On a daily basis, my office receives emails and phone calls from constituents about the health care system, from doctor shortages to excessive wait times in the ER, and about this government’s Bill 7, More Beds, Better Care Act, demanding public hearings take place.

Bryan sent me an email and asked me to get his story out there, because he says he’s not alone. His daughter is a registered nurse with over 30 years’ experience, and she has seen the health care system crumble. Bryan is an 82-year-old senior. His doctor has just retired. He signed up with Health Care Connect, and all he was offered were phone numbers to call doctors’ offices in hopes that they were accepting patients. He couldn’t get through to speak to doctors and fill out applications, and he has heard nothing. He is being forced to monitor his own health—blood pressure, arranging blood samples to check cholesterol, and, as a cancer survivor, his blood count. He is attending an urgent care clinic just to have his prescriptions filled. He also has a pacemaker, and—lucky for him—he’s monitoring by downloading an app. Bryan has been living in London for 51 years, and he feels like a senior who has been cast out in an open boat. This is beyond shameful.

It’s time to fix the health care system, and the NDP has put forth solutions.

Will this government finally agree to reinstate the Practice Ready Assessment Program for internationally trained doctors and nurses, and repeal Bill 124 to give health care workers the pay and incentives and respect they deserve? Yes or no?