Today is a sad day—a day that will go down in the history of our province as the day the Ford government delivered a fatal blow to our treasured medicare. Today, this Conservative government will say “goodbye” to care based on needs and “come on in” to investors who want to make money off the backs of sick people—because, make no mistake, Speaker, there is a lot of money to be made off of people who are sick, who are desperate for care in the hope of getting better. Investors know that. They know that sick people are at a vulnerable time in their lives, and it is easy to abuse that vulnerability to increase profits.

The minister says that we need the changes in Bill 60 to decrease wait times. But look at our hospital job boards: There are over 36,000 health care job vacancies in our hospitals right now. How are they supposed to recruit when for-profit clinics will offer a Monday-to-Friday job, 9 to 5? It will make the wait for hospital care increase tremendously. But the rich and powerful friends of our Premier will have faster access, using their credit cards to get to the front of the line, while the rest of us hold our hats.

To my MPP colleagues: Do the right thing. Vote down Bill 60.

Wait times for breast cancer surgeries in Ottawa have stretched so long that women have been driving to Quebec and paying out of pocket just to get surgery. And now, last week, we learned from the Ottawa Citizen that one of the Ottawa Hospital’s breast cancer surgeons was getting only two hours of operating time a month.

Why is this government pushing ahead with its privatization agenda when publicly funded operating rooms have been sitting unused while surgeons and patients have desperately needed access?

Interjections.

It’s a real shame, hearing the two members from Ottawa criticizing their hospital, because that’s what they’re doing. They’re criticizing one of the best CEOs in the province, in my opinion: Cameron Love. I had a discussion with him, and Mr. Speaker, you see the increase of backlogged surgeries go up by 30%. This is about getting rid of the backlog, making sure we help people get well again. But to sit there and criticize their own hospital—and, by the way, we’re putting $9 billion into that hospital.

We’re fixing health care. We’re ending this hallway health care that you created, and we’re bringing health care back to the standards of a world-class health care system—the best in the world.

My constituent Lorrie’s best friend urgently needs an MRI, but hospital wait-lists are now months long. She called an advertised for-profit clinic and was told that for $795 she can get an MRI within 48 hours. This entirely contradicts the Premier’s promise to Ontarians, which is that they would never have to pay for health care with their credit card. Why did the Premier break his promise?

Blythe, a constituent and a health care professional, asks, “Why are we paying taxes for health care when the government consistently underspends by $1.6 billion? The Premier must stop giving his friends pay raises and fund our public health care system.”

Will the Premier listen, then take action, stop Bill 60 and finally stop privatizing the people’s public health care?

Interjections.

Under their government, they created 800 diagnostic centres, which I agree with. Just imagine if we took the diagnostic centres out of Ontario—you talk about a backlog. We need to add to that. And I find it very ironic, coming from the member from Don Valley East. His own colleagues at the Ontario Medical Association endorsed it. The Ontario Hospital Association endorsed it. So I think you’re way off on this.

We need more opportunities, convenient care closer to home so that you can actually walk in the clinic down the street and actually get an MRI, rather than waiting God knows how long—months and months. We’re going to shorten the list; we’re going to give people the care they need in a rapid fashion.

Speaker, with the greatest of respect, the member opposite is not saying things that are accurate. Bill 60 will actually improve community and surgical centres in the province of Ontario. Why? Because we don’t want people having to wait an inordinate amount of time for their surgeries.

It’s important that people have access to these community surgical centres, whether it is in their local hospital—and Speaker, I had the honour of actually visiting Grand River Hospital last week. Some of the innovation that they’ve been able to do in very creative ways, working with partners in community, speaks to why it is so important that Bill 60 passes and we get to a stage in the province of Ontario where all of the other innovations are happening—whether it is the 50-plus projects and new builds that are happening in the province of Ontario, whether it is in the Learn and Stay program led by—

I thank the member opposite for the question.

As we said, the program was a COVID program, when people could not travel. Now that people can move around the province, the program is no longer necessary. The only thing that has changed is the way the government reimburses hospitals and physicians for that kind of care. And from the patient’s point of view, care will be available when they need it at hospitals and in physicians’ offices.

For a decade, the NDP propped up the Liberals while they created the longest health care wait times in Ontario’s history. They sat idly by while the Liberals fired 1,600 nurses, froze health care spending, reduced medical school spots.

On this side of the House, we’re taking action to ensure Ontarians have access to the care they need.

The former Liberal Premier, propped up by the NDP, admitted to freezing hospital spending for years and, in 2015, eliminated 50 medical residency positions from Ontario. That means 50 less doctors in 2019, 100 less doctors in 2020, 150 less doctors in Ontario in 2021, and 200 less doctors in 2022; this year, that would have meant 250 doctors we now don’t have because of decisions made by that—