I’d like to welcome, in the members’ gallery, Erin Ariss from the Ontario Nurses’ Association, vice-president, region 4, and a registered nurse in Ontario, and Nour Alideeb, a government relations specialist. Thank you for being here. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

There is no government in the history of this province, under the leadership of the Premier, that invested more in public health care than this government. Mr. Speaker, that includes investing in health human resources.

Since March 2020, we have added over 10,900 health care professionals across this province. This includes making sure that, in the future, we also have health care professionals by building medical schools in places like Brampton and Scarborough, making sure we almost double the number of doctors in the north. We put forward programs in the fall economic statement: $342 million to support adding over 5,000 new and upskilled registered nurses and registered practical nurses, as well as an additional 8,000 personal support workers.

Every step of the way, Mr. Speaker, the members opposite have voted against each of these measures to help support health human resources across this province. That is a shame.

My question is to the Minister of Health. You announced the creation of the operating room assist position at Hamilton Health Sciences, but we’re hearing a concerning story from registered nurses. Registered nurses at Hamilton Health Sciences caution that replacing highly trained scrub nurses with ORAs puts patient safety at risk in the operating room. Patients don’t want someone in their OR who is unable to intervene when unexpected things happen during surgery. When a patient is coding in the operating room, there isn’t time to wait for a nurse. Delays can be the difference between life and death. With only 22 hours of online learning, two practice labs and two weeks of practical experience, ORAs do not have the same expert knowledge and specialized training as highly skilled scrub nurses.

My question: Will you stop cuts to nursing at the cost of patient care and require Hamilton Health Sciences to keep nurses in the critical scrub nurse role?

I agree that we need to address the nursing crisis, but you are compromising the standard of surgical care for patients to save money. You need to invest and protect the scrub nurse position to ensure patients get the care they need and deserve. Without proper standards of care, patients may have a higher risk of unexpected complications, which could result in multiple surgeries and, in the worst-case scenario, even lose their lives.

My question to the Minister of Health: Will you address the nursing crisis by ensuring that the right care is provided at the right time by the right provider and stop removing scrub nurses from that critical role in the operating room?

When I talk to heads of nurses’ unions, when I talk to doctors, when I talk to health care professionals, they say, “We want to work as a team. We want to be part of that continuum of care for the patient.” It is exactly why we are encouraging funding and enabling Ontario health teams to be operating in the province of Ontario. From diagnosis through treatment through placement, we now have a coordinated system that allows that patient to have a touchpoint no matter where they are in their continuum of care. That’s the kind of thing that gives patients and families comfort, that they know that wherever they are in their treatment, they are going to have a touchpoint and a group of professionals who are working together for the best outcome.

We are investing not only in the nursing visits, in the shifting hours, in the therapy visits—including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology—but we’re also doing it within the community. That is, as many of us know, the programs like adult day programs, meal services, transportation, caregiver supports and assisted living services.

Will the member opposite be supporting this $1-billion investment in our budget?

We’ll continue to do that innovation. We’ll continue to bring forward the things that people need when they want to stay safely in their own homes. That is including an investment that we have made in this year’s budget. I hope the member opposite takes a close look at what that investment will mean to his community and people across Ontario, and do the right thing and vote for our budget.

My question is to the Minister of Health. Nurses who work full time in health care with good union jobs with benefits and what used to be good wages are making the unimaginable decision to leave their jobs in hospitals to go to private temp agencies without benefits or protections. Remember, Speaker, that hospitals are forbidden by this Premier from paying fair or competitive wages because of Bill 124.

All nurses are paid for with public dollars. This Premier is making darn sure that private agencies can reach deep into the public money bucket.

Hospitals want to keep their nurses and pay them fair and competitive wages. Why won’t this Conservative government remove their public sector wage cap and let them?

This is not about opportunities; it is a racket that is bleeding public tax dollars out of our health care system and into private agencies—publicly paid-for, privately delivered, Premier-approved. Why won’t this Premier scrap Bill 124 and allow hospitals to pay their nurses what they are worth?