Speaker, there’s a special energy and optimism in Chatham-Kent right now. Recently, a small group of local business leaders purchased the Downtown Chatham Centre—a large, outdated, underoccupied mall. In earnest and at their own expense, these community partners developed a visionary concept for the future of the downtown entitled Imagine CK. This bold plan proposes entertainment, education, culture, accessible resources, business and a wide range of modern housing to the downtown core, all while preserving charm and historic features and facades. Most importantly, this was accomplished in collaboration with residents and officials.

A modern, inclusive community hub will serve as the new library, art gallery, museum and civic centre. This new design replaces and centralizes several aging, inefficient municipal offices requiring millions of dollars in repairs. Once complete, this hub will also showcase Chatham-Kent’s rich agricultural roots and celebrate the area’s important Black and Indigenous history.

Anchored by a new state-of-the-art family-focused entertainment complex, the second phase includes a modern 4,000-seat multi-use arena as well as space for farmers’ markets, festivals and concerts. With a focus on sustainable growth that embraces multi-generational residents and youth retention, Imagine CK offers people of all ages a reason to make Chatham-Kent their home and brings meaningful, well-paying employment and a multitude of lifestyle opportunities back to the area.

I’d like to introduce the following members from the Ontario General Contractors Association: Lewis Cowan, president, BDA, and chair of the OGCA executive committee; Sheila Thompson, president, Rosenberg and Parker of Canada; Francis Pomerleau, chief executive, national strategies, Pomerleau; and David Morley, VP, national strategy and government relations. Welcome to Queen’s Park, and thanks for building Ontario.

I’d like to introduce guests who are here today for Doctors’ Day, which I remember participating in, myself, a number of years ago: from the Ontario Medical Association, from the Ottawa region, Dr. Aly Abdulla, who I have known for a very long time, and his colleagues. Welcome. I look forward to our meeting today.

I want to wish everybody from the Ontario Medical Association a warm welcome to Queen’s Park; I’m trying to take names off my list, as some of you have already been introduced, but certainly: Dr. Rose Zacharias, president of the OMA; Stephen Singh, president of the palliative care group; Cathy Mastrogiacomo, family medicine group; David Urbach from Women’s College; and, of course, Dr. Vera Etches from Ottawa Public Health. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

As with others, I would like to welcome the Ontario Medical Association. I am pleased to recognize the doctors in the public gallery who have come from across Ontario to meet with MPPs to share their solutions for increasing patient access to care.

As part of today, the OMA is hosting a panel discussion with doctors who will be sharing solutions for reducing wait times, addressing the doctor shortage and expanding palliative care. The event starts at noon in room 230.

I would also like to recognize and introduce the leaders of the Ontario Medical Association, who are in the members’ gallery: CEO, Allan O’Dette; board chair, Dr. Cathy Faulds; and president, Dr. Rose Zacharias. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to thank the Ontario Medical Association for a wonderful meeting today, and especially Dr. Naomi Macrae, Dr. Victoria Young, Dr. Hava Starkman, Dr. Kunal Kolhatkar, Dr. Ali Kajdehi, Dr. Inna Ushcatz, Dr. Raghu Venugopal, and Dr. Lorne Sokol. Thank you for your outstanding work and for meeting with me today. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Like everyone else, I’d like to welcome members of the Ontario Medical Association here, but particularly my friend and constituent Dr. Audrey Karlinsky.

I just want to introduce a good friend and a past president of the OMA who is here with us today—a great golfer as well, as I just found out: Adam Kassam, welcome. Thank you.

I’m pleased to say that we have with us in the Speaker’s gallery today a very special guest, Ms. Susan Crystal, who is the consul general of the United States of America, based here in Toronto. She is accompanied by Michael Benton, Claudia Valladolid, Paul Hur and Katherine Zhang from the US Consulate General.

Please join me in warmly welcoming our guests.

I’d like to welcome the Ontario Medical Association, who is with us today. We have Marla DiCandia and Lou Vedovat, and doctors from my riding: Dr. Luay Ali Al-Kazely, Dr. Karen Trollope-Kumar, Dr. Teresa Chan, Dr. Ross Male and Dr. Raymond Harb. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I want to introduce one of the doctors from my area of Algoma–Manitoulin, from the place so nice they named it twice, in Wawa. Welcome to Queen’s Park, Dr. Switzer.

I’d like to welcome from the Ontario Medical Association, Dr. Aly Abdulla, and, my own Ottawa medical officer of health, Dr. Vera Etches, as well as several other doctors from the Ottawa area who have joined us here today.

I’d like to welcome a good friend of mine visiting from eastern Ontario today. He’s not a doctor—he’s actually a lousy golfer. His name is Brian Erwin and he’s from McDougall Insurance, part of the IBAO delegation here today. Welcome, Brian.

That concludes our introduction of visitors.

The government House leader has informed me that he has a point of order he wishes to raise.

Agreed? I heard a no.

Interjection.

The final supplementary.

The Minister of Health, to reply.

Minister of Municipal Affairs.

Withdraw, Speaker.

Ontario is expected to grow by more than two million people in the next 10 years—or in the next 15 years. As well, we know that the federal government will be expanding the number of new Canadians coming to our province. We need to ensure that we have a plan that not only builds the volume of homes that we need, but we also need the right types of homes.

So we’re going to continue to put forward amendments, legislation, regulation that gets us closer to that 1.5-million target.

My question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

I was shocked to learn, Minister, that nine of the developers that own land being removed from the greenbelt donated more than $572,000 to the Conservative Party. These developers bought the protected land at a very cheap price, and now, with a stroke of your pen, they can develop that land for incredible profit.

Minister, how did you decide which land owned by which donor should be removed from the greenbelt?

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario is not happy with Bill 23. Since this government refused to extend the hearings and let them speak, I’ll read from their written submission: “The bill transfers up to $1 billion a year in costs from private sector developers to property taxpayers without any likelihood of improving affordability.” In other words, “Developers stand to gain. We all stand to lose. Housing will remain unaffordable.”

Minister, why proceed with the developer fee cuts if experts are telling you it won’t make housing affordable?

Speaker, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 74(b), the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy be authorized to meet to consider Bill 23, An Act to amend various statutes, to revoke various regulations and to enact the Supporting Growth and Housing in York and Durham Regions Act, 2022, this afternoon.

I am seeking unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 45(b)(iv), the time for debate on opposition day motion number 3 be allocated as follows: 54 minutes to each of the recognized parties and 12 minutes to the independent members as a group.

Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Health. For months, there have been worrying signals from this government about their plans to privatize parts of our public health care system. In August, the Minister of Health received speaking notes that included the phrase, “No, we are not privatizing health care. Full stop.” But this phrase was scribbled out and never used by the minister. Why did the minister or her staff cross out this phrase in her speaking notes?

The Minister’s notes also had this phrase crossed out: “I want to be clear, there has been no expansion to the number of private hospitals who offer publicly funded procedures in Ontario.”

Did the minister or her staff cross out that phrase because there are plans to expand the number of private hospitals and private facilities in Ontario?

Speaker, the minister’s answers today have been very concerning. I’ll give the minister one more chance to reassure Ontarians about our publicly funded, publicly delivered health care system.

Can the minister tell this House today that this government is not privatizing delivery or operation of our health care system?

Interjections.