Back to the Premier—I hope I get an answer from the Premier: Nelson is a CUPE building operator at Oakville hospital. He told me that Halton hospital had people waiting in emerg for 12 and a half hours because they had no nurses at all. They called Oakville for assistance, but Oakville couldn’t help. They had 50 people lined up at their emerg, and they only had one triage nurse.

Nelson said, “In the past two years, 30 people have quit. Nobody wants to work here. It’s never been like this. It’s never been this bad.”

Speaker, will the Premier finally listen to health care workers like Pam and Nelson, admit Ontario’s health care is on life support and be part of the solution by investing in public health care and repealing Bill 124?

This is entitled “Stop Ford’s Health Care Privatization Plan.” I would like to thank the community members from St. Paul’s and across Ontario for signing this petition.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontarians should get health care based on need—not the size of their wallet;

“Whereas” the Premier and the health minister “say they’re planning to privatize parts of health care;

“Whereas privatization will bleed nurses, doctors and PSWs out of our public hospitals, making the health care crisis worse;

“Whereas privatization always ends with patients getting a bill;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately stop all plans to further privatize Ontario’s health care system, and fix the crisis in health care by:

“—repealing Bill 124 and recruiting, retaining and respecting doctors, nurses and PSWs with better pay and better working conditions;

“—licensing tens of thousands of internationally educated nurses and other health care professionals already in Ontario, who wait years and pay thousands to have their credentials certified;

“—making education and training free or low-cost for nurses, doctors and other health care professionals;

“—incentivizing doctors and nurses to choose to live and work in northern Ontario;

“—funding hospitals to have enough nurses on every shift, on every ward.”

I thank our community for this petition. I have affixed my signature and will hand it over to Kennedy for the Clerks.