It does concern me that the member opposite and the party opposite do not believe that there can be innovative solutions to what are very long-standing problems. We cannot keep doing the same thing and expect different results. Status quo is not an option. That is why our five-point plan includes additional capacity, like expanding surgical units and the access to it, like expanding how we are using—in 40 communities across Ontario—the community paramedic program. These are the innovations that Ontarians need and deserve.

I don’t know if you’ve heard from your constituents waiting for those surgeries, but I have. I want to make sure that where we have capacity within our health care system, whether it is in hospitals or, in fact, in independent health facilities, we use that to make sure that people get the surgeries when they need them, as quickly as we can get them.

I point to a quote from Dr. Rose Zacharias, the president of the Ontario Medical Association: “Physicians are resilient, compassionate, high-capacity people. We need to spend our health care dollars strategically and fill these existing gaps.” We will do that working with our partners. I implore the members opposite to work with us on it.

Specifically on the surgical wait-lists: As part of our province’s Surgical Recovery Strategy, we’ve invested over $880 million over the last three fiscal years—and Speaker, I might remind the member that that’s over the last three years because we understood that there were going to be backlogs and we needed to take these steps proactively to make sure that individuals like Doug got their surgery as quickly as they could. We have funded Ontario hospitals to expand their surgical unit hours for exactly the reason the member opposite raises.

The 400 additional physician residents who are now practising in northern and rural Ontario are to expand and allow more opportunities for people to be able to access care closer to home as quickly as possible. We are making these investments. We are doing this because we understand. We want people like Doug to make sure that the high-quality, amazing health care that we have in the province of Ontario—they are accessing closer to home.

Many of my constituents have seen commentary and concerns being raised by a group of former Toronto mayors regarding the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act. According to them, the proposed legislation would eliminate any meaningful role of city councillors and therefore the voice of the local residents who elect them.

Residents of Toronto and Ottawa deserve the peace of mind that their elected officials are accountable to them and will act in their best interest.

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing please explain how this legislation will ensure that my constituents still have power regarding the role of municipal mayors and councils and the democratic principles that shape governments are being upheld?

Some of the additional concerns raised by the previous mayors of Toronto about this legislation include claims that mayors will have too much power to hire and fire senior staff, impacting the separation between executive and legislative functions. Additionally, they have said that the system provides too much control for mayors, providing them a veto on decisions that intervenes with provincial priorities.

Speaker, can the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing provide certainty for the people of Toronto and Ottawa by addressing the outstanding questions regarding this legislation?

Speaker, through you to the Minister of Health: A Niagara boxing legend is fighting for his life. Doug Dobias is a prolific boxer and coach. Nearly a decade ago, Doug suffered a botched surgery on a hernia. Over the years, it got so bad he lost nearly 100 pounds and was unable to eat or drink. His nutrient levels were so low doctors feared his heart would give out.

Surgeons have installed a feeding tube, but it can’t stay in place for long. If the surgery to correct the initial operation can’t be done quickly, Doug will suffer lifelong consequences. But because of Ontario’s massive surgical backlog, it will be many months before it can happen, and by then, it might be too late.

Will this government invest the $1.3 billion earmarked by the FAO to address the surgical backlog so that Doug and people like him can have timely, life-saving surgeries? Yes or no?

Is it acceptable to this government that people in Ontario have to crowd-fund to pay for life-saving surgery in the US?

And will the minister stand up today and abandon her plan to bankrupt and privatize our health care system and instead invest in our public system so that people like Doug don’t have to pay with their credit card to save their lives?

Supplementary question.

To respond, the Minister of Health.

The final supplementary.

Minister of Health to reply.

I want to thank the member for the question.

Contrary to what the former mayors said, municipal councils and locally elected councillors play an important role in representing their constituents and ensuring delivery of local priorities. Council will not be left out of the process of local decision-making. Under our Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, checks and balances are built into the proposal. Council can override the mayor’s veto of bylaws related to provincial priorities and budget amendments made by council with a two-thirds majority vote.

Speaker, it’s important to keep in mind that these changes are put forward to help the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa cut red tape and get shovels in the ground faster. The mayor is obviously still a member of council and still would have one vote on matters brought before council in the very same way that they do presently.

Speaker, that’s from the Auditor General’s December 2021 report. Let me quote further from that report:

“We found that some patients could be given misleading information as part of sales practices to make a profit.”

Further, “The ministry is putting patients at greater financial risk by allowing additional private organizations to provide publicly funded surgeries while also being allowed to charge patients directly for additional uninsured services to make a profit.”

In the case of cataract surgeries, these add-on charges cost patients anywhere from $450 to almost $5,000.

So my question: Do you believe it is your job to protect Ontarians and not the bottom line of for-profit providers?

The most disturbing finding in the Auditor General’s report: “The inconsistency in the way oversight of various service providers is conducted means that neither the Ministry nor Ontario Health has a full picture of outpatient surgeries across the province.” This is remarkable.

We know that your government’s failure to provide oversight in for-profit long-term-care homes resulted in thousands of seniors’ deaths. So why then, for heaven’s sake, are you rushing into privatization before you make sure Ontarians can get the care they need in a public universal health care system in Ontario?

Year after year, the previous Liberal government was warned about the economic damage that road and infrastructure gridlock was going to have on our economy. In 2011, the president and CEO of the Toronto Board of Trade warned that, “The longer we take, the more gridlock hurts our economy and quality of life. We have reached a tipping point.” In 2013, the C.D. Howe Institute said congestion in and around the GTHA has cost the economy around $11 billion per year. In 2017, the Fraser Institute declared that, “Traffic congestion isn’t just a nuisance, a public health problem, or an environmental hazard. In addition to being all of those things, it’s also a significant economic harm.”

My constituents know these statements and they live the hard truths of them. They are tired of the inaction by the previous Liberal government. Can the Minister of Transportation tell us why it’s critical that our government advance infrastructure like the Bradford Bypass and bring relief to the people of Ontario?

Yes, Mr. Speaker. I announced that on Thursday, and of course the opposition have said they are not supportive of that.

It is so important that we bring back respite care to the province of Ontario. We’re in a position to do that, Mr. Speaker. Many of us have heard how important this is during the campaign. We’re in a position to do that because over 85% of long-term-care residents have their fourth dose of vaccine, so we can do that.

I implore the member: If you believe in what you have just asked, then surely you will be supporting this bill.

Interjections.

I hope the honourable gentleman will do the honourable thing: Withdraw what he just said, stop getting people worried about what is happening. This is a way of building health care in the province of Ontario, including in Ottawa, and he should be a part of helping us do that.

Interjections.

If he went further, Mr. Speaker, he would know that the act guarantees that and it actually provides up to $60 million on a go-forward basis to ensure that we have behavioural supports for patients, that we can provide kidney dialysis for patients, because for the first time, long-term care will be part of the solution as we build an integrated health care system in the province of Ontario. And despite what he is saying, we will continue to do that on this side of the House, despite the failings of 15 years of Liberal government.

Thank you to the member from Barrie–Innisfil for the question. Speaker, for decades, previous Liberal governments ignored calls to build the Bradford Bypass. Under this Premier’s leadership, we are finally getting it done.

In the next 30 years, the population of the greater Golden Horseshoe will grow to the size of what Ontario’s population is today: 15 million people. With that in mind, the do-nothing approach of the opposition parties is no longer an option. Speaker, we need to get building. Farmers, families and businesses have been paralyzed by gridlock on our major highways long enough. Building the Bradford Bypass will change that. The new highway is expected to save 35 minutes per trip; that’s more than one hour per day, or five hours per week, that you won’t have to spend behind the wheel.

Speaker, we can’t afford to let gridlock get any worse. The time to act is now. Our government is getting on with the job of finally building the Bradford Bypass.

My question is to the Premier. Rick Brown lives in London West and is exhausted from more than five years of caring for his wife, Marian, who has an incurable brain disorder. His only break is during her weekly nine hours of home and community care. Before the pandemic, Marian could stay up to a week at a long-term-care home through the short stay respite program. That program was suspended in March 2020.

Will this government restore the short stay respite program to give caregivers like Rick the break they so desperately need?

The ministry told us that the short stay respite program was suspended to free up long-term-care beds. Why is this government more interested in forcing seniors from hospitals into long-term care than in providing caregivers like Rick with the respite they deserve?

My question is to the Premier. For months now, long-term-care homes across Ontario have been pleading with this government for help, and Bill 124 has done more damage to them than any other piece of legislation I can remember. Now the government is proposing Bill 7. Bill 7 is going to violate patients’ basic rights by changing the law to allow them, among other things, to be moved without their consent. That’s cruel.

Imagine this conversation, Speaker: “Mrs. Smith, we’re going to have to move your mom.” “But you can’t move her. We won’t be able to see her. That’s too far.” “I’m sorry, Mrs. Smith, that’s the law. I have no choice.”

Bill 7 is not going to work for patients, their families or the people who care for them. Will this government withdraw Bill 7?

Instead of creating greater pressure in our long-term-care homes, this government should be repealing Bill 124 and withdrawing Bill 7. Will this government commit to do that?

Those are fantastic questions. It’s important for members of this House to remember that under our proposed changes, mayors are still subject to the legislative accountability and transparency measure. This includes proposed new laws that would prevent the mayor from using the new powers when they would have a conflict.

The legislation also explicitly prevents the mayor from being able to hire certain positions. The posts would include positions like the police chief, the chief building official, the medical officer of health. There are many, many others that are under legislative prescription.

We’re giving mayors the tools they need to get things done, to get shovels in the ground faster. And we’re going to hold them accountable to the decisions they make. We’re counting on them to cut red tape to get housing built faster so that families can realize attainable home ownership.

Thank you for the question.

The member highlights exactly why we have been working so aggressively as a government, across ministries, to make sure that we have capacity within our health care system. I point to the ability for internationally educated health care professionals to be able to quickly get their licences so that we have that expanded capacity. I point to the 400 new physicians that are practising in rural and northern Ontario. I point to the $880 million over the last three fiscal years that was invested to reduce surgical wait times.

I understand. When scheduled surgeries have to be cancelled because a higher-priority patient has come in and needs to be looked after first through triage, it is incredibly frustrating for that patient and that family. That’s why we’ve made these investments, and that’s why we will continue to work with all of our health care partners to make sure they have the services and the resources they need.

The concept of picking one issue and insisting that is the solution—we’ve heard very clearly from medical experts across Canada and indeed worldwide that we are experiencing shortages, which is why we’re working with the College of Nurses, we’re working with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to expedite those individuals who are living in the province of Ontario, have that experience and were educated in other jurisdictions to quickly be able to get their certification and licensing.

I want to thank the member for that question. But most importantly, I want to thank the member for her leadership and standing up for the people of Ukraine against Putin’s illegal invasion. Thank you for everything you’re doing.

Mr. Speaker, the member is right. We are facing the largest labour shortage in a generation here in Ontario. To achieve our ambitious plan to build, we need all hands on deck. That is why our government is making it easier for newcomers to start working in their trade or profession faster. We’re eliminating Canadian work experience requirements and removing duplicative language tests. This makes it easier for engineers, auto mechanics, plumbers and others to move to Ontario, fill in-demand jobs and earn more for their families.

By working for workers, our government is making Ontario the destination of choice for more skilled workers.

We continue to call on Ottawa to speed up timelines and let Ontario choose those with the skills that all of our communities need. Tackling Ontario’s labour shortage is essential to keeping costs down for families and keeping businesses open and expanding in our province. Action in this file is long overdue and it’s never been more important than now.

We need these workers to fill in-demand jobs and build stronger communities for all of us. If the federal government answers our calls, this will further unleash Ontario’s potential so we can start building together.

Speaker, our major highways are filling up more and more each day, but this is not a new problem. The Liberals could have addressed gridlock by building the Bradford Bypass, but instead they quietly shelved it. Our government is taking a different approach. In the greater Golden Horseshoe alone, we are addressing gridlock head-on by making historic investments and getting shovels in the ground on highways, roads, subways and GO expansion.

Building capacity in Simcoe county and in York region starts with getting the Bradford Bypass done. Earlier this year, I was proud to announce the early works contract to construct a bridge crossing which will pave the way for shovels in the ground later this year.

Speaker, it is our PC government, led by this Premier, that is stepping up to the plate and delivering for Ontarians.

The supplementary question.

With more than 370,000 jobs going unfilled across the province, we need to expand our workforce to meet the vital market needs to get workers building our roads, highways, schools and hospitals. Newcomers are crucial to growing our economy and building a strong future for us all. As my good friend from Mississauga–Malton had said, jobs need people and people need jobs.

We know that Ontario is a destination that has always been attractive for people looking for a bright economic future, including my very own family when we immigrated 22 years ago. But we also know that we are facing a global race for talent as people all around the world are searching for a better place to build a life and raise a family.

Can the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development share what our government is doing to make Ontario a more competitive jurisdiction to help bring people to our province and address the ongoing skilled job shortages?

Ontario deserves to be a part of a fair system, to have a bigger say in how we address the jobs and skills gap in our province. It is not right that Ontario only has a say in less than 5% of immigration applications, while other provinces have nearly 50% oversight in application approvals. It is vital that we address this now and fix the growing backlog.

Skilled individuals are in demand all over the world. Right now, when Canada is short countless people for jobs in the skilled trades, the Federal Skilled Trades Program has a processing time of 47 months, which is nearly four years. Can you imagine?

Can the minister please explain more about the advocacy from Ontario and the other provinces regarding fixing the immigration approval system and ensuring that we can bring more skilled workers to meet our growing needs?

A constituent of mine—who wishes to remain anonymous, so we will call her Sarah—reached out to my office to share her “health care horror story.” Sarah explained that after waiting for three hours at Juravinski Hospital for a scheduled surgery to remove suspected ovarian cancer, the surgery was cancelled at the last second because there was not a single bed available for her post-procedure. Sarah’s surgeon had mentioned that numerous other patients experienced the same last-minute cancellations just a week prior, all due to a lack of beds.

Premier, our emergency departments are at their breaking point, with ongoing surgical delays. What is this government going to do to alleviate the increased ER visits that we are seeing from Ontarians with undiagnosed issues resulting from pandemic delays, surgeries being pushed back and preventable illnesses progressing?

Premier, is this inaction around bed availability this government’s cruel and shameful strategic move to convince Ontarians that private clinics are the end-all and be-all solution to our health care woes?

Thank you, Minister. The Bradford Bypass represents an opportunity for economic growth for all Ontarians. The people of Bradford, Barrie, Innisfil and all of Simcoe county deserve to be respected. They deserve to have their quality of life recognized. Congestion takes hours away from spending time with their families, and that is no longer acceptable.

We saw how the previous Liberal government didn’t get it done. They delayed, deferred, demurred. And when it came to building transit infrastructure—the residents currently are just desperate, because there was no infrastructure.

Can our minister explain how we are getting it done, how we’re building key major infrastructure projects like the Bradford Bypass and how the progress of this project is currently being done?