Sometimes when MPPs talk about health care and long-term care, they miss the great work being done in the community support services sector.

People want to age at home, and community support services help meet that need. Caregivers risk burnout and financial burden without these services. Some may even feel pressure to quit their job to look after a loved one. No one should feel forced to make this choice.

Community support services are cost-effective, personalized and help free up beds in hospitals and long-term care. Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with the Alzheimer Society, Cheshire Independent Living Services, St. Joe’s hospice and many more. Users of these services see a 43% decrease in avoidable ER visits. In addition, when community support services are available, hospital stay lengths are decreased more than 30%. Care at home costs $42 a day while long-term care is $126; in hospitals, at least $842. Saving $800 per day is pretty cost-effective. It’s literally 5% of the cost.

However, like other parts of our health care system, lack of funding means service reductions and staff are continually asked to do more with less. This sector, primarily made up of women, faces a variety of struggles, including the inability to hire and retain staff.

Ontarians want to be supported at home. I call upon this government to make the necessary investments in community support services so that people can stay where their heart is: at home with loved ones.

My question is to the Premier. My best friend lives in Minden, Ontario. In February, he was in a head-on collision and the worst injuries were suffered by his wife. She had many broken bones and whiplash. My friend, his wife and his mother were all rushed to Minden emergency room in separate ambulances. They said the first responders and the hospital staff were fantastic, but last week they found out that this government is closing Minden’s emergency room on June 1. Haliburton, the next nearest hospital, would have been 45 minutes away.

Will this government stop the closure of the Minden ER so that the people of Minden have access to life-saving emergency services?

Again to the Premier: Haliburton Highlands Health Services said that the Minden ER closure was due to a shortage of nursing and medical staff. For the past five years, this government has been fuelling the staffing shortage and creating a crisis in Ontario’s public health system in order to privatize it. They could address the staffing shortage by repealing Bill 124. They could stop promoting private, for-profit clinics that are draining health care staff from public hospitals, and they could support public, not-for-profit hospitals like the one in Minden.

Will this government admit that the Minden emergency room and the people of Minden are victims of its quest to create a crisis and privatize public health care in Ontario?

Interjections.

Ma question est pour le premier ministre. We heard what happened at Minden hospital. Now let’s go to Carleton Place hospital, where the local hospital was forced to close its emergency department overnight because there weren’t enough staff to keep it open. A week before, it was its sister hospital that was closed overnight due to staff shortages—its third closure in as many months.

Ontario had exactly one—one—unplanned emergency room closure in the last 15 years, but in the last year alone we’ve now had 160—160—emergency room closures in a single year. This isn’t normal, Speaker, and we should not pretend that it is. What new measure will the Premier take today to stop the closure of emergency rooms across our province?

A hundred and sixty emergency room closures in one year under this minister’s watch.

Let’s go to Chesley. In Chesley right now, if a child requires care on a Saturday, they are out of luck. Their local emergency room is now closed evenings and weekends due to staff shortages. People there are worried that this is a sign that the end is near for this hospital. The member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound said that he wants Chesley hospital to return to full service. But after 10 years on the job, it does not look good, Speaker. Would the Premier agree the people of Chesley deserve a full-time emergency room? What will the government do to keep the emergency rooms open in our province?

I want to thank the member. It’s something that’s very personal to me because when I went to Thunder Bay, I understand that the relationship that the office of the coroner has with the great hospital in Thunder Bay is coming to an end. So we’re looking at finding a way to extend this. Yes, you’re correct, we want to look for a permanent solution. This is something that my ministry is looking into, and I’m actively pursuing options. But thank you for the question; it’s a great question.