Thank you, Speaker. You were there when we went through clause-by-clause. We brought forward 74 amendments to Bill 60. The amendments were focused on, if we are going to have investor-driven OR suites built in Ontario, let’s make sure that we protect the public. So a lot of the amendments were about bringing in transparency, bringing in oversight, bringing in protections for the people who will have to receive their care in the profit-driven system that the government is so focused on bringing forward. We also had protections for new health care workers coming in and not belonging to their college.

How did the government receive those 74 amendments to make things better, with more transparency and more accountability in our health care system?

What I can tell you is this: I would support you repealing Bill 124 and not attacking health care workers in the publicly funded, publicly delivered, not-for-profit health care system, sir. I will never, never support a health care system that is driven solely on shareholders making a profit at the expense of the people who simply need medical care. We’ve seen what has happened in long-term care with a profit-driven system.

Are you proud of the record of 5,400 people dying in long-term care because profit was put above care? That’s my question to you.

The government actually voted against every single amendment that would have made this bill better and made it safer for people in the province to get care, to make it faster for people in this province to get care.

I want to quote Dr. Bernard Ho, who came to present. He’s a family and emergency physician in downtown Toronto. He said, “I’m also concerned that these new facilities will pose a safety risk to our patients. These proposed facilities will operate independently of any hospital or oversight committee. There’s currently a lack of detail and transparency for what safety standards these clinics will need to meet and how these will be regulated or monitored.”

I will add, again, this director who will be appointed can hold shares and ownership in these for-profit, shareholder-driven clinics that they’re supposed to be able to issue licences to. If the government can’t see how that is a conflict of interest, then they have their heads in the sand.

What you are talking about in this bill is largely opening up these private, for-profit clinics with no oversight—and I just quoted a family physician who also works in the emergency department in a hospital. There is no oversight and no transparency.

Again, I will go back to the appointment of the director, where you will allow the director who issues licences to these private, for-profit, shareholder-driven clinics to own shares in those clinics. You are talking about lives and deaths, and yet you are allowing a system where the director can hold shares in a company that they give licences to to provide health care, with no oversight and no transparency.

And when we’re talking about mental health and mental well-being and we’re talking about patient care and we’re talking about health human resources, this government is driving health care workers out of the health care system because of Bill 124. These workers are burnt out, they feel demoralized, they feel unappreciated, and they are overworked. Until Bill 124 is repealed, that is not going to change. It doesn’t matter what kind of programs you put in, saying we’re going to get thousands more. Until you stop attacking them and start paying them and respecting them, we are going to continue to have a health human resources issue.

For the record, I have talked to those people. I’ve also talked to the front-line workers who are telling me the issues they’re facing working in our health care system. I would recommend that the member for Windsor–Tecumseh do the same.

I want to thank the member from Windsor West for sharing the great people of Windsor and making sure that we have a balanced viewpoint here.

I know I’ve spoken to Windsor Regional Hospital, David Musyj, Drs. Tayfour and Emara—on the success of the ophthalmology centre servicing the patients of our region and the success of that program, the reduction of wait times. We could have had 15,000 to 20,000 on a cataract wait-list without it. All have confirmed they’re not stealing staff from the hospital, and all the patients I have spoken to who have attended have said that the only thing that’s different is the location; they pay through OHIP.

So my question to the member is this: Have you listened to the perspective of David Musyj, Dr. Emara, Dr. Tayfour and the patients of the Windsor Surgical Centre so far?

I would like to take this opportunity to raise awareness of next week being Mental Health Week in the province of Ontario, May 1 to 7. Mental health is so important in all of our lives. This year’s theme is #MyStory. So it’s encouraging folks to tell their stories, to break the stigma, in knowing that every single one of us have mental health—it’s how we deal with it, it’s how we encounter it with others, and it’s how we support others in our communities.

I will bring it to the question to the member and thank her for her time on Bill 60 today.

Retention in our hospitals for nurses and doctors is a major problem. A lot of that goes back to mental health.

Does she think that the 5% that was given to our mental health programs in our cities was enough, instead of the 8% that they had asked for across the board?

Further debate?

I’m pleased to rise in this House to have the opportunity to speak to Bill 60 and our government’s plans to clear the surgical backlog so Ontarians can get the care they need when and where they need it. We are proud that, as a result of almost $1 billion in funding from this government and the hard work of our hospital sector, doctors and nurses, Ontario has returned to pre-pandemic wait times for surgical and diagnostic procedures—pre-pandemic. This bill is part of our many efforts to do even better.

I should add, when I look at the clock, that the member from Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry will be speaking to this bill—I’ll be sharing my time with the member.

As a result of our investments, Ontario has some of the shortest wait times in all of Canada, but we know that’s not enough, because even with all the success from our surgical recovery funding, we’re still back to where we were with the backlog that we inherited from the previous government. We can do more and we will do more to improve wait times across the province. That’s why we introduced Bill 60, which supports the expansion of surgical, procedural and diagnostic services in the community. By doing this, we are reducing wait times by increasing access to surgeries and procedures such as MRIs, CT scans, cataract surgeries, orthopedics, colonoscopies and others.

In December 2022, this government invested in operating funding for 27 new MRI machines, including one in my riding. The Smith Falls site of the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital is one of those recipients. For over 30 years, community surgery and diagnostic centres have been partners in Ontario’s health care system—for over 30 years. This is not new.

Like hospitals, community surgical and diagnostic centres are held accountable to the highest-quality standards, the standards Ontarians deserve and expect across the health care system. In committee, Dr. Agarwal commented, “I’ll say that the Ontario Association of Radiologists strongly supports the current Bill 60 that’s being proposed and we applaud the government for its innovative approach to solving a very complex problem,” in reference to expanding integrated community health services centres to address the MRI and CT backlog.

To make that happen, we are investing more than $18 million in existing centres—there are over 900 of them—to cover care for thousands of patients, including:

—more than 49,000 hours of MRI and CT scans;

—4,800 cataract surgeries;

—900 ophthalmic surgeries;

—1,000 minimally invasive gynecological surgeries; and

—2,845 plastic surgeries.

I would like to emphasize that this is all publicly funded. The costs of receiving these insured services in community surgical and diagnostic centres is covered by an Ontario health card, never your credit card. This is an expansion—an expansion—of our publicly funded health care system. It makes your OHIP card even more powerful.

To support integration, quality and funding accountability, oversight of community surgical centres will transition to Ontario Health. That’s beautiful. It embraces our community health services centres. This bill helps to create an environment where all of our health service providers work together in a more efficient and productive way, which is what Ontario Health and our Ontario health teams are all about. This improved integration into the broader health care system will allow Ontario Health to continue to track available community surgical capacity, assess regional needs and respond more quickly across the province and within regions where patient need exist.

Our government knows that by expanding health care services across the province, we need more health care providers to work in these settings. That’s why our government has launched the largest health care recruiting and training campaign in the province’s history. Hiring more health care professionals is the most effective step to ensure you and your family are able to see a health care provider where and when you need it. Well-trained and well-supported doctors, nurses, personal support workers and more are the people you rely on when you need care.

Let’s talk training—growing our own. This year, we’re training more health professionals than ever before:

—455 new spots for physicians in training;

—52 new physician assistant training spots;

—150 new nurse practitioner spots;

—1,500 additional nursing spots; and

—24,000 personal support workers in training by the end of 2023.

We’re investing to reduce fees for nurses who are ready and available to resume or begin practising in Ontario, who are retired and internationally educated. Some $15 million will temporarily cover the cost of examination applications and registration fees for internationally trained and retired nurses, saving them up to $1,500 each. This is often a barrier for nurses wanting to re-enter the workforce. This will help up to 5,000 internationally educated nurses and up to 3,000 retired nurses begin working sooner to strengthen our front lines.

In 2022, we helped 6,727 internationally trained health care workers get certified and start working in their chosen profession—6,727. You can’t argue with success.

Part of this investment will also be used to develop a centralized site for all internationally educated health professionals to streamline their access to supports such as education, registration and employment in their profession or an alternative career. This initiative will make it easier for internationally trained health professionals to navigate the system and get the support they need on their path to getting licensed to practise in Ontario.

To continue to support our health system, we will scale up the Enhanced Extern Program and Supervised Practice Experience Partnership program for an additional year. Since January 2022, more than 2,000 internationally educated nurses have been enrolled through the Supervised Practice Experience Partnership program, and over 1,300 of them are already fully registered.

We are providing additional funding to hire over 3,100 internationally educated nurses to work under the supervision of regulated health professionals in order to give them an opportunity to meet the experience requirements and language proficiency requirements they need to become fully licensed to work in Ontario. New funding will be extended to the home and community care sector to extend the reach of the program this year. This investment also expands the Enhanced Extern Program for an additional year.

Last year the program helped hire up to 5,000 qualified nursing, medical, respiratory therapy, paramedic, physiotherapy and occupational therapy students and internationally educated nurses to work in hospitals across the province.

Increased funding for both the Supervised Practice Experience Partnership program and Enhanced Extern Program will also allow hospitals to continue to hire more preceptors, mentors and coordinators to work with students and internationally educated nurses.

Another success story that I’ll just add in is the community paramedicine program. Since we introduced that and moved it across the province, it has now expanded and has supported more than 30,000 Ontarians.

Speaker, there are also many health care workers from across the country who want to work in Ontario. Through this legislation, we’re making innovative changes to make it easier and faster for them to begin working and providing care to people in Ontario. We are significantly reducing unnecessary bureaucratic delays and bringing reinforcements to the front lines of our health care system.

With new as-of-right rules, Ontario will become the first province in Canada to allow health care workers registered in other provinces and territories to immediately start caring for you, without the delay of having to first register with one of Ontario’s health regulatory colleges. They are already registered with a regulatory college. This change will help health care workers overcome excessive red tape that makes it difficult for them to practise in Ontario.

We will also help hospitals and other health organizations temporarily increase staffing when they need to fill vacancies or manage periods of high patient volume, such as during a flu surge. This will allow nurses, paramedics, respiratory therapists and other health care professionals to work outside of their regular responsibilities or settings, as long as they have the knowledge, skill and judgment to do so, providing hospitals and other settings with more flexibility to ensure health care professionals are filling the most in-demand roles at the right time. Together, these new initiatives will strengthen our workforce during the busy months ahead and ensure care is there when and where you need it most.

With that, I will close by thanking all of our dedicated health care workers for the incredible work they do.

Grief is an expression of love. If we don’t love, we don’t grieve. My grandmother Patricia Cunningham passed away last spring in Windsor, Ontario. She was 95. She was a mother, a grandmother, and a wife to her first husband, Ken Wood, and her second husband, Colonel Roger Cunningham.

My grandmother was an artist. She loved to find good trouble throughout her life, right up to the retirement home stage. She loved animals, music and, for some unknown reason, devilled eggs. One of my favourite memories with her is visiting Ontario Place. A lifelong resident of Windsor, she loved all genres of music and was a talented artist whose paintings grace homes worldwide, including my own Queen’s Park office.

She will be missed by her children, Allan, Laurie, Laine and Brent, and her stepdaughters, Sheila, Alexis and Martha, their spouses, and some pretty awesome grandchildren, plus family and friends.

She reminded me of Mary Tyler Moore. She was strong, creative, intelligent, independent.

Former MPP and CBC reporter Percy Hatfield told me that he used to hang out in Pat’s office waiting for the “scoop” when she was a hospital administrator. She was thrilled when he delivered a 90th birthday scroll.

I would be remiss if I didn’t ask the government to honour their promise of Alzheimer’s funding. It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing. Alzheimer patients require leadership. It is a cruel disease.

I feel fortunate to have called her my Nanny Pat. She was a good person who loved us and was loved.

It is a real shame in 2023 that we still lose loved ones because of weak enforcement of workplace health and safety regulations. But that is what happens every year—nearly 1,000 workers die from work-related injuries and illness, while others are injured or suffer from occupational diseases. This is why we gather on April 28—a day set aside to honour the memories of fallen workers—to raise awareness for those who suffer the consequences of work-related injuries and illness, and commit ourselves to do more. Across Canada, people will gather to express these common beliefs; that all workers deserve a safe work environment, and that we must learn from past tragedies. This is why we state clearly that we need more than promises from employers and government.

We gather to celebrate the Westray Bill C-45, but also to demand that it be enforced. We have to do this because every year too many workers are victims of work-related injuries, occupational diseases, and lose their lives on the job. Those numbers confirm that the law is not being sufficiently enforced.

It is clear that proactivity is central in the prevention of workplace injuries. Being vigilant to potential threat and holding companies accountable for their neglect are just two ways in which we can ensure workers are able to go home once their workday is over.

The member for Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry.

Third reading debate deemed adjourned.

I’ll remind members: You have 90 seconds. I will be cutting you off after 90 seconds for your members’ statements.

I recognize the member for Scarborough Centre.

It’s my pleasure to participate in today’s third reading debate on Bill 60. I’d like to thank the member from Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston for sharing his time with me today.

Speaker, Ontario’s population is projected to increase by almost 15% over the next 10 years. The population of seniors aged 75 and older is expected to increase from 1.2 million to 1.8 million over the same period. We need to continue to grow our health care workforce to meet the needs of our growing population.

Last fall, our government began our work to develop the integrated capacity and health human resources plan for Ontario. We are analyzing current gaps in our system, anticipating needs over the next 10 years and determining solutions to address growing needs in health care. Unlike previous governments, our plan will focus on how to meet this demand through investments, health human resources and innovative solutions.

This year, we are building on this work and shifting our focus to working directly with leaders in our health care system on a workforce plan that includes where to prioritize current and future resources, addressing minimizing system gaps and building a strong health care system for the long term. We will also look at specific strategies for increasing the number of health care professionals, starting with physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, registered practical nurses and medical laboratory technologists.

We’ll also look at the retention of our health care workforce through incentives, leveraging programs like the Learn and Stay program. We will ensure we have a greater understanding of each community and their needs, and that we have a plan to recruit and retain the health care workers needed, including family doctors, nurses, specialists and other health providers. We will prioritize areas most in need, like rural and remote communities, where gaps already exist. This plan will incorporate the lessons learned from COVID-19 and ensure we are prepared and equipped to meet the health care needs of Ontarians for years to come.

Speaker, that’s why this legislation is so important to the people of Ontario—it builds a framework to ensure that care will be available when and where people need it across the whole province. With that framework come historic investments in new hospitals and adding more beds. Since 2018, we’ve added 3,500 more hospital beds. But we aren’t stopping there. We’re moving quickly to expand and modernize Ontario’s hospitals, to ensure you are able to connect to quality care, when and where you need it.

Our investments over the next 10 years will lead to $40 billion in health infrastructure across the province. These investments will increase the number of people hospitals can care for, build new health care facilities, and renew existing hospitals and community health centres. As of the end of 2022, we have already approved 50 hospital development projects that will create more than 3,000 new hospital beds in communities across the province by 2032. We are also investing $182 million this year to support vital repairs, maintenance and upgrades to Ontario’s hospitals. New and redeveloped hospitals with more space to care for patients will ultimately lead to shorter wait times and less hallway health care.

To staff these new, upgraded facilities, we’re launching the largest health care recruiting initiative in our province’s history. Ontario has the most dedicated and highly trained health workforce in the world. They step up day in and day out to keep you and I and communities across the province safe and healthy. We’ve made significant progress recently to increase the number of health care workers available to provide care and support. Together, we’ve come so far. Over 60,000 new nurses and nearly 8,000 new doctors—

I was able to listen to Jillian Lynch address the crowd. Jillian is here today, and she is a young professional who is unstoppable in her drive to help others. Jillian is the example of selflessness and strength. She grew up with her family not far from where I live in St. Andrews West, along with her brother Myles, who had a lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis. Myles Lynch was the first Canadian to successfully undergo three double lung transplants at SickKids here in Toronto.

Myles tragically passed away on December 31, 2021, after bravely living life to the fullest. In the months before his passing, Myles had told Jillian to chase after every dream without hesitation.

Jillian has been committed to sharing Myles’s story and giving back to the institutions that helped Myles and her family.

Jillian is chasing dreams and changing the world. This young lady has quite the impressive résumé. Hopefully, Speaker, I’ll have enough time to share some of her accomplishments. Jillian has become a sought-after public speaker for the non-profits that had supported her family. Jillian has delivered speeches for the SickKids Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Canada, Federated Health Charities of Canada, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Jillian delivered 178 presentations for the Heart and Stroke Foundation within four months to companies across Toronto, raising $1.6 million. Jillian also dedicated cycling across Canada to raise funds for SickKids in Toronto. She was recognized as a top 30 change-maker under 30.

I know your community is proud of your work, Jillian. I have no doubt your parents are proud of your drive and determination. Myles would be quite proud of the accomplishments and advocacy, Jillian. Keep up the amazing work.

Housing is a human right, but in Ontario, things have gone terribly wrong. There isn’t enough actual affordable housing across communities. This government isn’t building it, and it isn’t supporting low-income tenants.

Lately we’ve been hearing about slumlords who aren’t maintaining units. They’re allowing mould to fester. They’re not fixing appliances. They’re not turning the heat on. We know of abuse of the landlord’s-own-use evictions, where landlords have been caught lying, trying to evict tenants. There’s rampant discrimination in applying for housing. Many landlords are not accepting folks on ODSP, new Canadians, or racialized people.

Recently, I met with folks on Ontario Works who need better protections from slumlords. They told me that instead of first and last months’ rent being required now, they’re being asked for four months or more to even compete for a spot.

People who are sharing a room have zero protections, because they aren’t technically tenants. So when they answer an ad and are forced to pay $800 a month for a room and then move in and find another person, a stranger, paying the same amount for the other half of the room, there’s nothing they can do and there’s nowhere for them to go.

The human trafficking coalition in Durham recently flagged that a new danger is accommodation ads targeting vulnerable, unhoused women. Ads for a bedroom rental in a house or apartment often look safe and renovated. However, many of these addresses aren’t even residential, but a young girl looking for a safe place to live doesn’t know that, and predators are counting on it.

Ugly things are happening in Ontario. Home is supposed to be a safe place, and in Ontario, this government is turning its back on low-income and underserved Ontarians. Just because this government pretends it isn’t happening doesn’t mean it isn’t.

Do better. These are people’s lives.

Earlier this week, in question period, I raised the issue of wait times for breast cancer surgery at the Ottawa Hospital. I told the story of Lisa, whose wait was so long she was forced to travel to a private clinic in Montreal and pay $50,000 for life-saving surgery.

Lisa is not the only woman who has suffered as a result of unconscionable wait times at the Ottawa Hospital.

Christine MacMillan of Ottawa was stunned when her surgeon suggested that she go private. She said the wait “was torture.”

Gail Kelpin said that two surgeons suggested she consider a private clinic for surgery, and because she travels for work, one surgeon suggested that she may have to go to another country.

How is it that at the Ottawa Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in Ontario, only 13% of women are getting their breast cancer surgeries within the safe recommended time? At the Civic campus, it’s not much better: 29%. And for gynecological cancers at the same hospital, it’s 30%.

There’s a reason that Ontario started measuring wait times in 2007: It was to prevent this from happening.

The hospital, the ministry, the minister, and the Premier have failed these women and their families.

There needs to be action now so that these women can get the care they need and deserve.

On April 24, the Armenian community of Ontario and Canada commemorated the 108thanniversary of the Armenian genocide which took place in the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923. Some 1.5 million Armenians perished in one of the first genocides of the 20th century. I am the grandson of survivors of the Armenian and the Greek genocides.

Armenians will never forget that during their darkest hours Canadians stood by the survivors. The Armenian Relief Association of Canada, under the patronage of Governor General Byng, Archbishop Neil McNeil, venerable Archdeacon Cody, Colonel Sir Henry Pellatt, and other prominent Canadians raised $300,000 to feed, clothe and house the refugees. Toronto’s the Globe spearheaded the campaign to raise funds for the “starving Armenians.” Furthermore, the association brought 109 orphan boys to Canada and resettled them on a farm near Georgetown. At the same time, nurse Sara Corning of Nova Scotia saved 5,000 Armenian and Greek orphans from slaughter in the city of Smyrna.

In keeping with the tradition of our forbearers and Canada’s first international humanitarian mission—

Speaker, today I rise, honoured to represent the people of Ajax. Over the last week, I had the privilege of touring two exceptional community care organizations in my riding, which I would like to share with you. The first one is SE Health, an organization providing exceptional health care services for over a century, with more than 8,000 employees nationwide, including nearly 1,000 health care workers in Ajax and its surrounding areas. SE Health delivers over 20,000 home care visits per week to Ajax and its surrounding communities. During my tour, I had the pleasure of meeting with Kyle the manager, and I would like to extend my gratitude to him and the entire SE team for their dedication to our community. I’d also like to thank the patients who shared their stories of satisfaction and the difference their care has made outside of the hospitals.

The second organization I had the pleasure of visiting was Carea Community Health Centre, where I was joined by my colleague PA Dawn Gallagher Murphy. This registered charity offers free community services and programs, such as health promotion and wellness programs, counselling, primary care, and education. I was particularly impressed by their recent event Taking Black Our Health, which focused on advancing health equity in Durham.

I’d like to take a moment to extend my sincere gratitude to SE Health and Carea health for the exceptional work they do in our community. Your commitment to high-quality health care services and programs is truly commendable. The dedication of your staff—

Being a Heart Lake boy, Professor’s Lake was a neighbourhood in my riding that I honestly wasn’t that familiar with until I sought public office. Since deciding to run, I set out to get to know the neighbourhood as best I can, and I was thrilled when the residents’ association invited myself and local councillor Rod Power to host an Earth Day barbecue and litter pick-up. The weather didn’t co-operate, Madam Speaker, but I’ve never been part of a group that was so happy, literally lining up to get pickers in the rain, to go out and pick up garbage and clean the neighbourhood. We had about 70 people out at once picking up litter and had around 150 attendees for the barbecue, total.

I’d like to thank wards 7 and 8 Brampton city councillor Rod Power, the Professor’s Lake Residents’ Association, Peel paramedics, Peel police, Brampton fire, the Brampton Honey Badgers, EnRoute 2 Success, Bramalea Boxing Club, Starbucks, Maple Leaf Foods, Enbridge, Boys and Girls Club of Brampton, Young Bosses, and Coca-Cola for all coming out to support the event.

Professor’s Lake is a heck of a neighbourhood, and it’s even prettier today because of the community getting together to clean up the neighbourhood.

I want to thank everybody for coming out on Sunday. It was a great time.

May 1, 2023, marks National Physicians’ Day in Canada and Doctors’ Day in Ontario.

In the trying times of 2020, when COVID-19 has struck the world at large, we see how dedicatedly and selflessly the doctors all around the world have served the people at large and emerged as true heroes. They haven’t thought about their health, family, personal issues, but worked around the clock to help and heal.

I’m pleased to rise today to express my gratitude and appreciation to all Ontario physicians for the critical and life-saving services they perform daily.

Our government continues to support our physicians by accelerating efforts to build up the province’s health care workforce. We’re investing over $100 million to expand and accelerate the rollout of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.

Our physicians work around the clock, sacrificing precious time away from their loved ones, facing burnout, putting themselves at risk to protect the health and well-being of Ontarians.

Thank you for your service.

On behalf of my family, my constituents and my caucus colleagues, I want to express my most sincere appreciation to the Ontario Medical Association and thanks to our province’s 31,500 practising physicians and 1,900 medical students.

Thank you for the care you provide in an abnormal and extraordinary time. You are true representatives of Ontario spirit.

Members’ statements?

This week being National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week, I’d like to welcome Jillian Lynch to the House today. Her brother was the first to have three double lung transplants here at SickKids in Toronto.