It is important for all of us to appreciate that there have been many plans in the works, including, of course, two exciting new announcements in Brampton and Scarborough for new opportunities for people to become doctors in Ontario and stay and train in Ontario. Along with adding 400 physician residents to support the workforce in northern and rural Ontario—we’ve been doing that work.

Clearly, when you hear from individuals like Anthony Dale of the Ontario Hospital Association that “Ontario’s hospitals are rapidly becoming the health care provider of last resort for thousands of people who actually need access to home care, long-term care and other services,” it is precisely why our government has invested a billion dollars in our most recent budget to ensure that community care happens in community, where people want it.

The issues raised by the member opposite are not new. They are not something that has happened in the last weeks and months. This is something that has historically been a challenge: to recruit and retain people in northern Ontario to practise. Frankly, I would respectfully remind the member that it was a Progressive Conservative government that actually started the last most recent medical school in northern Ontario.

Thank you to the member from Oakville North–Burlington for that important question. We need to increase health human resources, and that starts with post-secondary education. Our government is getting it done by taking action to increase health human resources across Ontario through our historic expansion of health care post-secondary education.

Earlier this year, we established the Northern Ontario School of Medicine as the first stand-alone medical school in northern Ontario. This gives students the flexibility to study closer to home and serve remote and underserved communities across Ontario.

We are also building the first new medical school in the GTA since the University of Toronto built their medical school back in 1843. We are the government that is building the new Toronto Metropolitan University medical school in Brampton. We are also creating the new University of Toronto Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health in Scarborough, and expanding the Queen’s Lakeridge Health campus in Durham.

Our government knows that training more doctors will ensure that Ontarians have access to doctors.

We need to train more health care professionals across Ontario. Not only are we increasing the number of medical seats that will serve both urban and rural communities across Ontario, but we are also enhancing existing medical and health care programs. Our government is adding 160 undergraduate and 295 postgraduate positions to six medical schools across Ontario, but we are also enhancing.

Earlier this year, we also announced our learn-and-stay program, which, over the next four years, can help 3,000 nurse graduates receive financial support to cover the cost of tuition in exchange for two years’ service in an underserved community.

Speaker, we understand that in order to keep Ontario safe and open, we need to ensure that we have a high-quality, resilient health care system, and that starts with a high-quality postsecondary education system across the province. That is why we are expanding opportunities for students in every part of Ontario to join the health care profession.