Thank you to the member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington for the question.

This government has listened to the advice of health care experts. We are increasing care year over year and ensuring long-term-care residents receive an average of four hours of care per day by March 2025; this is up from two and a half hours in 2018. To meet this target, we are providing $4.9 billion in funding over four years, which will help homes hire 27,000 new nurses and personal support workers—27,000.

Improving staffing is one of our three key pillars for fixing long-term care, and we are making historic investments to ensure our long-term-care residents receive the care they deserve.

I’m a big fan of nurse practitioners, and I believe they’re a big answer to relieving some of the strains on our health care system. Their scope includes diagnosing conditions, ordering tests and prescribing medications, developing comprehensive care plans, and making referrals when required. Those are just some of the things within their scope.

Through this program, homes can request funding for eligible employment expenses, including salaries, benefits and overhead costs for newly hired nurse practitioners. This is an important step toward enhancing the quality of care in long-term-care homes.

Nurse practitioners are part of a health care team that develops, supports, implements and evaluates residents’ care plans. They also provide mentorship to other staff, enhancing their knowledge and abilities.

We also recognize that rural communities may have trouble accessing much-needed health care professionals, which is why this funding also provides up to $5,000 to help nurse practitioners relocate.