I want to thank the great member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington and I also want to thank him for being an OPP officer for years. We’re so proud to have him down in the Legislature.

As we tackle the crime that we’ve seen around the province, we’re making sure we’re giving the police services across Ontario the tools that they need to get the job done; to make sure our communities are a lot safer; that you’re able to walk out at night and you’re able to take transit here in Toronto without worrying about being abused or physically hurt.

We’re adding more recruits to the Ontario Police College every single year. We’re investing another $13 million—to fight guns and gangs—that will stop illegal drugs from coming into our province. We’re cracking down on auto thefts, adding $51 million in new measures to find and dismantle crime networks across this province.

That’s why in our budget we announced an additional $9.6 million to support the Runnymede Healthcare Centre to provide mental health supports and PTSI treatment tailor-made for the unique needs of our police officers and front-line workers. We must always ensure that our dedicated first responders have the access to the highest quality of mental health and addictions care that meets their needs. We will always ensure the brave women and men that serve on our police forces are treated with dignity and respect.

My question is to the Minister of Colleges and Universities. All Ontarians deserve to have access to the health care they need when they need it no matter where they live. In my riding of Chatham-Kent–Leamington, my constituents are looking for connected care and services that are close to home, in Wheatley, in Leamington, Blenheim, Ridgetown and beyond. Unfortunately, because of the destructive policies of the past Liberal government, many parts of our province are in desperate need of more health care professionals to provide that care. Our government must take decisive steps now to educate and retain more health care workers across the province to make immediate impacts in our local hospitals, long-term-care homes and other health care facilities.

Speaker, can the minister please explain what our government is doing to expand opportunities to educate more health care professionals?

I’m happy to say that, starting this September, students from the member’s riding of Chatham-Kent–Leamington will be eligible to apply for the grant. This grant will touch every corner of the province and that includes ridings held by members of the opposition, with 49 eligible programs at institutions in those ridings currently included in the program.

Where, specifically, do you ask? Ottawa West–Nepean, Mushkegowuk–James Bay, Timiskaming–Cochrane, Thunder Bay–Superior North, Kiiwetinoong, Algoma–Manitoulin, Ottawa–Vanier, Windsor West, Kingston and the Islands, London North Centre and Sudbury. With a constituency week coming up, I hope that each of the members representing the ridings I just mentioned, as well as the other members, will continue to talk about this grant in their ridings, because Premier Ford and the PC government are delivering for their communities.