I have always been proud of the youth of Oxford because they punch above their weight and are a huge asset to our community. I am constantly amazed by their success and these past few weeks have been no exception.

Alanna Rusnak, who is a student at Glendale High School in Tillsonburg, was crowned Miss Teenage Canada on August 20. As youth across Ontario are struggling with their mental health, Alanna has used her platform to be a positive role model, spreading a message of positive body image and self-love. She has been speaking to schools across southwestern Ontario about social media, bullying and how it’s okay to reach out for help.

The youth of Oxford have also shown their incredible talent at the Canada Summer Games. With their training, hard work and perseverance, it’s no wonder Oxford’s athletes do so well, and I want to congratulate all who participated.

I would like to give a special mention to Mason McKay and Mitch McKay of Tavistock for their gold medal in softball, Mason Van Zantvoort for a gold medal and bronze medal in wrestling, and Kate Foster of Sweaburg for a gold medal in box lacrosse.

It is often said that the youth are the leaders of tomorrow, Mr. Speaker, but I disagree. The youth of Oxford are already showing that they are leaders today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn the verbal attacks, intimidation and misogyny inflicted upon Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, as documented on video this past weekend.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Assaults against women are endemic to Canadian politics today. In our recent election, I heard from female Ontario Liberal candidates who were assailed in even more extreme ways, on the streets, in front of family members, in social media messages and emails. I am sure candidates from other parties experienced equally appalling assaults that, for their own health, I would not want them to recount.

Speaker, why is it important that I make this statement here? In February 2014, when new MPP Chrystia Freeland stood up in the House of Commons during question period, she was dramatically interrupted by members who made fun of her raising the pitch of her voice to make a point, and prevented her from finishing. This led directly to social media which mocked her for not speaking with a deeper voice. There was no licence-granting bogeyman south of the border to blame back then; an elected body was to blame.

Today, I not only condemn this attack against a female Canadian leader but all the attacks that have happened and are increasing, which are a threat to women, democracy, and Canadian values. I call on this assembly to lead by example and to not repeat the mistakes of the past.

I, too, want to introduce someone very, very special. He’s one of the world’s most prominent, prolific music composers—and, I might add, that I am a huge fan of his. He’s a two-time Academy Award winner, with two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, 15 Filmfare Awards and 13 Filmfare Awards South, and numerous other awards and nominations. It is my distinct pleasure to welcome the one and only Isai Puyal, A.R. Rahman, to our Legislature.

I’m really excited and proud to welcome to Queen’s Park today my sister, Nicole Windsor; her husband, Jeff Windsor from Newbury, Ontario; as well as the daughter of Chief Jason Henry, who’s joining us today, Banaise Henry. Thank you for being here.

It’s my great pleasure to introduce to the House my wife, Susie. We celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary last Thursday.

Applause.

To the Premier: Less than two weeks ago, the government announced sweeping changes to Ontario’s health care system. And late last week, they revealed they would be rushing these changes through and bypassing any hearings at all.

Why is the government refusing to hear from the front-line workers and families who will be impacted by these changes?

The Ford government’s scheme could force patients into long-term-care homes up to 300 kilometres away from their families—300 kilometres—and hit them with massive fees if they refuse to move.

We just completed an election campaign. We didn’t hear a single word from this government about this scheme at that time. But now after announcing it less than 12 days ago, they’re shutting down any discussion.

Why are they afraid to hear from the families and front-line workers who will be devastated by these changes?

Good morning, everyone. I am rising in the House today to celebrate the return of an important annual event in my riding, the Taste of the Kingsway. For two years, the Taste of the Kingsway has been on hold. I’m very glad to inform this House today that it will be returning September 9 to 11, and I’ll be kicking it off at 6 p.m. It’s located on Etobicoke’s bustling Kingsway strip.

This festival has a history of more than 20 years, and it is the largest street festival in south Etobicoke. At the Taste of the Kingsway you can experience live music, rides and games, a Ferris wheel, street performers, children’s activities and even a dog show. This festival has been a critical event on the Etobicoke summer calendar for a number of years, and I’m sure my excitement is shared by many people in the Etobicoke community that it will be returning.

Not only is it a fun time, it is supporting a great cause. The Taste of the Kingsway is a proud supporter of Campfire Circle, a non-profit summer camp for children affected by childhood cancer.

The Taste of the Kingsway can be reached via Royal York subway station. The city will be closing Bloor Street for the festival.

I sincerely invite all members of this House, as well as the broader public, to come down and help celebrate the return of this local institution. And please, while you’re at the Taste of the Kingsway enjoying our local shops and restaurants, don’t forget to drop by my booth and visit me and say hello.

I would like to welcome my very good friend, a community activist and a mentor to many international students, Sukhjit Singh Ahluwalia; his father, Gurdip Singh Ahluwalia; and his family Mandip Singh Nijjar and Vijay Marwaha. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

We can impact people in so many different ways. I am going to introduce someone who has done so through art. His music has touched the lives of millions around the world. It is my honour and great pleasure to introduce two-time Academy and Grammy award winner, and one of the greatest artists of our time, A.R. Rahman.

I’d like to welcome our friend Chief Jason Henry of the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation. Thank you for coming down and paying a visit.

Let me quote the NDP member from Waterloo, who, on December 12, 2019, said about ALC, “These are patients who should not be in a hospital.” Unbelievable, after what we’ve been hearing, what they’ve been saying lately. “They should be in long-term care or in retirement or assisted living options.”

A second NDP member, for Oshawa, who, on March 26, 2018, said on ALC: “I’d love to have a conversation about alternate level of care, or ALC, which is taking up our hospital space for folks in transition, in limbo. Are they even on waiting lists? They’re just in limbo, so do they count? Are they on the waiting list? I’d love to put them somewhere.”

So, on one side, they’re saying that they shouldn’t be in the hospitals; next day, they should be in the hospitals. Make up your minds.

It gives me great pride today to share the story and outstanding efforts of a grassroots charity organization formed in my hometown of Leamington. Hogs for Hospice was a vision of a small group of local citizens who shared a love of motorcycling and community. Recognizing that many of us will at some point require the compassionate supports offered by palliative care, this dedicated group sought to create a world-class, family-friendly motorcycle and music festival to raise money to build and maintain a world-class hospice campus while advancing health care in Leamington and surrounding communities.

This past civic holiday weekend, Leamington welcomed thousands to the 5th annual Hogs for Hospice. This event featured exceptional food vendors, a motorcycle stunt show, a guided motorcycle ride along the shores of Lake Erie to Point Pelee National Park, and it culminated in an amazing live music concert at our Sunset Amphitheatre, headlined by legendary rock band The Cult and country music artist Brett Young.

To date, Hogs for Hospice has raised over $1.5 million for Erie Shores Hospice. I want to thank and personally recognize the many volunteers, the dedicated board and everyone for their efforts to this worthwhile cause. This event could not be possible without the leadership of Joe Oswald, Donny Pacheco, Benji Mastronardi, Brian Cornies, Dave Hodare, Tim Iles and Kevin Safrance.

In 2023, we’re going to continue this tradition, and I welcome everyone to bring their families and enjoy Hogs for Hospice in Leamington.

The supplementary question.

Speaker, it’s not clear who the government is listening to. Long-term-care homes have told the government there are not enough beds in long-term-care homes to relieve hospital pressures—the operators themselves. Front-line nurses have told the government that Bill 7 does nothing to address the hospital crisis in Ontario; it simply forces patients from one understaffed environment into another.

Is the government refusing to hold hearings because they know their plan won’t work and they don’t want to hear it?

This morning, we heard from people across the province, actually, who represent different sectors: seniors’ advocates, retirees, health care workers. We heard from folks who represent workers. We heard from people who are very concerned about Bill 7. And, of course, we heard from health care workers from different sectors.

One PSW told us that Bill 7 “blames the most vulnerable people for a health care crisis that’s not their fault and forces them ... hundreds of kilometres outside their communities, away from their families and friends.

“There absolutely is a staffing crisis in health care in this province,” this PSW said, but “this won’t do a thing to address it.”

Already overworked and underpaid health care staff will be faced with the ethical dilemma of compromising quality of care to discharge and clear beds. So my question is, why is this government refusing to listen to front-line workers who are offering real solutions?

You could ask anyone in Ontario: Would they want their elderly loved-one sitting in a hospital, in a bed, as noise is going around 24/7, not being able to get out and take a walk, when you can give them a home—not a bed, but a home. And a home would be in a long-term-care home. They have entertainment at night. They are able to walk around. Family members are able to come in and watch the entertainment with them. That’s a home versus a hospital, where you’re stuck in a room with four other patients, the alarms are going off, bells are going off.

That would be cruel, to leave a loved one, any parent in this province, in a hospital. We need them in a home. And that’s what we’re providing: 58,000 new homes.

You had four years to improve the system and made it infinitely worse over those four years. The system has been in desperate crisis for that whole time.

The health care crisis is hitting northerners especially hard, and Bill 7 will make the crisis worse, not better. Forcing seniors to move 300 kilometres away from their loved ones will be devastating and traumatic for elders and their families. Currently in Thunder Bay–Superior North, we face—actually, we have beds. We have some beds, but there’s no staff, and this has been going on for a long time.

Seniors and persons with disabilities are being defined as bed-blockers by this government, only to be repurposed as profit enhancers for privately owned homes when they haven’t fulfilled their 98% fullness to get their full public allotment of dollars. Why is this government refusing to address the staffing crisis that is the source of the funding crisis?

The government is refusing to hear from patients and front-line health workers about Bill 7, so the NDP held hearings of its own this morning. Here’s what front-line experts called the Ford government’s scheme this morning: “The process is antidemocratic. The bill is a shocking abandonment of patient rights.” They called this “Hunger Games health care. The bill is callously misleading Ontarians.”

Why is this Ford government moving ahead without hearings? Because they don’t want to hear what a disaster it will be.

People on the front lines are warning this government: This puts seniors’ lives at risk. Why are they refusing to listen? Why are they not thinking about the 5,000 seniors that have already died in long-term-care facilities, 40 over the last two weeks? Repeal Bill 124.

Government House leader and Minister of Long-Term Care.

Premier to reply.

Speaker, I honestly do not know where the NDP have been. As the Premier just highlighted, of course, they talked about this before. We have known that this has been a problem for decades in the province of Ontario: how to handle ALC patients in our hospitals. We have said the status quo is not an option. We have invested billions of dollars into our long-term-care system. Experts agree that the best place for somebody who has been discharged from hospital, who is on the long-term-care-home waiting list, to wait for their preferred home of choice is in a long-term-care home, not in a hospital bed.

The status quo will not work, and we will not stop. We will improve the system for the people who are in our hospitals, who are waiting to become residents of long-term-care homes. Despite their protecting of the status quo, we will move forward, because it’s better for the residents of long-term care, Mr. Speaker.

I look at the words of the former member for Timmins, Gilles Bisson, when he talked about long-term care. What does this mean when we don’t transfer people out of hospitals into long-term care? He said what this means is “that when you bring your child to the hospital because they broke their arm, you have to wait longer at the emergency because there is no place to deal with them.”

While they can support the status quo, we will not, because we know that if you’re a senior on the long-term-care waiting list being discharged from a hospital, your better place to be is in a long-term-care home, not in a hospital bed waiting for that transfer.

We’ve invested in 58,000 new and upgraded homes all across the province, in every region—north, south, east, west, rural, remote, urban. We are adding 27,000 additional health care workers, four hours of care, the Fixing Long-Term Care Act—a ground-breaking piece of legislation that they voted against.

But the reality is, there are 6,000 people in hospital beds who have been discharged and are looking for care somewhere else. Long-term care can be part of the solution for the first time in decades. There are close to 2,000 seniors in hospital, waiting to be in a long-term-care home, Mr. Speaker. Experts agree that that is not the place for a senior. They deserve to be in long-term-care homes. This bill facilitates that from happening and allows our acute care system to recover for the first time in decades. We can be a part and we will.

Long-term care can be part of a solution, and you know why we can be part of that solution, Mr. Speaker? Because we are making incredible investments into long-term care: 58,000 new and upgraded beds across the province, 27,000 additional health care workers, four hours of care—all things that the Liberals and NDP refused to do when they had the opportunity, something that this Premier said he would do even in advance of becoming the Premier. It was a major plank.

We started from day one transitioning health care in this province, and we will not stop. We will not support the status quo, because we can do better and we will do better for seniors and all Ontarians.