My office, like I’m sure many offices across the province, has received calls from families saying, “My parent is being pushed out of hospital. I don’t have the ability to care for them”—

Interjection.

Interjection.

Anyway, what’s happening is—and we all hear this—patients are being pushed out of hospitals. Family members are concerned. They’re threatened that if they don’t take their family member home because there is no care for them, they’re going to be charged with a bill. This is a great concern.

As we’re changing the system, I’m asking the minister specifically: What will the consequences be for families who choose not to be pushed out of the ALC into a long-term-care home that they choose not to be in?

My question is for the Premier. Sara is a mother of a nine-year-old boy who has been on a wait-list for autism services since July 24, 2017. She tells me about the lack of trust that families have for this government. Out of 8,000 children who have been promised to be enrolled, few are signing on. Many would rather wait to be forced into the program in the spring of 2023 than accept the invitation and risk changes to the current services that their children are currently in. This leaves families like Sara’s on a stalled wait-list.

Speaker, when will this minister and the government be forthcoming and transparent with parents, clear the backlog, and ensure that children receive the services and supports that they need, when they need them?

Families are enduring high levels of stress, years of neglect, abuse of power, and withholding of promised funding. Parents are tired, and they need their government’s help.

Can the minister explain to families like Sara’s, who are sitting on stalled wait-lists for more than five years, when they can expect to move on the list to receive the letter for the AccessOAP program?