Thank you for the question.

Allow me to clarify, or to repeat what I said yesterday, which was, in Ontario, you use your OHIP card to access health care services in the province of Ontario, and that will continue.

What I referenced yesterday was innovation. We should not be afraid of innovation. We do it very well in the province of Ontario, and we will continue to work with our partners to make sure that that innovation is encouraged and can continue.

There are many examples of innovation that are happening in the province today that we want to expand, not the least of which are examples with OHN—Ontario hospital network, SickKids and many others, which I’m happy to highlight if the member opposite is not aware of that innovation that is happening in the province of Ontario today.

Welcome to the member opposite in her new role as a parliamentarian.

There is no doubt that staffing challenges impact patient care. That is why we have been working proactively to make sure that where we need those services, we have them. We’ve worked with Ontario Health to, for example, ensure that if an emergency department is at risk of closure, physicians who are prepared and willing to travel to other jurisdictions have that opportunity. They may travel for a couple of hours to go to a hospital network that they’re not traditionally tied in to. We’ve done that work. We need to do more of it, of course, but I want to reinforce that we have done a lot already. We have 10,500 new health care professionals working in the province of Ontario that we did not have without the innovation and the proactive approach that we have taken as a government.

We understand that there are many challenges that have happened as a result of individuals who could not access their primary care practitioner, who didn’t have the ability to get that diagnostic imaging. We have now essentially eliminated the imaging backlog that we’ve had and the diagnostic piece. We’re working very well with our health care partners to make sure that we focus as equally on the surgery backlog. That work will continue. But in the meantime, I think it’s really important for people to understand that a lot of this work happened because we understood we needed the capacity in the province of Ontario to be able to stay open and to continue to serve the people of Ontario.

We’ll continue that work. We are working with the colleges to make sure that they expedite those reviews and ultimately licensures, and we’ll continue that work.

But it’s not an individual piece. That’s why we’ve expanded the residency. That’s why we have expanded the number of students who are being trained. That’s why we’ve encouraged the colleges to expedite those licences.

I’ve said many times, it is concerning, deeply disturbing when an emergency room department or another department in a hospital must transfer patients. The Bowmanville four-bed ICU was, of course, one such example. We don’t want that to happen, which is why we have been investing in our health care system, including $3.3 billion, bringing the total annual investment in hospitals to over $8.8 billion in the province of Ontario.

Specifically related to acute and post-acute, we’ve made a historic investment of $1.5 billion to support the continuation of 3,500 acute and post-acute beds opening during the pandemic. Those beds will continue because we understand our population is growing. That’s why we are making these investments in new hospitals in Ottawa, in Brampton, in Niagara. We’re doing these investments because we understand the people of Ontario deserve no less.

I have to say that when I hear the member opposite talk about limiting opportunities, it concerns me greatly. We have a hospital system that has worked very well with their nurses’ associations, with their medical associations, to make sure that all opportunities are explored to make sure that they have the appropriate coverage in their departments in their areas. We need to continue that work.

We have—as I’ve said many times—already expanded by 10,500 more health care workers working in the province of Ontario, including 6,700 to support hospitals in need. These programs support international health professionals and students, as well as redeploy medical residents and physicians to where they are needed most critically. That work will continue, and we will ensure that we have a partner in our systems.

We know that the Montfort Hospital in the Ottawa region is a critical hospital partner that will continue to operate strongly in the province of Ontario and in the Ottawa region.

Specifically regarding the ER closing: As I’ve mentioned, whether an emergency department has to close for two hours, a shift or, unfortunately, over a weekend, there are processes that are in place to avoid in all possible cases that happening. In some situations, that cannot be the case, and there is a very clear process that lays out what has to happen in terms of notifying first responders, notifying the community. And of course, the hospital continues to operate and have staff there to redirect people to nearby hospitals if and when an emergency does appear at their doors.

I will say, Speaker, that as I mentioned in my previous answer, Montfort Hospital is a very critical partner in the Ottawa region, serving the people of Ontario.

We will continue those partnerships. We will work with our partners. We are about solutions.

They can talk about the problems.

In the meantime, let’s get the job done—which is what we have been doing and what we will continue to do.

Speaker, through you: There is no one who thinks that a 19-hour wait in an emergency room, waiting for a physician to see the patient, is acceptable—which is, frankly, why we are doing so much. We have been seized with this. The Premier talked about this.

In the throne speech, we said we are going to build a better health care system in the province of Ontario, because, frankly, the NDP and the Liberals didn’t do it when they had the opportunity.

We will make sure that foreign-credentialed health care professionals get the opportunity to get credentials, to get their licence in the province of Ontario quickly. We will expand—we’ve already expanded—the Learn and Stay program so that nurses who learn in their communities can stay and work in that community. We have expanded the opportunity for residency, for new grads to stay in the province of Ontario. All of this work is ongoing, without a doubt.

I don’t find a 19-hour wait acceptable; I’m sure that you do not. But work with us to build up this system and be positive about what we have been able to—