It gives me great pleasure to rise in this chamber today to recognize an outstanding resident from my riding of Durham. Recently, my office had the pleasure to congratulate Mr. Paul Arculus from Port Perry for his 25 years of outstanding service as the president of the Lake Scugog Historical Society and the curator of the Scugog museum.

Paul and Eleanor Arculus settled their family in Cartwright township in 1970 and, for the past 52 years, established themselves as pillars of the community.

In his many roles as teacher, author and renowned storyteller, Paul has shared his love of local history with thousands of residents in working toward the preservation of historical buildings, sites and cemeteries.

Just last year, Port Perry High School renamed a scholarship the Paul Arculus bursary, which is awarded to a local student pursuing post-secondary studies in the field of history.

On behalf of all Ontarians, thank you, Paul, for celebrating our past and honouring those who were a part of building the great province of Ontario.

Speaker, my question is to the Premier.

The government is planning to force ALC patients waiting in hospitals to move to long-term-care beds far from home, without their consent. This is going to tear seniors away from their spouses, their essential caregivers, their grandchildren, and everything that’s familiar to them.

Doctors and nurses rarely need to provide medical care for ALC patients, so this won’t free up nurses or doctors. This government is sacrificing seniors to free up furniture.

Why is the government hurting seniors instead of tackling the hospital staffing crisis?

Why is the government expanding for-profit care and making the staffing crisis in our hospitals even worse?

This scheme doesn’t hire a single nurse. It doesn’t hire a single doctor. It doesn’t keep ERs open this weekend.

Will the government scrap this scheme and instead launch a plan to recruit, retain and return nurses with better pay, better working conditions and the respect that they deserve?

Our plan to safely stay open really focuses on five main points, and it speaks exactly to what we need to do, which is, we need to shore up long-term-care beds. We’ve done that by an unprecedented expansion in the province of Ontario. We need to make sure that community care is available in our homes for our loved ones when they need it, because that’s what they want. They want to be close to home. They want to be in their own home. Our five-point plan speaks to all of those pieces.

Surgical backlogs, absolutely—the COVID pandemic did not stop surgeries. What we need to do is ensure those regularly scheduled surgeries can continue, and we are giving hospitals that expanded opportunity to, in many cases, allow the surgery suites to be open for longer. We’re funding those opportunities because we see that as a way to ensure people get the care they need, when they need it, where they need it.

We will continue to work with our partners to make sure that all opportunities are explored.

We’ve done the work. Now join us and be part of the solution.

When people have the qualifications that we deserve, that we expect in the province of Ontario, there should not be a block to get those people in community. We are doing that. That work has been done.

The ongoing expansion—unprecedented. In Scarborough, in Brampton, we have two new medical schools. We’re doing the short term, we’re doing the medium term, and we’re doing the long term—because we want health care to be in the province of Ontario, wherever you live.

In the Speaker’s gallery today, we have constituents from the riding of Wellington–Halton Hills: John Mann and his daughter Samantha Mann, from Georgetown. I’m pleased to inform the House that Samantha is starting her training for the page program at the Senate of Canada next week. Welcome to the Ontario Legislature.

Speaker, more than a million Ontarians don’t have access to a doctor or a nurse practitioner. People are waiting for hours and hours in pain in emergency rooms, waiting for months and years for surgeries, and more than 1,400 died last year while waiting.

There are over 12,000 internationally trained doctors and thousands more internationally trained nurses in Ontario ready to help fill the gap in primary care.

Why has this government failed to remove the unfair barriers for these doctors and nurses?

Nothing the minister says actually removes the barriers that internationally educated health care workers face in this province. The government says that they’re doing everything they can to work with internationally trained doctors and nurses to address the staffing shortage in health care. And, yet, data from the CPSO shows that only 739 applicants became members in 2020, compared to the 2,074 in 2019.

My question is, why was there a decrease when we’re in the middle of the pandemic and we’re facing a health care crisis?

The practice-ready assessment program, which was standardized, that this government cancelled in 2018, is actually working very well in seven other provinces. The model could have been used to implement a similar or even improved assessment process for doctors and nurses in Ontario. We could have had thousands of health care workers added to the system in as little as 12 weeks. I want everyone in Ontario to listen: In as little as 12 weeks, we could have had more health care workers in this province.

Will this government reverse its cuts? And why is this government dragging their feet in bringing in the solutions that can save lives in Ontario?

My constituents are hearing about staffing pressures at our local hospitals, and they’re very concerned. They’re concerned that their loved ones are not going to be able to get the care they need when they need it.

Under the previous Liberal government, we saw how the health care system was neglected, how hallway health care continued to get worse year by year, with no thought or planning for the future.

When I hear the government speak about innovation in this health care sector—my constituents want to know more about what we are referring to. Is it additional supports and new solutions, ideas to address the problems we have previously faced?

Speaker, through you, can the minister please tell this House how our publicly funded hospital system is innovating to improve the patient experience?

My constituents have seen the news coverage and have personally experienced surgical delays. Going into surgery is a very difficult experience for many, but in Ontario we have the best front-line health care workers who provide support through the entire process and act with excellence.

Can the Minister of Health share with the Legislature how our government is investing in innovation to reduce wait times for my constituents and all Ontarians, giving them peace of mind and access to surgical procedures when they need them the most?

We removed the Canadian experience barrier. That ensured that people have access if they were trained in other parts or Canada or the world. We want individuals who are practised, who are educated and who want to work in health care, because we understand how important these health care workers are. We understand that if you want to work in health care—we want you to be part of the solution. And we’re doing that with our hospital partners, with our long-term-care partners, with community care, with primary care.

All of these things together mean that when people need the help they need, it will be there for them.

I get it; I know that there are still challenges and there are people who want to have a primary care physician, who have no access. But the work that we are doing with the medical schools, with the colleges, with the expansion of the residency program means that that is ongoing. We are seeing the expansion. We are seeing those numbers increase. I would love to have them go faster. But we have done the work, and we will continue to work with those partners to make sure any barriers are removed as we move forward.

There is no doubt that when we hear these stories, it only drives our motivation further to make sure that we do everything possible in all continuums.

The 911 model of care that we referenced at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference earlier this week has been embraced: community paramedicine that allows community paramedics to go into those homes, for individuals who are able, in most cases with very little support, to stay safely in their home. The municipalities that have embraced that 911 model of care have loved it. In fact, our satisfaction rate, I believe, is in the 97th percentile.

We are going to ensure that that 911 model of care is expanded further to other municipalities across Ontario, because we see it as one of the opportunities to make sure that when individuals like Shirley have a fall in their home, there is a community paramedicine program in place that can quickly assist them and get them back to their—

Community paramedicine—paramedics, in general, have been amazing partners throughout this pandemic; in many cases, assisting with vaccine rollout, ensuring that people were at home and able to be monitored safely.

Ultimately, when we see those models, we’re going to expand them. That is the innovation that we’re looking for. Those are the kinds of stories that I heard for two full days of meetings at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. We will take those best practices and ensure that other municipalities and other communities in Ontario have access to the same opportunities.

The short answer is, all of the above. Ontario’s hospitals are leading innovation in Ontario, transforming our health care system and improving the patient experience. Let me give you just one example that you would be interested in, coming from your own community.

Our government invested over $25 million to modernize and expand the stem cell treatments at Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre at Hamilton Health Sciences. The centre is one of three world-class hospitals offering all forms of stem cell transplants to adult patients here in Ontario. With this expansion, more patients will be able to access world-class cancer treatment sooner and closer to home, and they get that treatment they need where and when they need it. That’s innovation, Speaker.

Supplementary question.

We all understood that as the pandemic was at its height, there were going to be challenges related to surgical and diagnostic backlogs. So we proactively worked with our hospital partners through a government fund of $86 million—the Surgical Innovation Fund. We are supporting hospitals as they develop the innovative solutions they need to continue to provide high-quality care and ramp up surgical capacity, reducing wait times and improving access to surgical services for patients.

I think we all appreciate and understand that when an individual is going in for surgery, it can be a very stressful time. Anything that we can do as a government to smooth that opportunity and make sure that they get access to that surgery quickly is what we are seized at.

At Hamilton Health Sciences, they’ve partnered with Niagara and Mohawk College to successfully develop the operating room assist program. And because of a micro-certification program begun by our government, we will attract more health human resources. They’ve already recruited the first 16—

Additionally, of course, we are expanding the 911 patient model of care that I recently spoke about, so patients can get the help they need in community without having to go to an emergency department. Patients participating in this program received the care they needed up to 17 times faster, with 94% of patients avoiding the emergency departments in the days following. By expanding this service, our world-class paramedics are able to provide even more care for patients in the right place in their homes in community.

As an example, the Guelph-Wellington Paramedic Service, which covers the member’s riding, has a partnership with Hospice Wellington. Eligible patients who call 911 with care needs related to palliative care have the option of being able to be treated at home by paramedics for end-of-life care. Once it’s time to go into a hospice, they are transferred directly there, instead of going through the emergency department first. Patients and families have seen improved outcomes by getting treated immediately in their own homes, with their families by their side, and they get that help faster. It’s working. The communities and the patients and families love the program, and we’re going to expand it.

The seniors’ dental program is clearly one that is embraced and one to be expanded in the province of Ontario, but we have to ensure that those most in need, with that income threshold, are the ones first in line to receive the service.

Thank you very much. The next question.

My constituents in Perth–Wellington have been asking for support for our local land ambulance service because paramedics often have to travel long distances across our rural area. They’ve heard of the off-load delays across the province and have been asking for peace of mind to know service will be there when their family needs it.

Can the Minister of Health update this House on how our government is supporting land ambulance services across the province and in my riding of Perth–Wellington?

Can the Minister of Health elaborate on the 911 patient models and explain how this investment is supporting our paramedic services and patients on the ground across the province?

My question is to the Premier.

Premier, I want to tell you about Jennifer LeFeuvre. In 2019, Jennifer signed a contract and put down a deposit for a new home to be built in Stayner, Ontario, by Briarwood Development Group—whose CEO happens to be a big donor of the Premier and the PC Party.

Three years later, Jennifer is still waiting for her home to be built, and now the developer has told Jennifer that she needs to pay an additional $175,000 for the home or the contract is broken and she won’t be getting her home at all.

Jennifer is devastated. As she describes it, “These people are getting away with murder and there’s nothing that I can do.”

Premier, can you step in and ensure this developer honours the deal they made to build Jennifer a home at the original price?

This is my question to the Premier: Can you properly strengthen Ontario’s laws so homebuyers are protected from developers who price-gouge?

Thank you to the member opposite for the question.

Our government is promoting trust and confidence for Ontarians when they are investing in one of the biggest purchases of their lifetime: a new home. That is why we continue to enhance public protections while holding builders and vendors to high professional standards. The Premier spoke about it as well.

Through the New Home Construction Licensing Act, HCRA has strengthened regulatory tools for addressing licensees’ conduct, created a formal complaints process, and enhanced the Ontario builder directory to reflect disciplinary actions taken by the registrar.

Additionally, a new mandatory code of ethics for licensed builders and vendors, which came into effect on July 1, protects buyers and owners even further against bad actors.

All together, these stronger penalties and approaches would cost unlawful developers very dearly on a single home, from hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines to the loss of their builder’s licence.

We are making bad builders think twice before trying to take advantage of our homebuyers.

My question is to the Premier.

In my riding alone, there are 25 residents who are no longer eligible for the senior dental care program for 2022-23 as a result of a 2.8% increase to seniors’ CPP and OAS due to inflation. It is a welcome bump for seniors living on fixed incomes. However, due to an outdated income requirement program, now Ontario has seniors who do not have access to stable dental care.

Speaker, through you, is this government going to commit to increasing the income ceiling for the dental care program to accommodate for inflation?

I figured the minister would say what she said; however, when looking into this issue for my residents, I received the same response from this ministry. In fact, we were told that no changes to the program eligibility will be made, and citing that, there is not a need for it after all; the rollout of the federal dental care plan will be in place by 2025.

Through you, Speaker, does this government intend to leave low-income seniors living in pain without basic dental care until 2025 because their CPP was increased by a mere $50 to $100 a year?

Under the previous Liberal government, we saw how the north was treated and how our region felt shut out of discussions at Queen’s Park. After years of Liberal scandal, waste and mismanagement within the energy sector and the harmful impact of the carbon tax—the impacts were tremendous for the northern Ontario’s economy. Worst of all, a previous Liberal government member actually referred to the north as a “no man’s land.”

Last month, the Northern Policy Institute and Lakehead University released a report on the impact that COVID had on the state of northern Ontario’s economy, which confirms what many of my constituents have been feeling first-hand, and that is, economic recovery is slower and taking longer than what is experienced in southern Ontario.

No longer should the north be treated differently and only be considered as an afterthought when it comes to economic growth.

Can the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development please tell this House what this government is doing to make northern Ontario an economic superpower once again?

We have heard loud and clear as well now from our Indigenous leadership across the north that they want to see the same opportunities provided to their youth as the youth are receiving in southern Ontario.

Indigenous youth will be a major part of our Ontario economic success now and into the future, and we know that Indigenous people are one of our fastest population growth sectors across the entire country of Canada. We know that economic prosperity for our Indigenous people is a key component of reconciliation.

Speaker, can the minister please let us know what our government is doing to create opportunities for Indigenous people across the north? And what are the exact policies that will support and foster innovation for our Indigenous youth who will be the future leaders of our province?

The Conservative government often talks about the need to be fiscally responsible. As a chartered accountant, I completely agree. The residents of Don Valley West completely agree.

Could the Minister of Health please tell us why she believes it is fiscally responsible to limit nurses’ pay to a 1% increase per year, contributing to them leaving the profession in record numbers, to only then have to desperately try to fill those vacant positions and possibly hire back those same nurses through private agencies at an estimated cost that is three times higher than what the hospital would pay if that same nurse were on staff?

The Conservative government often speaks about how it is fighting for Ontario workers.

Could the Minister of Health please tell us why more taxpayer dollars are being shifted to private agencies, giving those agencies a healthy profit, instead of repealing Bill 124 and paying that money directly to Ontario’s health care workers in our public health care system?

As the member opposite would be well aware, the federal government is looking at expanding dental. They have not made any determinations of how that pathway is done.

In the province of Ontario, we’ve acted. We have a seniors’ dental program which—again, as with every other income-based program, whether it’s drugs, whether it’s rental—has an income-threshold base to it.

Is the member opposite suggesting that individuals most in need, most at risk, should not have access to the dental care that we are currently providing in the province of Ontario?

The federal government is talking about it. We in Ontario have acted and implemented it.

Congratulations, and welcome to the House, the member from Don Valley West.

Mr. Speaker, she referenced fiscal responsibility, and we completely agree. This province is focused on delivering value for taxpayer money.

Let me go back to the 15 years of the Liberal government, supported for three years by the NDP: $200 billion of extra debt—$200 billion. Did we get more subways? Did we get more highways? Did we get more hospitals? Did we get a long-term-care bill? Did we hire nurses?

Mr. Speaker, the case: We went to the people of Ontario. They endorsed our plan to build Ontario.

You have an opportunity to vote in favour of the budget. Please join us.

Interjections.