One code red, black or zero is one too many. That means few or no ambulances or paramedics are available to respond to emergencies. Another code black was called in my community again just last night.

Under this Conservative government, code blacks, reds and zeroes are becoming normal, and that is not acceptable. Ontarians deserve to have the confidence that if they have the medical emergency, they can call 911 and receive help quickly.

Paramedics are burning out at an alarming rate, and this government isn’t taking the necessary steps to help our crumbling health care system. In fact, they are actively making the situation worse. The staffing crisis in hospitals leads to longer wait times to transfer patients to the care of nurses and doctors. Paramedics are held up in the hospitals instead of being on the road to save more lives. Bill 124 must be repealed today.

Last week was Paramedic Services Week. I thank every paramedic in Windsor-Essex and across the province for their dedication to serving their communities.

In October 2022, my NDP colleague MPP Shaw tabled a motion calling on the Conservative government to provide necessary funding to end instances when ambulances are unavailable to respond to an emergency. The motion passed unanimously. However, in March 2023, the Financial Accountability Officer reported the government is withholding $6.4 billion in much-needed support. The Conservative government must honour their promise, properly fund the public health care system, support front-line health care workers so they aren’t doing their jobs without adequate support, and ensure code reds, blacks and zeroes are not the normal in Ontario, because lives depend on it.

On behalf of the official opposition, I’d like to welcome the board and staff of Dairy Farmers of Ontario, the people who produce wonderful dairy products in our province, and invite everyone to their reception this evening.

I’d like to introduce Rowley Ramey, the managing director of the Seasons Centre for Grieving Children, along with Johanna Stockley, the office manager. They’re here in the gallery, and they have Hope upstairs on the fourth floor. We hope you come upstairs and see her later.

Speaker, it’s my pleasure to introduce the people from the Canadian Franchise Association. I hope you have wonderful meetings at Queen’s Park today.

We’re pleased to welcome representatives of the Canadian Franchise Association here for their numerous meetings and a lovely breakfast this morning. We had the pleasure of meeting with Sherry McNeil, the president and CEO, along with members that included John Prittie, Kirk Allan, Clark Harrop and Scott Munnoch, and there are many more.

I’d like to welcome a great Ontarian, a great community advocate, my friend Ashley Steinfeld, husband to Jimmy Steinfeld and father to Brixton and Grayson. Welcome to the Ontario Legislature.

I’m very pleased to welcome to Queen’s Park today the Dairy Farmers of Ontario. Representing them, we have Cheryl Smith, Rosa Checchia, Patrice Dubé, Rey Moisan, Murray Sherk, Don Gordon, Brian Burnett, Adam Petherick, George Van Kampen, Vicky Morrison, John Wynands, and, of course, saving the best for last, from Bruce county, Mark Hamel. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

It is with great pride that I introduce to the assembly, and welcome to Queen’s Park, Jonathan van Bilsen, Port Perry’s own award-winning photographer, patron of the arts, columnist, author, keynote speaker and host of the Jonathan van Bilsen television show on the Rogers television network. He is joined by his granddaughter Sophia. Welcome to the House.

I’d like to welcome Ramona Roblin and Alison Kelly from the PEC Period Party to Queen’s Park today. The Prince Edward County Period Party is a grassroots project in Bay of Quinte that successfully advocated for free menstrual products to be made available in public washrooms, resulting in a pilot project rolled out earlier this month. Welcome to your House. We’re so proud to have you here.

Distressed, furious residents; shuttered emergency rooms; no health care when you need it—I want to ask the Premier: Is this the kind of legacy the Conservatives want to leave?

The same government statement goes on to say that the Conservative MPP for Minden has been in touch with the local hospital board, but residents and local business owners here yesterday said she hasn’t met with them, and when they were here yesterday, she didn’t even raise her head to look at them.

Speaker, why is this government trying to play people for fools, instead of taking some responsibility?

Interjections.

Good morning, everyone. It is my pleasure to welcome to the House a delegation from Spain that I met with this morning: His Excellency the Spanish ambassador to Canada, Alfredo Martinez Serrano; as well as the Honourable Luis Garcia Montero, president of the Cervantes institute; as well as Philippe Robertet and Sonia Perez Marco. Welcome to Ontario and welcome to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Thank you. I will reiterate again that it is incredibly challenging for local leadership to make these decisions, because they want to ensure that there is capacity within the system. The Haliburton Highlands leadership had made a determination that it is safer for the community to have consolidated two emergency departments into one at the Haliburton site.

But the member opposite talks about legacy, and I want to talk about the legacy that we are leaving future Ontarians when we expand two new medical schools in the province of Ontario in Scarborough and in Brampton. I want to talk about a legacy where, for the first time ever, we have worked with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to ensure that individuals who practise medicine in the UK, in Ireland, in Australia and in the US are getting their licences expedited because of the work that we’re doing with Bill 60.

I want to talk about—

That concludes our introduction of guests for this morning.

The Minister of Health.

I would like to welcome my mayor and council members from the city of Richmond Hill this morning. Under the leadership of His Worship, I would like to welcome the mayor, David West; deputy mayor, Godwin Chan; and ward 6 councillor, Michael Shiu, as well as chief of staff, Emily Houdi. They are accompanied by my husband, Albert Wai. Welcome, everyone, to Queen’s Park, and I look forward to our meeting after question period.

I would like to welcome Janice Folk-Dawson from the Ontario Federation of Labour; Francis Pineda and Jim Zeng from the Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic; Wayne Harris from the Ontario Network of Injured Workers; and from the Industrial Accident Victims’ Group of Ontario, Maryth Yachnin, David Arruda, Aleks Ivovic, Patrick Cowley, Caleb Goff, Jenny Tang, Mohammad Naqvi, Julie Wang, Mark Wang, Alicia Cunningham, Zonia Guerrero and San Hun; and, from United Steelworkers Local 1005, Ron Wells, Jim McColl and Tony McLaughlin. Thank you so much for being here. Welcome to your House.

Speaker, I choose to believe that the leader of the NDP understands that hospitals are more than just an emergency department, that Minden hospital will continue to offer services to their communities. The consolidation of the emergency department, while challenging for that leadership, is part of those determinations that the leadership have made.

Again, I will go back to legacy. We talk about Bill 60 and as of right—the first in Canada that ensures that clinicians who have licences in other Canadian jurisdictions can today begin working in the province of Ontario as they go through that licence process here in Ontario. Those are the legacies that will ensure that we have health care capacity and health human resource capacity in decades and future generations.

Some of those programs of course include the 911 models of care that ensure paramedics have the ability to quickly assess and make sure that individuals go to the most appropriate place. The Dedicated Offload Nurses Program that is in hospitals today in emergency rooms to make sure, again, paramedics can release their patients and get back out on the road; the Emergency Department Peer-to-Peer Program; the Emergency Department Locum Program; the extern program; the nurse preceptors program—all of these programs are available to Ontario hospitals. We have worked very closely to ensure that when it is appropriate, we will be there, and we will keep making those programs available.

I withdraw.

Mr. Speaker, Pride is a special time for us to recognize and celebrate Ontario’s LGBTQ+ community. I’ve proved it by going into the York Pride parade. I’m going to be going again this year.

School boards have a responsibility to ensure each and every school in Ontario is a safe and inclusive space for all children.

I’ll always support Ontario’s LGBTQ+ community. I look forward again, for my third or fourth year, going down to the York Pride parade. We’re going to go down there. We’re going to celebrate. We’re going to have fun. That’s where I stand, and I think the Leader of the Opposition knows that.

The final supplementary.

Minister of Health.

The member for Toronto Centre has the floor.

To reply for the government, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

The government House leader will withdraw his unparliamentary comment.

Start the clock. The next question.

Words are important, but only effective when followed by real action. During Pride Month, rainbow flags will be raised across Queen’s Park, city halls and many other public buildings, but not at the York Catholic District School Board, as six trustees voted against the rainbow flag.

Yesterday, the Minister of Education offered empty words when asked about how he would keep students safe. Hours later, he issued a memo to school boards without even mentioning the rainbow flag. What will this Conservative government actually do to protect students? I would offer him one suggestion: He can issue a ministerial directive to the school boards to ensure that the rainbow flags are flown at every single publicly funded school in Ontario.

Interjections.

Yet the government is cutting funding to Pride organizations. Pride Toronto received $250,000 in 2021, $170,000 less in 2022 and this year they were capped at $125,000, half the money that they received just two years ago. Ipsos has reported that Pride Toronto contributes $589 million to Ontario’s GDP, and $37 million in direct provincial tax revenues last year alone. These cuts couldn’t have come at a worse time.

If you want to show up to march in the Pride parade, I suggest you show up with a cheque. Will the Premier reinstate their funding this year?

Interjections.