My question is for the Minister of Colleges and Universities.

We know that there is a troubling shortage of doctors in Ontario, including in my riding of Brampton West and in the communities across Peel region. Unfortunately, critical investments into the health care needs of our province were sadly not a priority for the previous Liberal government. Despite repeated warnings from the medical profession about physician shortages, the Liberals ignored the situation and even cut medical residency positions in Ontario. That is why it is critical that our government prioritize investments that will support our health care system and follow through on the commitment to attract and retain new doctors.

Speaker, can the minister please explain how our government is addressing the doctor shortage in Ontario?

However, the reality is that the shortage of doctors affects regions and communities across Ontario differently, depending on their needs and circumstances. For example, with the rapidly growing population in my riding of Brampton West and across Peel region, there is an increased demand for family doctors. Our government must recognize the unique needs across our province and implement realistic solutions. Can the minister please elaborate on how our government is investing in medical schools to meet the needs of communities throughout Ontario?

Me?

I’d like to congratulate—actually you, Speaker; it’s nice to see you in the chair. Congratulations. It’s always good to see a strong woman in the chair.

I also want to congratulate my colleague the Minister of Energy. He and I have been working on this type of file for the past number of years—me, 17; him, I believe it’s now 11, 12 or something like that. I do take his point about all of the red tape that was incurred during the last Liberal government. It does take time in order to responsibly, ethically and morally reduce red tape while taking your time, but, at the same time, understanding the sense of urgency.

A week ago, I held a round table in the constituency on Ottawa investment. One of the things I heard that makes Ottawa a unique place to invest is our stability and paycheques because of the federal government. We have a good strong base of high-tech. We’re bilingual; we’re diverse; we have lots of land and we have low costs.

That said, what is still a problem is inflation. We still have labour shortages like everywhere else. The supply chain has impacted us, but today and every day the business owners of Nepean and the rest of Ottawa tell me red tape is the number one concern and it’s costing business.

I ask the minister—he did refer to $700 million worth of cutting red tape. Could he elaborate on that?