Speaker, I want to talk about a topic that’s weighing on Ontarians’ minds, and that’s the public health care system. This government is making changes to decimate those services that people rely on.

I want to share an email I have received. This woman wanted to remain anonymous, so I can’t give her name. She says, “I got the quote $3,680 to do the cataract surgery in a private clinic. If I don’t want to pay, I have to wait for 15 months to get the appointment in St. Joseph’s Hospital. Where can I get help to find out other cities’ hospital waiting times for cataract surgery?”

Speaker, those operating rooms are there. They’re ready to take more people who need public health care for cataract surgeries. We need to fund those institutions that already have that infrastructure. Bringing a bill that’s going to further privatize our health care system is wrong. It won’t make a change to what people are requiring.

The NDP has given a suggestion, so I want to give those suggestions back to the government, so that they will consider those instead of further privatizing our health care: adequately fund hospitals, repeal Bill 124, expedite training and hiring international nurses, create more nurse practitioner-led family clinics. These are the things that are going to keep public health care public, and they’re going to have the quality of care that our constituents deserve and expect—not privatization of hospitals and public health care services.