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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

My colleague and I just happen to see things differently on this score. I think there has been ample Opportunity for debate. There have been over 160 occasions created by members of the government-MPPs-to connect with the people in their ridings around the province to get a better understanding of their views and give them a sense of what in fact is happening through our package of tax reforms. Add to that, I'm sure, at least 40 opportunities created by the opposition, and you're talking about over 200 separate opportunities to engage Ontarians when it comes to the matter of the HST and our package of tax reforms.

We have always said that this is a difficult initiative, and that is why the other two parties chose not to do it. But sometimes you have to do things even when they are not easy. Sometimes you have to make difficult decisions in order to create 600,000 more jobs, and that's what this is all about.

My understanding is that through discussions with House leaders, we in fact offered more time for committee hearings. Speaker, you will know that the opposition scuttled two question periods. They also said they were not prepared to accept more committee time.

Speaker, you've ruled on this, and we accept that ruling, that we're going to have committee hearings after midnight. I think it will be a little hard on families to have to engage in those kinds of things, but so be it. If that's what the opposition wants to do, we will willingly participate in that.

The point I want to continue to make, though, is that we've had an Opportunity now for nine months of public conversation and discussion about a very important package of tax reforms. It's an important package. It particularly speaks to securing a bright future for our children. Experts have told us we're talking about creating some 600,000 more jobs and eliciting $47 billion more by way of investment and new business. We think that's worth going ahead with.

TAXATION

My colleague and I just happen to see things differently on this score. I think there has been ample Opportunity for debate. There have been over 160 occasions created by members of the government-MPPs-to connect with the people in their ridings around the province to get a better understanding of their views and give them a sense of what in fact is happening through our package of tax reforms. Add to that, I'm sure, at least 40 opportunities created by the opposition, and you're talking about over 200 separate opportunities to engage Ontarians when it comes to the matter of the HST and our package of tax reforms.

We have always said that this is a difficult initiative, and that is why the other two parties chose not to do it. But sometimes you have to do things even when they are not easy. Sometimes you have to make difficult decisions in order to create 600,000 more jobs, and that's what this is all about.

My understanding is that through discussions with House leaders, we in fact offered more time for committee hearings. Speaker, you will know that the opposition scuttled two question periods. They also said they were not prepared to accept more committee time.

Speaker, you've ruled on this, and we accept that ruling, that we're going to have committee hearings after midnight. I think it will be a little hard on families to have to engage in those kinds of things, but so be it. If that's what the opposition wants to do, we will willingly participate in that.

The point I want to continue to make, though, is that we've had an Opportunity now for nine months of public conversation and discussion about a very important package of tax reforms. It's an important package. It particularly speaks to securing a bright future for our children. Experts have told us we're talking about creating some 600,000 more jobs and eliciting $47 billion more by way of investment and new business. We think that's worth going ahead with.

TAXATION

I always appreciate the Opportunity. I want to begin by informing my honourable colleague that so far, outside of this House, members of the government have hosted or been involved in some 120 public consultations. We're proud of those.

In addition to that-

Interjections.

That's just on the government side-some 120 public consultation opportunities. I know that members of the opposition have also been involved in their own way, hosting these kinds of fora, and that's a good thing too.

There will be three separate opportunities to vote on this legislation. There has been tremendous Opportunity-

Interjections.

I want to remind my honourable colleague of the position that he used to have on harmonization and corporate tax cuts, which he now rejects. At the Economic Club on April 23 of this very year he said, "To be clear, I believe that there's little sense in allowing two separate governments to apply two separate sets of taxes and policies and to collect two separate groups of sales taxes."

He was right then; he is wrong now. We plan to move ahead with this. We have given tremendous Opportunity for the opposition, for Ontarians generally, to engage in this debate. It's an important one. We look forward to moving ahead with it to build a stronger Ontario and to create close to 600,000 more jobs.

1040

I want to take the Opportunity once again to thank Prime Minister Harper and Minister Flaherty for their support on this very important issue, on behalf of Ontarians and, I would argue, Canadians as well.

My colleague was adamantly in favour, very much and enthusiastically in favour, of the harmonized sales tax in the past. Now he says he is not, which puts him in opposition to the federal government. It also puts him in some very strange company, I would argue. He now stands locked arm in arm with the Ontario NDP, the BC NDP and the Canada NDP. I guess it's up to my honourable colleague to choose the company that he keeps.

We're actually progressive on this side of the House. We're actually reformers on this side of the House. We're actually for doing those things, even though they might be difficult-

I've got good news for the people of Hamilton on a number of fronts. I had the Opportunity recently to speak with the mayor of Hamilton, and I congratulated him for the support he gave us in landing the Pan Am Games. That's going to result, in the city of Hamilton alone, in a new swimming pool at McMaster University, a new stadium and a velodrome, which will be the best of its kind in northeast America.

Why is that important to the people of Hamilton? Because it means jobs, jobs and jobs. We're talking over $200 million in infrastructure investment, with a deadline. It's got to be done by 2015.

On top of that, we're going to move ahead with a package of tax reforms that will create some 591,000 more jobs. My honourable colleague knows that the HST in particular will benefit our manufacturers, and if there's a community in Ontario which is heavily dependent on manufacturing, it is the city and the people of Hamilton. That's one more reason for us to work together to move ahead with this package of tax reforms.

I always appreciate the Opportunity. I want to begin by informing my honourable colleague that so far, outside of this House, members of the government have hosted or been involved in some 120 public consultations. We're proud of those.

In addition to that-

Interjections.

That's just on the government side-some 120 public consultation opportunities. I know that members of the opposition have also been involved in their own way, hosting these kinds of fora, and that's a good thing too.

There will be three separate opportunities to vote on this legislation. There has been tremendous Opportunity-

Interjections.

I want to remind my honourable colleague of the position that he used to have on harmonization and corporate tax cuts, which he now rejects. At the Economic Club on April 23 of this very year he said, "To be clear, I believe that there's little sense in allowing two separate governments to apply two separate sets of taxes and policies and to collect two separate groups of sales taxes."

He was right then; he is wrong now. We plan to move ahead with this. We have given tremendous Opportunity for the opposition, for Ontarians generally, to engage in this debate. It's an important one. We look forward to moving ahead with it to build a stronger Ontario and to create close to 600,000 more jobs.

1040

I want to take the Opportunity once again to thank Prime Minister Harper and Minister Flaherty for their support on this very important issue, on behalf of Ontarians and, I would argue, Canadians as well.

My colleague was adamantly in favour, very much and enthusiastically in favour, of the harmonized sales tax in the past. Now he says he is not, which puts him in opposition to the federal government. It also puts him in some very strange company, I would argue. He now stands locked arm in arm with the Ontario NDP, the BC NDP and the Canada NDP. I guess it's up to my honourable colleague to choose the company that he keeps.

We're actually progressive on this side of the House. We're actually reformers on this side of the House. We're actually for doing those things, even though they might be difficult-

I've got good news for the people of Hamilton on a number of fronts. I had the Opportunity recently to speak with the mayor of Hamilton, and I congratulated him for the support he gave us in landing the Pan Am Games. That's going to result, in the city of Hamilton alone, in a new swimming pool at McMaster University, a new stadium and a velodrome, which will be the best of its kind in northeast America.

Why is that important to the people of Hamilton? Because it means jobs, jobs and jobs. We're talking over $200 million in infrastructure investment, with a deadline. It's got to be done by 2015.

On top of that, we're going to move ahead with a package of tax reforms that will create some 591,000 more jobs. My honourable colleague knows that the HST in particular will benefit our manufacturers, and if there's a community in Ontario which is heavily dependent on manufacturing, it is the city and the people of Hamilton. That's one more reason for us to work together to move ahead with this package of tax reforms.

I want to take the Opportunity once again to thank Prime Minister Harper and Minister Flaherty for their support in this regard. I want to acknowledge the support of both our food banks and our-

Interjections.

We've had a very healthy and, with the passage of time, an ever-more-informed debate about our package of tax reforms, and that is now formally taking place inside the Legislature. But I think it's fair to say that around water coolers, and in fact many breakfast tables, this debate has been ensuing for seven months. As I say, that is a good and healthy thing.

There will be three separate votes in this Legislature where members will have an Opportunity to express themselves; there will be fulsome Opportunity to debate it. The bill will also go to committee. I also expect, given the nature of this legislation, that it will be the subject of some considerable conversation between now and the next election. That, too, is healthy in a vital democracy such as ours.

But I think, on behalf of Ontarians, there's an important question that we have to continue to put to the opposition: If they're against our plan to create 600,000 more jobs in the course of the next 10 years, where is their plan?

Again, I appreciate the representation made by my honourable colleague, but I disagree with her fundamentally in terms of what we need to do together to strengthen this economy and create more jobs. There will be ample Opportunity for debate in this House. There will be committee hearings. Members, I expect, will have created opportunities of their own accord in their ridings and around Ontario to make sure that they're hearing from Ontarians.

Beyond that, what it falls down to-and there's no escaping this painful reality. We have a plan. We're putting forward a package of tax reforms. We're cutting personal income taxes. We're cutting taxes for small business. We're cutting taxes for big business. We're going ahead with the HST. We're going to create 600,000 more jobs than we otherwise would have under the existing system. That's our plan. We're proud of that plan. On behalf of Ontarians, I ask the opposition: Where's your plan?

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

I appreciate the question from my colleague. It was much along the lines of one put earlier today by a member of the Conservative Party, and my answer is the same.

The auditor had a specific opinion on this, and I think we should respect that. He said on at least two specific occasions that he was aware of the allegations that party politics-and that's what my colleague is after here. She's insinuating that party politics were at play. He says of party politics, "There was no evidence of this during our work." He said that on a couple of occasions.

I think the auditor was nothing if not thorough. I think we have a responsibility to accept every part of his work, all of his findings and all of his recommendations. We on this side of the House have agreed to do that, and I think we should, among other things, respect his finding that there were no party politics at work in this.

Mme France Gélinas: I am not after party politics. I want those people to have an Opportunity to give their side of the story. Sitting in public accounts, people made accusations against those people, and they have no way to defend themselves, to clear their name and to let us know what really happened because you won't let them testify. This afternoon, we will be bringing a motion to ask for Mrs. Kramer and Dr. Hudson to come forward. Will you let the motion go through so they can clear their names? They deserve this.

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

I want to take the Opportunity once again to thank Prime Minister Harper and Minister Flaherty for their support in this regard. I want to acknowledge the support of both our food banks and our-

Interjections.

We've had a very healthy and, with the passage of time, an ever-more-informed debate about our package of tax reforms, and that is now formally taking place inside the Legislature. But I think it's fair to say that around water coolers, and in fact many breakfast tables, this debate has been ensuing for seven months. As I say, that is a good and healthy thing.

There will be three separate votes in this Legislature where members will have an Opportunity to express themselves; there will be fulsome Opportunity to debate it. The bill will also go to committee. I also expect, given the nature of this legislation, that it will be the subject of some considerable conversation between now and the next election. That, too, is healthy in a vital democracy such as ours.

But I think, on behalf of Ontarians, there's an important question that we have to continue to put to the opposition: If they're against our plan to create 600,000 more jobs in the course of the next 10 years, where is their plan?

Again, I appreciate the representation made by my honourable colleague, but I disagree with her fundamentally in terms of what we need to do together to strengthen this economy and create more jobs. There will be ample Opportunity for debate in this House. There will be committee hearings. Members, I expect, will have created opportunities of their own accord in their ridings and around Ontario to make sure that they're hearing from Ontarians.

Beyond that, what it falls down to-and there's no escaping this painful reality. We have a plan. We're putting forward a package of tax reforms. We're cutting personal income taxes. We're cutting taxes for small business. We're cutting taxes for big business. We're going ahead with the HST. We're going to create 600,000 more jobs than we otherwise would have under the existing system. That's our plan. We're proud of that plan. On behalf of Ontarians, I ask the opposition: Where's your plan?

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

I appreciate the question from my colleague. It was much along the lines of one put earlier today by a member of the Conservative Party, and my answer is the same.

The auditor had a specific opinion on this, and I think we should respect that. He said on at least two specific occasions that he was aware of the allegations that party politics-and that's what my colleague is after here. She's insinuating that party politics were at play. He says of party politics, "There was no evidence of this during our work." He said that on a couple of occasions.

I think the auditor was nothing if not thorough. I think we have a responsibility to accept every part of his work, all of his findings and all of his recommendations. We on this side of the House have agreed to do that, and I think we should, among other things, respect his finding that there were no party politics at work in this.

Mme France Gélinas: I am not after party politics. I want those people to have an Opportunity to give their side of the story. Sitting in public accounts, people made accusations against those people, and they have no way to defend themselves, to clear their name and to let us know what really happened because you won't let them testify. This afternoon, we will be bringing a motion to ask for Mrs. Kramer and Dr. Hudson to come forward. Will you let the motion go through so they can clear their names? They deserve this.

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

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

I don't know what my honourable colleague is afraid of. We are prepared to do business with any company that approaches us and can settle on terms that are advantageous to the people of Ontario, whether that's Samsung or anybody else. One thing we are absolutely committed to doing is finding Opportunity in the green economy to ensure we create more green jobs, whether that involves the greening of existing and traditional jobs or the creation of brand new green jobs; for example, installing and maintaining wind turbines. But more than that, we want to put in place capacity so that we can build wind turbines and solar panel materials, so that we can export those to the United States and other parts of Canada. Therein lies tremendous Opportunity in the green economy for Ontarians.
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

I want to draw to my colleague's attention a very important report that was released recently by Dr. Jack Mintz. It was peer-reviewed by four economists, including Don Drummond and Jim Stanford of the CAW, so we've got quite a spectrum there in terms of economists who've looked at it. What Dr. Mintz said is that because of our package of tax reforms, over the course of the next 10 years, 591,000 more jobs will be created than otherwise would have been the case.

Fundamentally, this is about jobs. It's about ensuring that gentlemen like the one referred to by my colleague have the Opportunity to earn a good living, to enjoy a good standard of living and to look at his kids with a sense of pride, knowing they're making it on their own. This is about building more jobs in the province of Ontario and it's about building a better future for all Ontarians.

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

I don't know what my honourable colleague is afraid of. We are prepared to do business with any company that approaches us and can settle on terms that are advantageous to the people of Ontario, whether that's Samsung or anybody else. One thing we are absolutely committed to doing is finding Opportunity in the green economy to ensure we create more green jobs, whether that involves the greening of existing and traditional jobs or the creation of brand new green jobs; for example, installing and maintaining wind turbines. But more than that, we want to put in place capacity so that we can build wind turbines and solar panel materials, so that we can export those to the United States and other parts of Canada. Therein lies tremendous Opportunity in the green economy for Ontarians.
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

I want to draw to my colleague's attention a very important report that was released recently by Dr. Jack Mintz. It was peer-reviewed by four economists, including Don Drummond and Jim Stanford of the CAW, so we've got quite a spectrum there in terms of economists who've looked at it. What Dr. Mintz said is that because of our package of tax reforms, over the course of the next 10 years, 591,000 more jobs will be created than otherwise would have been the case.

Fundamentally, this is about jobs. It's about ensuring that gentlemen like the one referred to by my colleague have the Opportunity to earn a good living, to enjoy a good standard of living and to look at his kids with a sense of pride, knowing they're making it on their own. This is about building more jobs in the province of Ontario and it's about building a better future for all Ontarians.

I appreciate the question. This is the first that we learned of this particular circumstance. We and our public health officials haven't been anything but unanimous when it comes to who are to be found in the highest-priority groups and who are those who are most at risk, including pregnant moms.

I want to take this Opportunity to thank the public health officials in Peel and everywhere across the province for the heroic efforts that they have been making to adopt best practices as quickly as they can. I think if you turn on your TV this afternoon and this evening, you will see that those long lineups have all but disappeared. There are 2,000 places now that are giving out the vaccination. We have doubled the number of public health clinics. We have made some real progress.

I want to thank Ontarians for their patience and understanding in allowing those in the high-priority groups to get in line first.

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

Clearly, the auditor pointed out that he did not receive the compliance, which had, until that point in time, completely characterized our dealing with the auditor on any number of files.

The deputy minister has had an Opportunity to speak to this, the secretary of cabinet has had an Opportunity to speak to this, and I have certainly done so as well. We want to make it clear to all of our civil servants, all of our ministers and everybody inside the government that our responsibility, and in the public interest, is to comply with any request coming from the auditor, and we intend to do that.

I appreciate the question in the absence of Minister Bradley. What I can say is that we are working as hard as we can to provide access to drivers' testing at the earliest possible Opportunity to take advantage of new drivers who are coming on the scene. Not only does this open up some employment responsibilities for our newest drivers, but it also enables them to take on some social and family responsibilities to help out at home. Those are the kinds of things that I can say at the highest level.

I appreciate the question. This is the first that we learned of this particular circumstance. We and our public health officials haven't been anything but unanimous when it comes to who are to be found in the highest-priority groups and who are those who are most at risk, including pregnant moms.

I want to take this Opportunity to thank the public health officials in Peel and everywhere across the province for the heroic efforts that they have been making to adopt best practices as quickly as they can. I think if you turn on your TV this afternoon and this evening, you will see that those long lineups have all but disappeared. There are 2,000 places now that are giving out the vaccination. We have doubled the number of public health clinics. We have made some real progress.

I want to thank Ontarians for their patience and understanding in allowing those in the high-priority groups to get in line first.

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

Clearly, the auditor pointed out that he did not receive the compliance, which had, until that point in time, completely characterized our dealing with the auditor on any number of files.

The deputy minister has had an Opportunity to speak to this, the secretary of cabinet has had an Opportunity to speak to this, and I have certainly done so as well. We want to make it clear to all of our civil servants, all of our ministers and everybody inside the government that our responsibility, and in the public interest, is to comply with any request coming from the auditor, and we intend to do that.

I appreciate the question in the absence of Minister Bradley. What I can say is that we are working as hard as we can to provide access to drivers' testing at the earliest possible Opportunity to take advantage of new drivers who are coming on the scene. Not only does this open up some employment responsibilities for our newest drivers, but it also enables them to take on some social and family responsibilities to help out at home. Those are the kinds of things that I can say at the highest level.

I appreciate the question and the Opportunity to speak to a very important issue. The Minister of Health and I have just come from a meeting with our chief medical officer of health, Dr. King. One of the things that we asked a great deal about, of course, is the improvement that we would expect to see this week based on what occurred last week. There were some tremendous successes in some parts of the province, but in others, particularly in Toronto, families were left waiting in line for simply too long a period of time.

We have now learned we're going to go from 50 clinics that were open last week to 100. Here in the city of Toronto, we'll go from two to 10. This week there will be 2,000 doctors' offices and clinics, all told, available. Our intention is to administer 2.1 million doses by this end of this week. I am confident that we have taken a major leap forward in ensuring that we have more people available on the ground delivering these vaccines at a much faster rate.

I think, in fairness, all provincial public health administrations find themselves somewhat beholden, obviously, to our supplier, which is obtained through the federal government. We just learned at the end of last week-and I know that the Minister of Health contacted my honourable colleague in the NDP as well as my honourable colleague in the Conservative Party to bring them up to date in terms of the dramatic reduction we were informed we would receive by way of supply of vaccine. We've got to make adjustments accordingly.

But what we have asked Dr. King to do is to proceed as quickly as she possibly can to get those vaccines out of our fridges and into the arms of Ontarians. I have assured her that if there's anything she requires in addition, either in terms of finances or additional support of any kind, our government stands four-square behind her and will do whatever is needed to ensure that we deliver this vaccine at the earliest possible Opportunity to as many Ontarians as possible.

FLU IMMUNIZATION

I appreciate the question and the Opportunity to speak to a very important issue. The Minister of Health and I have just come from a meeting with our chief medical officer of health, Dr. King. One of the things that we asked a great deal about, of course, is the improvement that we would expect to see this week based on what occurred last week. There were some tremendous successes in some parts of the province, but in others, particularly in Toronto, families were left waiting in line for simply too long a period of time.

We have now learned we're going to go from 50 clinics that were open last week to 100. Here in the city of Toronto, we'll go from two to 10. This week there will be 2,000 doctors' offices and clinics, all told, available. Our intention is to administer 2.1 million doses by this end of this week. I am confident that we have taken a major leap forward in ensuring that we have more people available on the ground delivering these vaccines at a much faster rate.

I think, in fairness, all provincial public health administrations find themselves somewhat beholden, obviously, to our supplier, which is obtained through the federal government. We just learned at the end of last week-and I know that the Minister of Health contacted my honourable colleague in the NDP as well as my honourable colleague in the Conservative Party to bring them up to date in terms of the dramatic reduction we were informed we would receive by way of supply of vaccine. We've got to make adjustments accordingly.

But what we have asked Dr. King to do is to proceed as quickly as she possibly can to get those vaccines out of our fridges and into the arms of Ontarians. I have assured her that if there's anything she requires in addition, either in terms of finances or additional support of any kind, our government stands four-square behind her and will do whatever is needed to ensure that we deliver this vaccine at the earliest possible Opportunity to as many Ontarians as possible.

FLU IMMUNIZATION

I am appreciative of the Opportunity so I can clear a few things up. Number one, my colleague knows that, in fact, the harmonized sales tax will cost the Ontario treasury dollars. He knows that. Secondly, he also knows, but he's not prepared to acknowledge this, that accompanying the harmonized sales tax is a reduction in personal income tax.

One of the things that I have learned through my opportunities to chat with retirees and grandparents is that together they are asking a very important question of all of us: What do we need to do to ensure that we can strengthen this economy so that it generates more jobs not just for ourselves and our children but for our grandchildren? I know the harmonized sales tax is not an easy thing to do. It is not designed to enhance our popularity and have people acclaim us province-wide. It's designed to do what we need to do, which is to strengthen this-

I think we had the Opportunity to speak about this here just yesterday; my answer is the same.

What my colleague is talking about is the budget. In that budget, we did a number of things. In addition to ensuring that our corporations were competitive in a globalized economy, we moved to reduce personal income taxes. We also accelerated the Ontario child benefit to help needy families meet expenses for their children. We also invested significantly in new retraining opportunities for people who have lost their jobs because of the global recession.

By the way, it's a budget that has been endorsed by poverty groups and food banks in Ontario in addition to business groups. We think it has struck the right balance.

I am appreciative of the Opportunity so I can clear a few things up. Number one, my colleague knows that, in fact, the harmonized sales tax will cost the Ontario treasury dollars. He knows that. Secondly, he also knows, but he's not prepared to acknowledge this, that accompanying the harmonized sales tax is a reduction in personal income tax.

One of the things that I have learned through my opportunities to chat with retirees and grandparents is that together they are asking a very important question of all of us: What do we need to do to ensure that we can strengthen this economy so that it generates more jobs not just for ourselves and our children but for our grandchildren? I know the harmonized sales tax is not an easy thing to do. It is not designed to enhance our popularity and have people acclaim us province-wide. It's designed to do what we need to do, which is to strengthen this-

I think we had the Opportunity to speak about this here just yesterday; my answer is the same.

What my colleague is talking about is the budget. In that budget, we did a number of things. In addition to ensuring that our corporations were competitive in a globalized economy, we moved to reduce personal income taxes. We also accelerated the Ontario child benefit to help needy families meet expenses for their children. We also invested significantly in new retraining opportunities for people who have lost their jobs because of the global recession.

By the way, it's a budget that has been endorsed by poverty groups and food banks in Ontario in addition to business groups. We think it has struck the right balance.

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.

I think my honourable colleague ought to know better in this particular regard. I think the deputy minister has had an Opportunity to speak to this, I think the auditor has had an Opportunity to speak to this, and I think my colleague knows the truth: No such order was given by anyone.

In addition to a lot of heat and not very much light, my honourable colleague is given to flights of fancy. The auditor has had an Opportunity to speak to this. The deputy minister has had an Opportunity to speak to this. The secretary of cabinet has had an Opportunity to lend direction to future activities on the part of people working within the bureaucracy.

Let me just take this Opportunity, once again, to reassure the auditor and all the other officers of this government that we will always, in each and every instance, provide all the co-operation that they need to complete their work.

I'm pleased to take the question from my honourable colleague. She's talking about our last budget. That was a budget that was supported by poverty groups, it was a budget that was supported by food banks, and it was a budget that was supported by business groups and others. It struck the right balance in terms of recognizing where we find ourselves at this point in our history and in terms of ensuring that we have competitive levels of corporate taxation. Also, my colleague hasn't had the Opportunity to speak to this very much, but we accelerated the rate at which we are going to invest in the Ontario child benefit to help families that are struggling, living in poverty, whether they're the working poor or those who don't have jobs. That's all part of a budget which we think is thoughtful and essential for the times.

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

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-

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.

I had the Opportunity to speak to this a few moments ago. I think my honourable colleague recognizes that-maybe he's not aware that about 100 submissions have been received from various interested parties; 12 meetings have been held with partners to discuss their submissions. The minister has been meeting with key partners on a number of proposals, and he does intend to introduce a new proposal which we think will help ensure that we continue to strike the right balance between affordability of rates, availability of insurers and the appropriate levels of protection for our drivers.

We're proud of the record that we have in place after six years. The insurance rates are 2% below where they were some six years ago, but obviously there's more work to be done, and Minister Duncan will be speaking to that.

I want to take the Opportunity to remind my honourable colleague of his government's record. It may have been out of mind. Rates went up 43%-

Interjection.

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-

Try as he might, my honourable colleague cannot wriggle off this hook. He tells us that he is adamantly opposed to the single sales tax. He tells us that it will wreak havoc on Ontarians. He tells us that it will hurt our families. He tells us that it will hurt our businesses. He tells us that it will hurt our seniors. He tells us that it will hurt renters, condominium owners, first-time homebuyers and sports enthusiasts. He tells us that it will do all those things, but he is not prepared to stand up and commit, here and now, that once we move ahead with a single sales tax-because we believe it's the right thing to do for Ontarians-that he's prepared to repeal it.

I'm giving him another Opportunity: Is he prepared to have the courage of his convictions and say that, should he earn the privilege of serving Ontarians as the Premier, he will repeal the single sales tax in Ontario?

I think we're having a very important debate in this Legislature. I think it's an important Opportunity for Ontarians to understand what the two sides are.

The people of Ontario could be forgiven for being confused by the position being put forward by the Conservative Party here in Ontario, because they are telling us that they are opposed to the single sales tax, again they are telling us it will wreak havoc both on our families and our economy, that it's not in the interest of our future, and they are going to do everything they possibly can to stop it. But they are not prepared to take the next step and say-once this becomes law in Ontario, once we have this in place in our businesses, and our families are operating on that premise, they are not prepared to stand up and commit to repealing it. And I put it to my colleague-

I am more than prepared to talk about our position on the single sales tax. We've been very clear on this. We have initiated this. We have sought and obtained the support of the federal government when it comes to moving ahead with the single sales tax. We believe that it is the single most important thing that we can do to strengthen this economy, put us on a stronger footing so we can create more jobs and support our public services. That's where we stand: four-square behind the single sales tax.

What Ontarians continue to be confused about is the Conservative Party position, and they're wondering why, if they are so opposed to it, they're not prepared to commit to repealing it. I give my colleague the Opportunity now, which her leader rejected, to inject some clarity into their position on the single sales tax in the province of Ontario.

Given the passion and the enthusiasm that they bring to this debate, and certainly the volume as well, the logical inference would be that they're going to do everything they can not only to stop it but, given the Opportunity, they will instantly repeal it. I would expect that to be the very top of their platform: "We will repeal the single sales tax in the province of Ontario." It's just a suggestion on my part. I'm sure they're going to want to take it into account.

Again I ask my colleague if she might inject at least a little bit of clarity into this debate for the people of Ontario. Will they now stand up and commit to repealing the single sales tax in the province of Ontario?

SCHOOL FACILITIES

First of all, I'm pleased to receive the question, and I want to take this Opportunity to personally congratulate the honourable colleague opposite on the assumption of his new responsibilities.

Speaker, I ask that you not allow these brief comments to detract from my time to respond. I say to my honourable colleague that I enjoyed the special privilege of serving as leader of the official opposition for seven long years, and I wish him at least the very same privilege that I enjoyed. It is also a distinct honour for all of us that the honourable member is joined by his wife and his daughter, and we wish him and his family very, very well.

With respect to the matter at hand, my honourable colleague knows that we did receive advice from the auditor that it would be superfluous for us to engage in both an internal audit and an audit conducted by the Auditor General. We have correspondingly placed all of our auditing in the hands of the Auditor General. We believe that we should give him the time to complete his work. When he has done so, that will be made public, and we are eager to act on any recommendations that he puts forward.

Again, I think the question always comes back to, what do we owe Ontarians here? And I like to think what we owe them is an objective, dispassionate, thorough review of the circumstances. That will be best completed by the Office of the Auditor General.

I want to remind my honourable colleague as well that the public accounts committee will be reviewing the auditor's report on eHealth. This will be coming before the committee. There will be an Opportunity to look at that report to ask questions of the Auditor General. I think that's the appropriate thing to do in the circumstances.

SPECIAL-NEEDS STUDENTS

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

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

I appreciate the Opportunity to say what I've said a number of times already. Some things have taken place there which we simply cannot condone. We're going to have to find ways to ensure that those kinds of things don't happen again.

I think the best thing we can do in the circumstances is to allow the Provincial Auditor to do his work, to conduct his investigation, to speak to the appropriate parties, make the appropriate inquiries, come back to us, lay out the facts clearly and provide us with some specific recommendations so that together we might act on those recommendations. I think that's what fairness demands in the circumstances.

I think I've indicated clearly now on a number of occasions that some things have taken place over at eHealth which none of us are comfortable with, and there are certain things there which none of us could possibly condone. We need to get to the bottom of it, and I think we need to do that in an objective and dispassionate way.

Fortunately, we have an officer of the Legislature who is perfect for these kinds of things. It's the Provincial Auditor. We've asked him to go in there. The Minister of Health has sent him a letter putting in a specific request, asking him if at all possible to accelerate his report, to make that available both in hard copy and online so the public has access to it, so that we can, working together, act on those recommendations at the soonest possible Opportunity.

I want to do that in a way, obviously, that doesn't interfere with the progress that we need to make when it comes to putting in place an electronic health record system for Ontarians. We need to find those efficiencies and continue to improve the quality of our care for all our families.

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ELECTRONIC HEALTH INFORMATION

First of all I want to take the Opportunity to welcome all of our visitors to Queen's Park, but in particular seniors to whom we owe so much. I want to tell seniors and all Ontarians that the decision we have taken together as a government to move forward with a single sales tax is not one that we have taken lightly. But we feel it's absolutely essential if we're going to build a stronger, more competitive economy that will ensure that our businesses can compete with other businesses around the world and that they will continue to have the capacity to hire our children and our grandchildren. That's very important to all of us.

At the same time, we've put in place a package that cuts Ontarians' taxes; 93% of Ontarians will have their taxes cut. That's an important piece of information that doesn't seem to be reaching Ontarians. I know that my honourable colleague is going to want to talk about that a bit more at some point in time, but 93% of Ontarians are going to receive tax cuts.

Again, I recognize that what we are asking of Ontarians is not easy. But I do know that the very best advice we have received from the most thoughtful people on these kinds of issues is that we need to catch up to 130 other countries, we need to catch up to four other provinces which already offer their businesses a significant competitive advantage. We've got to find a way to ensure that Ontario businesses can compete with the best in the world and win. We've got to make sure they're strong enough to continue to hire our children and our grandchildren.

I've had the Opportunity to speak to many seniors about this issue. Their single greatest concern is, "Are we going to leave a strong Ontario for our children and grandchildren? Will we be able to give jobs to our children and our grandchildren?" That's what this is all about. It's about building a bright future for all of us.