I want to thank the member from Niagara Falls for bringing forward this motion again. I think I was here the last time he brought it forward, and I know he’s very committed on this issue. I also want to thank Mr. Anthony Henry, the guest who is in the gallery here, for all the hard work that he’s doing to educate people, particularly in the Black community, about prostate cancer.

Cancers touch all of us. I can disclose that there’s prostate cancer in my family as well, so I certainly empathize with people wanting to make sure that we do everything we can to support people with cancers here in Ontario.

Our government invests in cancer care through Ontario Health, who is our adviser on cancer and renal systems; it was the former Cancer Care Ontario. We flow about $2 billion to hospitals to support direct patient care every year. Through Ontario Health, several screening programs are available with the goal of finding cancer earlier, leading to better health outcomes for patients.

Ontario’s cancer screening programs detect pre-cancerous changes or cancer at an early stage when there is a better chance of treating it successfully. Screening is for people who do not have any cancer symptoms, and I certainly encourage Ontarians to speak to their physicians or any primary care provider to discuss their care plan.

Ontario Health oversees Ontario’s overall cancer strategy, including critical programs and services such as:

—cancer surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy;

—Ontario’s cancer screening programs, such as the Ontario breast cancer screening program, ColonCancerCheck, Ontario cervical cancer screening program and the Ontario lung cancer screening program;

—the Ontario Renal Network, which manages dialysis services for the province; and

—tracking performance to ensure constant improvements in cancer, chronic kidney disease and access to care.

Speaker, I’m proud to say that, given the success of Ontario’s cancer strategy, cancer incidence rates have been stable since 2001 and mortality has been declining since 1983. But of course, there is still more to be done.

Cancer screening and associated diagnostic services are delivered in Ontario through primary care, through hospitals, independent health facilities and other health care providers practising outside of hospitals, like community-based colonoscopists—have to get the emphasis on the right syllable with that one.

Last month, our government introduced Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care. The plan focuses on providing people with a better health care experience by connecting them to more convenient care options close to home while shortening wait times for key services across the province and growing the health care workforce for years to come.

One of the key initiatives includes expanding access to integrated community health services centres, where cancer screening and associated diagnostic services are delivered in Ontario. We are increasing access to surgeries and procedures, such as MRIs and CT scans, cataract surgeries, orthopedics, colonoscopies and endoscopies.

In addition to shortening wait times, providing these publicly funded services through community surgical and diagnostic centres will allow hospitals to focus their efforts and resources on more complex and high-risk surgeries. We’re also investing more than $18 million in existing centres to cover care for thousands of patients, including more than 49,000 hours of MRI and CT scans, 4,800 more cataract surgeries, 900 other ophthalmological surgeries, 1,000 minimally-invasive gynecological surgeries and 2,845 plastic surgeries.

For over 30 years, community surgical and diagnostic centres have been partners in Ontario’s health care system. Like hospitals, community surgical diagnostic centres are held accountable to the highest quality standards, the standards that Ontarians deserve and expect across the health care system. To further support integration, quality and funding accountability, oversight of community surgical centres will transition to Ontario Health. This improved integration into our broader health care system will allow Ontario Health to continue to track available community surgical capacity, assess regional needs and respond more quickly across the province and within the regions where there are gaps and patient need exists. Our government is clear: Ontarians will continue to use their OHIP card and never their credit card.

Based on clinical guidelines established by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care—which the member referenced—currently the province, through OHIP, funds the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, test for men under these circumstances: men who are receiving treatment for prostate cancer; men who are being followed after treatment for prostate cancer; and, finally, men who are suspected of having prostate cancer because of a family history—like Anthony—and/or the results of a physical exam with their provider. I should note that Ontario’s policy in this area is akin to that of British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick and Quebec. Prince Edward Island only covers PSA testing as a screening tool after the age of 50, but patients must still speak with a health care provider about tests.

Most international and national guidelines and recommendations—including those by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, and the American College of Physicians—recommend against screening for prostate cancer using the PSA test due to the lack of evidence to suggest a universal benefit to screening. Should these recommendations from the experts be updated, Ontario will, of course, review eligibility in consultations with our clinical partners at Ontario Health. Ontarians who are concerned about their risk of prostate cancer—and Anthony probably talks to many people who would fall in that category—should reach out to their primary care provider about test eligibility and have that discussion with them.

Our government also supports cancer care through the Ontario Public Drug Programs; approximately $1.7 billion was invested last year in cancer drug expenditures. I would like to highlight in this House that take-home cancer drugs are funded through the Ontario Drug Benefit Program and make up about 58% of the Ministry of Health’s total expenditure for cancer drugs.

All of these services are priorities highlighted in our Ontario Cancer Plan 5, a strategic five-year guide for improving the cancer system in Ontario that was launched by our government, with the support of Ontario Health, in 2019. The scope of the work in this plan includes all stages of the cancer care treatment journey from diagnosis through to recovery.

I’d like to close by thanking the member for bringing forward this important motion—it’s important to talk about prostate cancer and raise awareness, as Anthony Henry is doing in his community; certainly, it’s good for all of us to raise awareness about it in ours—and giving me the opportunity to speak about some of the investments the government is making in the cancer system and the reason for our decisions. As always, Ontarians who are concerned about their risk of prostate cancer or any other cancer should speak with their primary care provider. Ontarians can also connect to Health811, formerly Health Care Connect, to find available primary care services in their area.