Yesterday, April 2, was world autism day. In recognition, I would like to share a message that I received from my constituent Julie Serrurier about the challenges her family is facing.

“France,” she wrote, “we are feeling hopeless; we have gone through both our one-time fundings and all of it was spent on ABA therapy” for my son.

“My child is progressing and thriving!

“But now we have no more funds. This puts a lot of” pressure “on our family. We are put in situations where we need to decide, do we keep paying out of pocket as much as we can afford so we can keep our spot with our therapist.

“If the ministry could give us a timeline then we could plan but we have no clue. It’s mentally exhausting for both me and my husband.

“Also, I’ve been having to fight for support at school for my son! They’ve been removing support. The excuse is there’s no staff and nobody wants the job because it doesn’t pay.”

Speaker, according to a freedom-of-information my office filed, of the 1,564 children enrolled in core clinical services, only 83 are from the northern region. That’s 83 kids, from Parry Sound all the way to the Manitoba border. Is ignoring children with autism and their families the legacy that this government really wants?

Today I rise to speak on behalf of my constituents in London–Fanshawe affected by the shortage of available beds for long-term care. My office recently received a heart-wrenching story of a family separated by the inadequacies in our long-term-care system. Lorraine has been struggling to make an hour-long drive to see her mother, Bernice, at her long-term-care home in Stratford, Ontario. Bernice has waited more than 1,300 days to transfer to a London home to be closer to her family. This is deplorable. Families deserve and need to be closer to loved ones in their final years.

The Ontario Long Term Care Association reports that nearly 40,000 people are on a waiting list for long-term care in Ontario and predicts that it could increase to about 48,000 by 2029. Keep in mind, this is a projection that takes into account the 30,000 long-term-care beds the government has already promised. The Financial Accountability Office estimates that the current government will only deliver 8,251 long-term-care beds by the end of 2023-24, well short of the promise to add 15,000 long-term-care beds by that time.

Bernice has been waiting more than three and a half years to move into a long-term-care home closer to her family. Now, it’s too late. Given her deteriorating health, a transfer to a long-term-care home is unlikely. Her next move is more likely to be in palliative care.

How can this government justify their inaction while families spend their final years separated from one another? We need to make investments in not-for-profit homes, and make sure staff and resources are there for people when they need them in their time of most need.

Good morning, Speaker, and good morning to the members of the House. I’m delighted to share with you the success of the Special Olympics Ontario five-pin provincial qualifier event that took place this past weekend at Hopedale Bowl in Oakville, Ontario. The event was truly remarkable and locally driven, with the support and backing of Special Olympics Ontario. It was an excellent turnout from Oakville athletes, providing to be an opportunity for athletes to compete and have fun in an inclusive environment.

I’d like to highlight and give special thanks to James Montague. James has been an active member of Special Olympics Oakville as both an athlete and a fundraiser. He excels in confidence and commitment when it comes to organizing and planning events that benefit young adults with disabilities in the Oakville community. James is also an award-winning entrepreneur, running his own event-planning company called James Montague Event Planner Group. He has received recognition for being an advocate for individuals with special needs. He’s an incredible asset to our community, and we’re very proud to have him.

I would like to also extend my sincere gratitude to all those who attended the event and contributed to its success. Special Olympics Oakville has a long history of organizing numerous charity events in the past, and this weekend was yet another testament to the excellent work they do. They continually provide opportunities for athletes to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families and other athletes.

I wish all the athletes the best of luck as they continue on their journey to the 2025 Special Olympics.

This past Friday, MPP Jordan, the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Long-Term Care, and I announced $170,466 for the Village of Taunton Mills in Whitby, to help residents with complex medical needs like dementia and bariatric care connect to specialized care and supports in their long-term-care home instead of a hospital.

Speaker, this is part of a $20-million investment this year in 189 projects province-wide through a new local priorities fund. Under the leadership of the Honourable Paul Calandra, the Minister of Long-Term Care, we’re taking action to bolster our province’s long-term-care system and put residents’ needs first.

This work is built on four pillars: staffing and care; quality and enforcement; building modern, safe and comfortable homes; and providing seniors with faster, more convenient access to the services they need. Speaker, the government is fixing long-term care to ensure Ontario’s seniors get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve, both now and in the future.

The Norwich Chamber of Commerce recently handed out their annual Awards of Excellence. These awards honour outstanding individuals and businesses and recognize their contributions to the community. I congratulate this year’s winners:

—Schuurman Farms and Hoogenboom Family Farm, winners of the farm family award, are from Holland, and the Schuurmans and Hoogenbooms have created two successful farm businesses;

—Norma’s Coffee Bar, recipient of the small business of the year award, a place where every customer feels like family;

—Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese, winner of the large business of the year award—I recommend everyone try their delicious cheese;

—Max Van den Borre, who won the agricultural bursary award for his insightful essay on the Ukraine war’s impact on Canadian agriculture;

—Kendra Hussey, whose essay on fostering youth engagement in employment earned her the essay contest scholarship;

—Jazlyn Armstrong, a dedicated young leader who won the youth citizenship award;

—Randy Nobbs, a long-serving community leader and winner of the citizen of the year award for his contributions to minor hockey and baseball; and

—Karen McSpadden, another wonderful volunteer, received the Judy Cayley memorial award for her service to the people of Oxford and her involvement with the Norwich United Church.

Mr. Speaker, these winners embody Oxford’s values of hard work, innovation, dedication and community service. Congratulations to one and all.

I am absolutely thrilled to congratulate the community of West Lorne on being crowned Kraft Hockeyville 2023. It was so exciting for me to participate in the enthusiasm generated throughout this Canadian community challenge. West Lorne will now have the opportunity to host a pre-game NHL game and will receive $250,000 for much-needed renovations to their local arena.

I would like to take this opportunity to offer my sincere appreciation to Kraft Heinz for their generous support. For 17 years Kraft Hockeyville has proudly awarded a total of $4.5 million to 93 communities across our great country. Thank you, Kraft Heinz.

Speaker, the municipality of West Elgin lost their beloved mayor just a few weeks ago. I know everyone in my riding of Elgin–Middlesex–London believes Mayor Duncan McPhail is looking down with pride and admiration for West Lorne’s great achievement.

Again, well done to West Lorne. You have made Ontario proud. Go, Comets, go!

In 2013, Ontario was the first Legislature across Canada to proclaim April as Sikh Heritage Month. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the historical declaration.

Throughout this month, events will take place to honour and celebrate the rich history, culture and contributions Sikhs have made to Ontario and Canada as a whole. This year, the Sikh Heritage Month initiative has organized many events in my riding of Brampton East and across the city of Brampton, including art exhibitions, concerts and a number of workshops, including an official flag-raising at Brampton City Hall.

Speaker, this month is also significant to the Sikh community as April 14 is Vaisakhi, a spring festival which marks the beginning of the harvest season in Punjab and the day the order of the Khalsa was created. Vaisakhi is celebrated by visiting a gurdwara to pray, seek blessings and by doing “seva,” which is the act of selfless service. It is also celebrated through the organization of parades, like the annual Khalsa Day Parade from Exhibition Place to Toronto city hall. Thousands of community members from diverse backgrounds join and participate in the day’s activities.

Speaker, I would like to take this moment to sincerely wish every Ontarian celebrating a very happy Vaisakhi and a very happy Sikh Heritage Month.

Remarks in Punjabi.

That concludes our members’ statements for this morning.

It’s with great pleasure I introduce Curtis Jordan to the House. Curtis is a trustee with the Upper Canada school board and, if I’m not mistaken, one of the first autistic individuals elected to any office in eastern Ontario. It’s great to have you in your House, sir.

It’s my pleasure to rise today to, first, congratulate the page captain for the day, Morgan Burkitt, and then to introduce her family: her mother, Sophia Burkitt; father, Michael Burkitt; and her younger sister, Ashley Burkitt; and welcome them to the House today.

Pour la première fois depuis que je suis élue, on a une page qui vient de ma circonscription d’Ottawa–Vanier, Mia Tocchi, et aujourd’hui, sa grand-mère et son père sont avec nous ici à l’Assemblée. Alors, bienvenue à Monika Tocchi et Silvano Tocchi. On se voit plus tard.

I’m really excited to welcome to the House today Megan Parry, Jason Kuzminski, Ben Kuzminski-Parry and Jude Kuzminski-Parry.

Jason worked at Queen’s Park for a number of years under our leader, Tim Hudak. They started as a family here in Toronto. They’re back to visit the city and friends, and they’re actually enjoying the hospitality of their host, Martin Regg Cohn.

I would like to introduce to everyone my beautiful and long-suffering wife Joni; her mother, my mother-in-law, Lena Bruining; her husband, Ben; and good friends, one of my heroes, Bill Janssen; his wife, Chris; and her sister, Mary Groeneweg.

I’d like to thank my daughter Ella and her choir mates for singing O Canada and God Save the King under the guidance of their director, Herman den Hollander.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome to the House today Peter Smith from the Durham region, a wonderful small businessman and a great community volunteer. Peter Smith, welcome to the House.

I would like to introduce my long-time constituency assistant from the riding of Nipissing, Keri Buttle. When she’s not in the office, Speaker, she has the pointiest elbows on the roller derby circuit. As well, she is a musher of her own dogsled team. Welcome, Keri.

My constituent, Morgan Kitching, is making his way through. He will sit beside trustee Curtis Jordan. Welcome to Queen’s Park, as soon as you get here.

On behalf of my seatmate, who forgot one of his friends here today, I would like to introduce Kelley Vandyk.

I want to be very clear that that migrant worker, that international student who is here to be part of our school system are all—and continue to be—covered through their health system, through Ontario’s publicly funded health system. There is no change in the way that uninsured persons will receive care in the province of Ontario.

The change that occurred was as a result of a program that we put in place when travellers could not return home. We have removed that change because we have a system in the province of Ontario where individuals are covered for OHIP-funded services, and we have a number of pathways for individuals to get funding through their health care system even without an OHIP card, of course.

I’ll share more in the supplementary.

There are 75 community health care centres operating in the province of Ontario that have a funding model that allows them to serve and assist individuals without a health care card. We have funding programs in place with midwives that ensures individuals who need assistance through the midwives program are able to do that, with or without an OHIP card.

There is no doubt that we want to protect the most vulnerable, but we also have to ensure that we have parameters in place to make sure unintended consequences don’t occur and we end up, in Ontario, being the health care for everyone else who chooses to come here to access this system.

We are returning to a program where there is no change in uninsured persons receiving care in the province of Ontario.

And in terms of the member’s question about expanding, I hope that as we continue to debate and vote on Bill 60, they will look at the expansions that are embedded in that legislation and vote to support expansions that are occurring and will be occurring because of the investments that our government is making in health to ensure that people get access to service in their communities.

I will ask for the House’s attention. I rise to inform the House of a change in the allocations for independent members’ participation in House proceedings, as we now have 12 members sitting as independents.

During question period, I will recognize an additional independent member to ask a question during each eight-day rotation. This means that one independent member will be recognized to ask a question each day, and a second independent member will be recognized to ask a question every Tuesday and Wednesday, with each of these questions followed by a supplementary. With respect to members’ statements, I will continue to recognize one independent member per day, and each independent member will be eligible to make a statement once every 12 days.

I thank the House for its attention.

Again, the Minister of Health to respond.