Thank you to the member from Ottawa West–Nepean for the question. I’m going to ask the same question I asked the member from the government side.

Public, not-for-profit health care in Canada is one of our biggest competitive advantages. When companies are deciding whether to locate in the United States or Canada, they look at our public, not-for-profit health care. It’s far cheaper than the system in the United States. It’s far better. We are healthier in Canada because of our system.

A previous Conservative government privatized long-term care. They changed it from public, not-for-profit system to a private, for-profit system. We saw from the Armed Forces report what a travesty that was and how people were dying in just unspeakable conditions.

Why do you think this government is converting our public, not-for-profit health care system in Ontario into a private, for-profit system, instead of just expanding and supporting the public, not-for-profit system?

I thank the member from Ottawa West–Nepean for her discussion this morning, but it left me curious. Obviously the opposition has to oppose what we’re doing, and it sounds like they’ll be voting against this piece of legislation also—

So I was wondering if the member—because I know she has experience working on different sides of the House in different places—has any ideas on how we could actually improve this legislation or what we could do to improve the health care system in Ontario, other than just continuing to maintain the status quo, which is what I’ve heard so far.

I want to thank the member from Ottawa West. Last month, my son had a very minor infection—I’m getting very personal—but we went to the hospital. That wasn’t a good place for him at that time, and we decided that it was going to be a better spot at a pharmacist. The pharmacist actually took care of this minor situation, and we were in and out of the door very quickly.

This kind of innovation has made positive improvements for the health care system and the residents of Ontario. Will the member opposite support expanding the scope of pharmacists so that their constituents can get better access to care closer to home?

Thank you to my colleague from Ottawa West–Nepean for the comments. I know that they spend a lot of time with nurses in the riding in Ottawa, and I’m wondering if my colleague can tell me a little bit about some of the comments received from those nurses with respect to—you mentioned the lack of respect that they feel, especially after the pandemic, and now, on top of all that, the lack of investment in the public system. What are some of the comments you’ve heard from people in Ottawa West–Nepean?

Four days ago, you could hear the sound of hearts breaking across Ottawa. Why? Because the Rideau Canal Skateway was officially closed for the winter season. That was a tough loss for us. The National Capital Commission made the call because they said the ice wasn’t thick enough. It was a loss for local tourism, small business and residents of our city, but, to be honest, Speaker, in my opinion, it is yet another reminder that Ontario is not doing enough to meet the imminent threat of the climate emergency we’re living in.

Ottawa has been tested by extreme weather events time and again in the last five years and this government has done next to nothing about it: two once-in-a-century floods, two dramatic windstorms, millions of dollars in damage.

Speaker, it’s time for Ontario to be part of the solution, not the pollution. The great Neil Young, one of the best songwriters to ever come out of this country, is challenging us to ask, in a recent song:

Who’s gonna stand up and save the Earth?

Who’s gonna say that she’s had enough?

That has got to be us. It’s got to be the people of Ontario. We have an opportunity this Friday to be part of a global movement, the Fridays for Future movement. On March 3, join me and other people of conscience at 90 Elgin Street outside the department of finance, where we’ll ask the federal government to stop subsidizing, through tax expenditures, fossil fuel growth in this country. We have to stand up and save the Earth. Ottawa, I will see you on the street this Friday at noon.

My question is for the Premier. It would be nice if the Premier answered instead of enrolling in the minister protection program, but I won’t hold my breath—

Interjections.

The Centretown Community Health Centre is integral to a caring and strong community in Ottawa Centre. Will this government ensure that their budget is not cut?

The supplementary question: the member for Spadina–Fort York.

The next question.

Supplementary question.

The next question.

The supplementary question: the member for Ottawa Centre.

Interjection: It’s not even worth responding to that.

That concludes our question period for this morning. This House stands in recess until 3 p.m.

The House recessed from 1139 to 1500.

I appreciate the member opposite’s remarks in debate this afternoon. In particular, when he talks about the north, I very much appreciate it. I have property in the Ottawa Valley, right near my colleague here from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, and I appreciate that economic development needs to take place right across this province.

Maybe the member opposite could explain, in his opinion at least, when we think of the Ring of Fire and the natural mineral resources we can use—I know the Premier said, “Let’s not export them. Let’s put them to good use, and we can build our own supply chains and build our own EV plants, whether it’s in Windsor or whether it’s going to be wherever in Ontario.” Who knows what’s going to happen in St. Thomas? Who knows if it’s going to be EV, if it’s going to be an automotive plant, if it’s going to be food or food processing? It’s going to be great. The bottom line is, talking about automotive—how does EV help northern Ontario and the Ring of Fire help complement what you’re trying do in northern Ontario for economic development?