Niagara’s families deserve world-class health care, and that’s exactly what I’m working on delivering with Premier Ford. It’s why I was so heartened to see Infrastructure Ontario’s market update last week, which confirms how our government is making record investments in health care, long-term care, transportation, education and other critical infrastructure.

In Niagara, this infrastructure includes up to $1 billion for the Garden City Skyway twinning in St. Catharines, another $1 billion for a new South Niagara Hospital in Niagara Falls and hundreds of millions of dollars for a new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Grimsby.

In addition to the Infrastructure Ontario update on projects in the region, I recently had the privilege of announcing over $2 million in community provincial supports for critical infrastructure upgrades and repairs at our local hospitals. This funding is part of the government’s new investment of over $182 million provided through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund and the Community Infrastructure Renewal Fund to 131 hospitals and 65 community health service providers across this province.

Niagara Health will be receiving over $1 million while the Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre in St. Catharines will receive over $600,000 in provincial support this year through this Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund. Additionally, the Oak Centre in Welland is going to be receiving $41,000, Arid Recovery Homes in Fort Erie will receive $27,000 and Wayside House of St. Catharines will receive $29,000 through the Community Infrastructure Renewal Fund. In addition to the provincial funding supports for these important investments, the Haldimand War Memorial Hospital is also receiving over $200,000.

These critical investments demonstrate our commitment to building capacity and ending hallway health care, implementing the most ambitious plan for hospital expansion in Ontario’s history.

Thank you to the member opposite for that question. Mr. Speaker, we recognize the impacts that the pandemic has had on the well-being of children across Ontario. As a result of that, we have made investments and have continued to make investments: $20 million, for instance, on an across-the-board 5% increase in funding to increase all core mental health supports and addictions services for children and youth. This includes $2.7 million for new hubs in Guelph, Renfrew, Timmins and Windsor. The youth wellness hubs are actually providing immediate support to children and youth so that they can have a place that’s safe and culturally appropriate to go and get help.

Through our Addictions Recovery Fund, as well, we have invested $8 billion to another eight hubs to continue to increase capacity for children and youth. These sites have helped over 12,000 people—children between the ages of 12 and 25, with low-barrier addictions and mental health supports.

We know how critical the supports are for our children and youth and we are making investments to ensure that they have the help they need, where they need it.

We inherited an incredible situation when we came to government and I have some questions that I ask myself all the time. For instance, why were the Liberals, with investments at $11 million, sending children with eating disorders to the United States, rather than building continuums of care here in the province? In 2010, there was a report from the standing committee where there were recommendations that were made. How many of those recommendations were put into practice? Zero.

Speaking about the NDP, who stood beside them, 13% of Ontario mental health beds—9,645 hospital beds across the province—were closed under their leadership—