciate the opportunity to speak to this particular issue. The Salvation Army has a stellar record in the history of this province. They made it clear to us that they could no longer continue the responsibilities that they've taken on at this particular Hospital site. They made it clear to us as well that we could help. If my friend is now telling me that she is against that help, that we should have stood by and allowed that Hospital and those services at that site to shut down and to close, then she should say that. We felt the appropriate thing to do, the responsible thing to do, was to provide that support for that Hospital, just as we've increased funding by 42% for Hospitals Ontario-wide during the course of the past six years.

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

Let me just remind all the members of what we did at the time. My honourable colleague is correct: We found that the rules that we had inherited from the previous government were inadequate, so we made them stronger. We've said under our new rules that there can be no more sole-sourcing of consulting contracts; we will not pay consultants for any Hospitality, incidental and food expenses; we're requiring that expenses in fact be posted online for our senior executives of our 22 largest agencies; and what's more, those same 22 largest agencies' employees must now have their expenses approved by the Integrity Commissioner. We think that's a huge step forward in an era of heightened transparency and accountability.

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

I really do appreciate the opportunity to speak to this particular issue. The Salvation Army has a stellar record in the history of this province. They made it clear to us that they could no longer continue the responsibilities that they've taken on at this particular Hospital site. They made it clear to us as well that we could help. If my friend is now telling me that she is against that help, that we should have stood by and allowed that Hospital and those services at that site to shut down and to close, then she should say that. We felt the appropriate thing to do, the responsible thing to do, was to provide that support for that Hospital, just as we've increased funding by 42% for Hospitals Ontario-wide during the course of the past six years.

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

I can't speak to the particulars of this. What I can say is what I know. First of all, there was a practice in place with respect to paying some of the folks who work within the Ministry of Health through Hospitals. That was a practice that's been in place for a number of years, under different governments, and we have decided to put a stop to that practice.

Secondly, I can say that when it comes to consultants, we've made a change in Ontario. Again, that was a practice, and this changes a practice that's been in place for a long, long time as well. We're now requiring, when it comes to consultants, that they no longer have the sole-source contracts. There has to be a competitive bidding process in place before consultants can access those contracts.

My honourable colleague I know is very much aware that there have been dramatic investments in Ontario Hospitals in the course of the past six years; I believe, over 30%. In fact, they closed Hospitals. We're building new Hospitals, we're expanding existing Hospitals, we're investing in more MRIs and CTs, we're hiring, we've built a new medical school, we're now graduating more doctors and we've hired thousands more nurses, and 800,000 more Ontarians now have access to family care than had before.

There's always more work to be done but I think, in fairness, we should acknowledge the progress that, together, we've made.

It will result in an increase. We've been very clear about that from the outset. That's why we've worked hard to offset those increases with a number of things that we're doing.

For one thing, again, I would ask my honourable colleague to acknowledge the personal income tax cut that takes effect January 1 of this coming year, and I hope to have her support in connection with the bill in that regard. Beyond that, we're also taking 90,000 people in Ontario out from paying any income taxes at all. We also have a new tax credit in place of $260 per individual in our low-income families. Those are the kinds of things that are going to help to offset some of the additional costs.

Having said that, I know that my honourable colleague is actually intent, in her heart of hearts, on finding a way for us to move forward and have the capacity to support our Hospitals, our schools and our most vulnerable. She wants to build a stronger economy. It's just that she doesn't have a plan of her own.

I can't speak to the particulars of this. What I can say is what I know. First of all, there was a practice in place with respect to paying some of the folks who work within the Ministry of Health through Hospitals. That was a practice that's been in place for a number of years, under different governments, and we have decided to put a stop to that practice.

Secondly, I can say that when it comes to consultants, we've made a change in Ontario. Again, that was a practice, and this changes a practice that's been in place for a long, long time as well. We're now requiring, when it comes to consultants, that they no longer have the sole-source contracts. There has to be a competitive bidding process in place before consultants can access those contracts.

My honourable colleague I know is very much aware that there have been dramatic investments in Ontario Hospitals in the course of the past six years; I believe, over 30%. In fact, they closed Hospitals. We're building new Hospitals, we're expanding existing Hospitals, we're investing in more MRIs and CTs, we're hiring, we've built a new medical school, we're now graduating more doctors and we've hired thousands more nurses, and 800,000 more Ontarians now have access to family care than had before.

There's always more work to be done but I think, in fairness, we should acknowledge the progress that, together, we've made.

It will result in an increase. We've been very clear about that from the outset. That's why we've worked hard to offset those increases with a number of things that we're doing.

For one thing, again, I would ask my honourable colleague to acknowledge the personal income tax cut that takes effect January 1 of this coming year, and I hope to have her support in connection with the bill in that regard. Beyond that, we're also taking 90,000 people in Ontario out from paying any income taxes at all. We also have a new tax credit in place of $260 per individual in our low-income families. Those are the kinds of things that are going to help to offset some of the additional costs.

Having said that, I know that my honourable colleague is actually intent, in her heart of hearts, on finding a way for us to move forward and have the capacity to support our Hospitals, our schools and our most vulnerable. She wants to build a stronger economy. It's just that she doesn't have a plan of her own.

We have a different approach and I think Ontarians can garner that on a day-to-day basis.

Rather than engaging in innuendo, I think Ontarians are looking for ideas, especially good ideas, and e-health is a good idea.

According to Canada Health Infoway, we are 95% to 100% complete on our client registry, on our diagnostic imaging systems, and on clinical reports of immunization. There is more work to be done, but we are making real progress. Since 2005, more than four million Ontarians now have electronic medical records in place. All of our Hospitals have now gone filmless and are using digital diagnostic scans.

There were some problems, admittedly, at eHealth. They had to do with oversight. The auditor spoke to that in a very direct way.

Now we choose on behalf of Ontarians, in their interests, to move forward, and that's what we're doing.

TAXATION

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

I think what my colleague is suggesting is that anybody in a priority group who is going to show up at Medcan should be turned away.

I think we should take advantage of as many pathways as we can get our hands on when it comes to delivering the vaccine to as many as we can, as quickly as we can. That's what is happening right now in the province of Ontario. That's why we're going from 50 to 100 clinics. Here within the city of Toronto, we're going from two to 10. We're going to avail ourselves now of 2,000 delivery sites-doctors' offices, clinics and Hospitals-and 2.1 million vaccines will be delivered and administered by the end of this week.

There are a total of 3.4 million in the priority group. We want to get our hands on as much of the vaccine as we can, through the federal government, as quickly as we can. We're going to do everything that we can, working with all of our public health officials in the most co-operative way possible, to get vaccine into the arms of as many Ontarians as we can, as quickly as possible.

1100

EMERGENCY SERVICES
Mrs. Christine Elliott: My question is for the Minister of Health. There are 163 emergency rooms in Ontario. According to a CTV report on October 28, ER visits have already begun to increase. Patients worried about the flu are crowding children's Hospitals. Patient volumes have doubled at Sick Kids and at Ottawa's Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Minister, will you issue a call to all trained medical personnel, including available general practitioners, to assist ER triage nurses in dealing with the surge that is expected?

One of the responsibilities that we all have in this House is to interpret and give expression to the public interest. I think what the public interest demands here is that we accept the auditor's report in full. I think it demands that we work together to move forward and continue to make more progress when it comes to putting in place an electronic health record that will benefit all Ontarians.

The fact of the matter is-again, my colleague is not prepared to acknowledge this-we have built a strong foundation. We have in place an important part of the foundation on which to build this electronic health record: 80,000 Ontarians are now in a pilot project for ePrescribing and four million Ontarians have electronic medical records. All Ontario Hospitals have gone filmless; they're now using digital diagnostic scans.

These are the kinds of things that we have established as a success. There's more to be done, and I think that's what Ontarians want us to do.

TAXATION

It's up for discussion every day in this House, in businesses and at the breakfast tables of families. I think it's a very important discussion for us to have. To come back to something I said earlier, I think the single most important question that we are charged with answering together is, what do we need to do in order to strengthen our economy? It's different from the question of what we want to do. What do we need to do to build a stronger economy not just for ourselves but for our children and grandchildren? What do we need to do to ensure that we've got the continuing capacity to support our colleges, our universities, our schools, our Hospitals, our doctors, our nurses, our police and our firefighters? The foundation for all of that is a strong economy. We're absolutely convinced we've got to move forward with the HST to maintain that fiscal capacity, that economic capacity to enjoy our quality of life and good-quality public services.

1050

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

One of the responsibilities that we all have in this House is to interpret and give expression to the public interest. I think what the public interest demands here is that we accept the auditor's report in full. I think it demands that we work together to move forward and continue to make more progress when it comes to putting in place an electronic health record that will benefit all Ontarians.

The fact of the matter is-again, my colleague is not prepared to acknowledge this-we have built a strong foundation. We have in place an important part of the foundation on which to build this electronic health record: 80,000 Ontarians are now in a pilot project for ePrescribing and four million Ontarians have electronic medical records. All Ontario Hospitals have gone filmless; they're now using digital diagnostic scans.

These are the kinds of things that we have established as a success. There's more to be done, and I think that's what Ontarians want us to do.

TAXATION

It's up for discussion every day in this House, in businesses and at the breakfast tables of families. I think it's a very important discussion for us to have. To come back to something I said earlier, I think the single most important question that we are charged with answering together is, what do we need to do in order to strengthen our economy? It's different from the question of what we want to do. What do we need to do to build a stronger economy not just for ourselves but for our children and grandchildren? What do we need to do to ensure that we've got the continuing capacity to support our colleges, our universities, our schools, our Hospitals, our doctors, our nurses, our police and our firefighters? The foundation for all of that is a strong economy. We're absolutely convinced we've got to move forward with the HST to maintain that fiscal capacity, that economic capacity to enjoy our quality of life and good-quality public services.

1050

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I think we always have an interest in this House in reliable information, and I have more here. The auditor makes reference to the network and the two data centres that underpin the electronic health records, and he says, "As of December 2008, the data centres housed an estimated 1,300 servers, and the network connected some 3,500 clients. Clients include all Ontario's public Hospitals, public health units, community care access centres, and retail chain pharmacies; many of the province's continuing care organizations; and some physician offices." Much work has been done.

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-

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.

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.

1050

I will allow my colleagues to speculate, interpret and to interpolate, but I'm going to stick with the report itself, because I think the findings in there, the specific wording, are really important. With respect to the work done, I want to repeat the finding of the auditor. He said that when it comes to the network and the two data centres that underpin the electronic health record, as of December 2008, the data centres housed an estimated 1,300 servers and the network connected some 3,500 clients. Clients include all of Ontario's public Hospitals, public health units, community care access centres, retail chain pharmacies, many of the province's continuing care organizations and some physician offices.

Again, the facts are-I'm not interpreting, and I'm not speculating; I'm just sticking to the report-we have laid a strong part of the foundations when it comes to the Ontario health record.

AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE

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

I can understand that it's in my honourable colleague's political interest to pursue this, but we're charged with upholding the greater public interest. That's why we asked the auditor to accelerate his look at eHealth, that's why we have willingly embraced every single one of the recommendations put forward by the auditor, and that's why we've even gone beyond that and put in place a number of new rules. We now require competition for contracts with our consultants. Consultants can no longer charge for Hospitality and food. They must have their expenses approved by the Integrity Commissioner.

We are also continuing to reduce the use of consultants. Under our government's watch, they've dropped overall by 34%, but within eHealth and the Smart Systems for Health agency, we've reduced the use of consultants in comparison to previous governments by some 40%. We think it's an improvement. Obviously, there's still more work to be done.

ELECTRONIC HEALTH INFORMATION

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'm pleased to speak to this issue as well. That is a practice, in my understanding, that's been around for a long time. It was there under the NDP, the Conservatives and now, under our government. If it doesn't offend the letter, it certainly offends the spirit of the salary disclosure legislation. That's why we have undertaken-I believe my honourable colleague knows this-to ensure that if you look up the salary of a senior bureaucrat working inside the Ministry of Health, that will be reflected under the Ministry of Health column and not buried away in some other Hospital. Like my colleague, I disagree with that practice and that's why we're going to change it.
EMPLOYMENT SUPPORTS

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.

1050

ELECTRONIC HEALTH INFORMATION

I would argue that on our watch we've come a long way when it comes to enhancing transparency and increasing accountability, and I'll just list a few examples of that. One of the first things that we did was to increase the ambit of the freedom-of-information legislation to bring back in OPG and Hydro One, companies that had been excluded by the Conservative government. We then provided new authority to the auditor to take a look at, for the first time, universities, schools and Hospitals. We then gave new authority to the auditor-in fact, a mandate-to review government expenditures before we go into an election so there are no surprise deficits that come out on the other side of an election. Beyond that, we've also taken additional steps, and I'll be pleased to speak to those in the supplementaries.

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.

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

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

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.

1040

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 know my honourable colleague understands the steps that we've taken recently and those that we've taken since we earned the privilege of serving Ontarians in government. We recognize that Ontarians work hard for their money and we have a special responsibility to use their dollars wisely.

In the past, we have expanded the ambit of the freedom-of-information legislation to take into account Hydro One and OPG. We've also given the auditor additional powers so that he can now look at, for the first time, our universities, our schools and our Hospitals. We're also requiring that the auditor take a look at the government finances before going into an election so we're all clear as to the true state of affairs in that regard. Most recently, we've put in place a number of new measures that are specific to our agencies, boards and commissions, and I know that my colleague understands all of that.

Forty-five per cent. Wait times are down, we are building new Hospitals, we've hired thousands of nurses, we've expanded our medical school spaces. I think we've got 800,000 more Ontarians who are now attached to family care. I think we've made real, measurable progress in a number of ways.

There's always more work to be done, but I don't think it could be objectively argued that we have somehow produced a reduction in services. In fact, we've dramatically increased quality of care for many Ontarians.

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-

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

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

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

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

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

The honourable member, I gather, is asking for the minister's resignation and I disagree. Although there are over 150 Hospitals in the province of Ontario, each with their own set of rules and regulations, largely in keeping with the advice of the Ontario Hospital Association, she is saying that this particular minister ought to be responsible for the activities of any one individual working inside the Hospital when it comes to sole-source contracts. I don't agree with that.

I think it is important for us to set a standard. We've said no sole-source contracts for consultants. That's what we've done on behalf of the government. The Hospital is taking responsibility for the course of action which it feels appropriate in the circumstances, and we support them in that regard.

I know my colleague does in fact understand that the Hospital has a board of directors. There's a line of authority and accountability connected with that. There is a due process to be pursued in these kinds of circumstances.

My understanding is that the Hospital is on to this issue. They feel it's an important issue. They are taking responsibility for doing what they feel is appropriate in the circumstances, and we support them in that regard.

SKILLS TRAINING

I want to welcome representatives of the community who are here today. I want to acknowledge that this has been a difficult debate. I understand that there's anxiety that has been created and we all have a tremendous attachment to our local Hospitals.

Here at Queen's Park, in downtown Toronto, we have to rely on our local health integration networks and the work that they do to represent the interest of their communities. We have heard from the local health integration network, and their recommendation is that they put in place a 24/7 urgent care centre that will accommodate fully 95% of the patients who are now going to the Hospital in Fort Erie. We think that overall it presents a step forward in improving the quality of care that's available to patients in the community.

I understand that it's difficult and it's controversial, but we believe it's the right thing to do.

There was a third party review conducted of this issue by a Dr. Jack Kitts. He said the following: "In critical cases it is vital that patients receive definitive treatment as quickly as possible. The ED at the Douglas Memorial site is unable to provide this service as it lacks the necessary diagnostic equipment and specialist back-up."

Again, we're putting in place an urgent care centre, which will be open on a 24/7 basis, that can accommodate 95% of the patients who are already going to the Douglas Memorial Hospital in Fort Erie. The other 5% will be going to a larger Hospital with more technology and more expertise so they can provide better care to patients in need of that kind of care.

I understand and I acknowledge that this is a difficult issue. There is tremendous sensitivity associated with your local Hospital, but we firmly believe this will improve the quality of care for people in the community.

AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRY

Like Hydro One and OPG. We then gave the auditor additional powers so that he could look into our universities, schools and Hospitals, something that the previous Conservative government had also refused to do. I think if you check the record, we have a long and distinguished record when it comes to improving accountability-

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.

Again, just to recap in terms of the changes we've been making to enhance transparency and accountability: In addition to expanding the ambit of the freedom-of-information request to include Hydro One and OPG, giving the auditor more power to look at, for the first time ever, universities, schools and Hospitals, we abandoned those sole-source contracts. We are giving new authority to the Integrity Commissioner-we will embody that in legislation in a bill shortly to be introduced in this House; we're making training, when it comes to expense claims, mandatory; and we're going to require for the first time ever in Ontario that we post online the expenses of not only cabinet ministers and senior executives in the OPS but also senior executives in our biggest agencies, boards and commissions. Looking at that altogether, it is impossible not to conclude that we have truly enhanced transparency and accountability in the province of Ontario.
AGENCY SPENDING

I just want to reassure my colleague, and Ontarians generally, that the single sales tax would not apply to rents, and she knows that.

There are a number of important issues that have been raised in the by-election in St. Paul's, including the Wychwood Barns, which is an important community meeting place, and the Winona public school pool. Voters are pleased that we made a contribution to the Toronto board so that they can invest in their pools.

Tenants want to know that we will continue to do everything that we can to keep the rents low. I think they have been fairly, to state, impressed that we've had some of the lowest rent guidelines ever. There are issues regarding schools and Hospitals, the OCB, public transit, so it's more than just a single sales tax, I think, in fairness to voters in that riding.

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.

First of all, I want to support the sentiment expressed by my colleague. The CAW has done something absolutely remarkable: In the last year alone, they've negotiated three separate collective agreements with GM, and they've made significant concessions every time. I understand that, I recognize that and I respect that.

Now, in fairness to Ontario taxpayers, they're also being called upon to make significant concessions as well-not to put more money into their Hospitals or health care but to put more money in a private sector venture, General Motors of Canada. We think we have a responsibility to do that. That's why we've remained at the table. We're working with the federal government and the government in Washington to see what we can do to put GM on a sound footing. Those negotiations are continuing.

I'm proud of the efforts that we continue to make to support every region in this province.

I too had the opportunity to visit the great north. You cannot help but be impressed by the work ethic and determination and the success that has been experienced by so many of our Ontario communities. They have some special challenges and, as well, they have some special opportunities.

We continue to find new ways to support the forestry sector, for example. We continue to find new ways to bring stability and certainty to the mining sector, which is so important to many folks in the north.

As well, the fact of the matter is that when I talk to families in the north, they're saying, "Whatever you do, please continue to find ways to fund our schools, our Hospitals and our social programs." And again, our budget speaks to those basic priorities for Ontario families.

If you take a look at our budget, whether it's for families living in the north or any other part of this province, it is balanced. It invests in ensuring that there are more opportunities for business development in the province of Ontario, as well-

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

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

CHILDREN'S MENTAL
HEALTH SERVICES

Again, there's a very comprehensive plan that is in place. There's one at the provincial level, and there are individual plans at the public health unit level.

My colleague makes a good point about people who are coming in as migrant workers to help our economy, help our employers here and, frankly, help our communities in Ontario. We're going to continue to work with the federal government to ensure that those individuals are properly screened before they get on an airplane coming into Ontario. We will also ensure that our public health units have all the resources they need to do the job as they're called upon to do it.

We are going to continue to work well and hard with all of our colleagues as we deal with swine flu. Again, I want to commend Ontarians as well for the role that they have taken on understanding the importance of washing their hands and, if they're sick, staying home.

HEALTH CARE
Mrs. Elizabeth Witmer: To the Premier: There's a tremendous amount of concern in this province about the lack of a plan when it comes to health care. In fact, we've got about 40 buses here today, with somewhere, it's anticipated, in the neighbourhood of 3,000 people coming. We now have the possibility of a swine flu outbreak. We have Dr. Tom Closson indicating that our health system is tight and our Hospitals are running at 100% capacity. It's going to be difficult to deal with any outbreak that may happen. At the same time, we've got health cuts. That's why people are here today. They're losing their emergency departments. They're losing their Hospitals. They're losing their outpatient services. Your policies are contributing to cuts in beds and cuts in nurses.

I ask you today: We have an opposition day motion; will you allow your backbenchers to support it?

Capacity always remains an issue, and we will do everything that we can and must in order to manage that.

One of the things I want to draw to my colleague's attention, and I think it's worth noting, is that we appear to be experiencing only a milder variation of the swine flu, in terms of its impact on people, here in Ontario. That's not to say that we might not experience another form, but I can say, again, that as a result of our new investments, we are much better prepared than we have been in the past. We have now, for example, five rapid response teams which are available to be deployed anywhere in Ontario in the event of a serious outbreak in one particular community. We have developed 14 regional infection control networks to better integrate infection prevention and control activities across the health care system. And we have now hired 166 Hospital infection control practitioners, one for every 100 Hospital beds. That's the best ratio in North America.

Again, I can say that I have confidence in the people working in our Hospitals and our broader public health sector and all our doctors and all our nurses. Again, I want to remind my honourable colleague that we have made considerable new investments in health care, a 45% overall increase in health care funding, notwithstanding the fact that inflation only went up by 11%. When it comes to public health alone, we have nearly tripled funding levels, from $233 million to $680 million.

There's always more to be done, but we've got to live in the real world. The real world calls for us to demonstrate our continuing commitment to health care, and I think we've done that in a very measurable and demonstrable way.

Hospital FUNDING
Mme France Gélinas: Ma question est pour le premier ministre. Today, people from rural and small-town Ontario are demonstrating on the front lawn of Queen's Park because of what's happening to their local Hospitals. My question is simple: Can the Premier tell me why Ontario has small and rural Hospitals?

A few things: First of all, I think it's important for us to work with the LHINs. They are the people who we recognize in the communities who are to provide leadership, and LHINs shape the local decision-making. We think it's important to work with those people.

As well, I think it's important to understand that when it comes to the two Hospitals in question, at present, if you were suffering from severe trauma or a heart attack or a stroke and found yourself in an ambulance, the ambulances would drive by those two Hospitals to larger centres. In fact, they're driving to larger centres because the larger centres have more equipment and they have a specialist on site.

This is all about ensuring that we're bringing home to people, in the closest possible way, the best quality of care. That's what's motivating this decision-making. I understand it's controversial, I understand it's very emotional for the folks there, but I want them to understand it's about improving quality of care.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

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?

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

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

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

SPORTS FUNDING

I want to commend the Minister of Finance in his absence. He's working hard. He's on the road now to speak to foreign investors in our bond. I can say that the minister, like every member of our caucus, has given careful thought as to what we need to do together to strengthen ourselves.

My friend opposite believes that we need do nothing. He believes firmly in the power of inaction. We reject that. We think our world has changed. We think we have to take certain kinds of steps. We think that we've been given a special responsibility to demonstrate leadership. That's what we're doing. We're doing it in a way that protects the overwhelming majority of Ontario families. We're doing it in a way that will strengthen our businesses and make them more competitive so they can create more jobs and hire more of us, and generate the wealth to support our schools, our Hospitals and supports for our vulnerable. That's why we're moving in that direction.