Thank you, Speaker. I knew it would come around to me eventually. I see that Patricia Franks is here from the beautiful riding of Dufferin–Caledon, no doubt to mark Community Living Day, so welcome.

Why are we making those investments? Because we understand that there are short-, medium- and long-term plans that we can put in place and that we have put in place, including an investment of $33 million to make sure that an additional 100 graduates are going to have the positions and availability to practise, train and teach and practise in the province of Ontario.

Since 2018, we have added an additional 1,800 physicians in the province of Ontario. We have put in place programs specifically for northern Ontario to match emergency departments with peer-to-peer ED doctors to make sure that they have access to peers who are there for them to be able to work through issues and problems as they appear before their emergency departments.

We’ll continue to do that work. It is not one issue; it is not one solution. We are doing everything with our partners, including in a partnership to increase family medicine by a partnership between Queen’s University and Lakeridge that actually is focused on training new family docs to make sure that we have the capacity in the province of Ontario to serve our growing population.

Another one of course is the 911 models of care, where we don’t just force paramedics to take individuals to emergency departments. We have the opportunity now, whether it is for long-term care, palliative and now actually expanding it into diabetes and epilepsy—

Interjections.

Interjections.

There is no one in this chamber who doesn’t understand and appreciate that with a growing and aging population, we need to do better. What I will say to the NDP and the Liberals is, where would we have been if they hadn’t cut those 50 residency spots? We would have had 250 additional practitioners in the province today.

We’re putting the work in. We’re making those investments. The member opposite can either choose to work with us or continue to complain. But you will see that there are already improvements happening in community because we are making the investment, as a government.

There is no doubt that when changes happen, including emergency department closures, it is very challenging for the community. But I want to reassure and remind the member opposite that these are local decisions made by local leadership, local hospitals.

Interjections.

My question is for the Minister of Health.

Nearly 65,000 people in Kitchener-Waterloo do not have a doctor. A quarter of those people are among the lowest income earners. They can’t afford to pay an annual subscription to a clinic or fees for virtual care. Thousands of people who could be getting proactive, preventative care are going to the emergency room when their illnesses have progressed. So many lives can be saved with early intervention.

What will this government do to support family doctors to hire more administrative and clinical support so that they spend more time with their patients, as the Ontario College of Family Physicians has recommended this government do?

I just heard the Minister of Health talk about getting care into communities. We have people from Minden today whose emergency room is being shut down. You’re taking the care out of their community, and it’s absolutely shameful.

When I asked in this House about the closure of the Minden emergency room last week, the Minister of Health said that the decision was made at the local level and refused to take responsibility for it. The Ontario Health Coalition informs me that this is the first time in Ontario that a Minister of Health has refused to take responsibility for a hospital closure. Because of this closure, lives will be at risk over the summer because of the long ride to the Haliburton hospital.

Does the minister understand that those lives will be her responsibility?

The emergency department in Minden needs to stay open.

A police officer arrives at MilCun Training Center for pistol, carbine or rifle training—sometimes things go wrong. They’re 11 minutes to the emergency department in Minden.

The brand new Nesbitt arena has tournaments and training camps all year round. A kid gets hurt—it is three minutes’ drive to the Minden emergency department.

The 62 residents who live at Hyland Crest Long-Term Care need urgent care—it’s a zero-minute drive. They are attached to the hospital, but they won’t be able to go there anymore.

The residents of Minden and the surrounding area are here today at Queen’s Park. They came to Queen’s Park to ask for the minister’s help. They want her to use her power as Minister of Health to put a one-year moratorium on the closure of the emergency department of Minden hospital. Will she listen to them? Will she help them?

Interjections.

Minister, the shortage of family doctors puts additional pressure on our hospitals and emergency rooms. Angie in my community went to Lakeridge hospital’s ER with chest pains and emailed me while waiting in emerg. She was told that only one doctor was on duty and there were 119 patients waiting. I wonder how many of those people could have received faster care or avoided the ER if they were able to have seen a family doctor?

Premier, over 44,000 people in Durham region don’t have a family doctor. Can I tell people who are writing to their MPPs from the emergency room to keep waiting, or that help is on the way?

The region of Thunder Bay has at least 45,000 people without access to primary care. Greenstone is losing two doctors at the end of the month, and seniors are being left without access to any care whatsoever.

There are solutions: Further increase enrolment and create a learn-and-stay program for doctors at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Establish more nurse practitioner-led clinics. Reduce the administrative burden on doctors and create a centralized electronic records and referral system now, not in five years.

Will the government finally invest in the solutions so clearly identified by medical professionals that are not happening now?

The Minister of Colleges and Universities.

The Minister of Colleges and Universities can conclude her answer.

Restart the clock. The supplementary question, the member for Oshawa.

Restart the clock. The final supplementary: the member for Thunder Bay–Superior North.

The supplementary question. The member for Nickel Belt.

Minister of Health.

The supplementary question.

Interjections.

The next question.

My question is for the honourable Premier. Peel region is one of Ontario’s fastest-growing municipalities, and over the next few years we know that thousands of individuals, families and newcomers to Canada will settle in our communities.

With an abundance of job opportunities available, along with thriving businesses, community organizations, schools and health care facilities that are already there, Peel region is a great place to call home. However, we know that there’s a shortage of available housing throughout Peel region and throughout Ontario.

For too many Ontarians, finding the right home is still too challenging. Our government must keep moving ahead with measures to tackle the critical shortage in housing. Can the Premier explain how our government is increasing Ontario’s housing supply?

Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the member from Brampton East. You’re doing a fantastic job. As a matter of fact, all five members from Brampton are doing a great job.

We’re in a housing crisis right now, a desperate housing crisis. No matter if it’s new Canadians coming in or young people looking for a house to buy and they just can’t afford it. It’s very simple: It’s supply and demand. We’re going to build 1.5 million homes.

We’ve set a record here in Ontario. We’re the fastest-growing region in North America—not just in Canada, not in Ontario but in North America: 445,000 people moved into our great province last year, the reason being, that’s where they see the economic growth in North America—right here. Because of my great friend, right beside me, the Minister of Economic Development, about 650,000 more people are working today than there were under the previous Liberal government.

Five years after paying deposits to Greatwise Developments, homebuyers in Ottawa West–Nepean are still waiting for their promised homes. They’ve been sent notice of delay after notice of delay, with no delivery date currently provided. The developer also gave inaccurate information, blaming the city for delays when actually the developer failed to file the permits. My constituents complained to the Home Construction Regulatory Authority, expecting some support. Instead, 22 months later, they haven’t even received a decision.

Why is the Premier continuing to allow unscrupulous developers to run roughshod over Ontarians who just want to move into their new homes?

It gets worse. While my constituents are in limbo, receiving bad information or no information, a clause in the contract allows the developer to unilaterally cancel the home purchase if the developer believes there is a dispute between the homebuyer and the developer. This means that if my constituents speak up publicly, they lose their new homes. It is unfair that a developer can behave with impunity and then take away someone’s home if they complain.

Will the Premier protect homebuyers in Ontario by banning gag order clauses from home sales contracts?

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. It is this government that believes all Ontarians deserve a home and will not waiver when it comes to protecting new home buyers’ investments in their future.

Under this Premier, it is this government has not only committed to building 1.5 million new homes, but it is adding new ways to improve protection for Ontarians across our province. The changes we implemented over the last few months have put bad developers on notice and made bad developers think twice before trying to take advantage of our homebuyers. Hard-working Ontarians can rest assured that our government has their backs when they make the biggest purchase of their lives, with or without the support of the opposition.

Interjections.

Speaker, on this side and on that side too, we are here—

Speaker, supply chain issues caused by the pandemic created global shortages of many vital health care devices. One such shortage was epidural catheters, the medical standard when it comes to providing adequate pain relief during labour—or so we’ve been told.

We put out a call to re-shore manufacturing of epidurals right here in Ontario. One company, Canadian Hospital Specialties, answered that call and will now manufacture epidural catheters at their plant in Oakville. Last week, with our MPPs from Oakville and Oakville North–Burlington, CHS announced a $1.5-million investment to fill that critical supply gap and hire 10 people along the way. What a great example of seeing a problem and solving it right here in Ontario. Premier Ford calls that “the Ontario spirit.”

Our new Life Sciences Council will help to accelerate commercialization and encourage adoption of made-in-Ontario health innovations. Much like when we did the auto sector’s Driving Prosperity plan, we’ve now introduced Taking Life Sciences to the Next Level. It’s their plan for Ontario’s first life sciences strategy in over a decade. This will ensure that Ontario is the global life sciences centre for our world’s innovators.

My question is for the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Ontario is home to a world-class life sciences sector, with our researchers continually pushing the envelope for better health outcomes for all. But if there’s anything that the last few years have shown us, it’s the importance of having an established medical manufacturing sector that tops the life sciences agenda. That’s why last week’s Moderna announcement was so welcomed.

Will the minister please speak further to the progress that this government is making to ensure that Ontario will never again be left behind and left reliant on others for critical goods?

It’s great news that Ontario will now domestically produce epidural catheters. This announcement is a welcome relief to hospitals that struggled to manage their supply of epidural catheters and secure inventory.

Because of the leadership demonstrated by the Premier and this minister, Ontario manufacturers have begun to produce an increasing number of critical medical supplies.

With the ongoing rollout of the life sciences strategy, what further initiatives can we expect to see from our government as we continue to bolster our manufacturing industry, create jobs and position Ontario as a world leader in the medtech and biotech sectors?

My question is for the Associate Minister of Transportation. Public transit is the primary form of travel for many people living in my riding of Markham–Thornhill and also for many people living across the GTA. It should be easy for them to travel across the entire transit network. However, the transit fare system under different transit agencies is unfortunately inconsistent. This leads to confusion and misunderstandings for many individuals.

People who rely on public transit are counting on our government to remove barriers so that using public transit is simple and convenient.

Can the Associate Minister please share what our government is doing to deliver more options for riders to make transit a more convenient experience in Ontario?

The supplementary question?

My question is to the Minister of Transportation. I rise for the third time since last August to ask about the reconstruction of the Caledonia Argyle Street bridge. I will continue to stand in this House on this issue until reconstruction begins, because it’s a matter of safety.

Last August, the minister said the detailed design of the Argyle Street replacement was already complete and that the ministry was in the process of obtaining final approvals to proceed to construction. The minister also said, “We will not take any shortcuts when it comes to getting critical infrastructure built.”

The ministry may not take shortcuts, but the long way around could see this bridge collapse under this government’s watch. My constituents are fearful to cross the bridge and they become anxious when they are stopped in the middle during bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Speaker, through you to the minister: What is the holdup? What is the date reconstruction will begin?

Ministry staff has said that the structure is safe and the minister alluded to it this morning by saying that for some traffic, including emergency service vehicles, provided that the load restriction is followed and enforced, the bridge is safe.

The truth is, the majority of Haldimand county is crossing over that bridge on a daily basis. If the bridge is only safe if load restrictions are followed, the travelling public has a right to know how many infractions have occurred and are occurring on a daily basis. Locals know what is travelling that bridge.

Speaker, through you to the minister: How many fines have been issued since the load restrictions were put in place?

We have not made any changes to existing rental replacement bylaws that are currently in effect in some municipalities. They remain in place. In fact, we’re proposing to build on those bylaws by explicitly requiring that municipal rental replacement bylaws include compensation and the right for the tenant to move back in at the same rent. For example, we’re exploring right now a framework where a municipality could require that replacement units have the same core features, like the same number of bedrooms, as they did previously, and requiring that tenants are given the right of first refusal to move into that new, modern accommodation at a similar rent. Those are the facts, Speaker.