This week, I had the great pleasure of dropping off my second child at university—quite a momentous occasion, I know, for a lot of us. I want to use this opportunity to speak to all the parents who are sending off their kids to new beginnings in our post-secondary educational institutions. It’s a difficult time. It’s a really important time. And I know, personally, what an emotional time it is, too.

I want to also speak to the government for a moment about what our post-secondary students need at this moment.

A lot of our kids struggled over the last two years under closures during COVID, whether at post-secondary institutions or in our schools. A lot of our kids are struggling young people today—struggling to find truly affordable housing—and a lot of families are struggling to put together the supports they need for their kids through this difficult time.

So I encourage the government to use this opportunity, as we head into this new school year, to support our post-secondary institutions, to support our post-secondary students, to support our faculty members who have really struggled in this time—and to encourage the government to be there, to reduce the tuition levels for our students, and support families today more than ever.

My question is to the Premier.

Sabrina and her husband, Jack, are both registered nurses. Their four-year-old daughter, Hazel, lives with type 1 diabetes and is starting junior kindergarten in September. In what should be a time of excitement for a young family, Sabrina will have to take an unpaid leave of absence to administer medication to her daughter at school. Hazel is on a wait-list. There is not one single community nurse available who can come into the classroom each day and assist Hazel with managing her needs.

Premier, we are in the midst of a staffing crisis. With this province already short 30,000 nurses, will this government commit to more community nurses for schools so health care workers like Sabrina and Jack aren’t forced to choose between their families and their jobs?