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.

I would like to welcome my parents, Keith and Barbara Bowman, as well as some members of my constituency office, Fatma and Caroline. Thank you for being here.

Je demande le consentement unanime pour que la Chambre observe un moment de silence pour honorer le décès de Gisèle Lalonde, l’une des plus importantes défenseures des droits des francophones de l’Ontario.

I seek unanimous consent for the House to observe a moment of silence to honour the passing of Madame Gisèle Lalonde, one of the most important advocates for the rights of francophones in Ontario.

It is my pleasure to introduce nurse Cathryn Hoy, the president of the Ontario Nurses’ Association, as well as Etana Cain, who are here today to watch the proceedings.

I am pleased to welcome to this 43rd Parliament my partner, Jonathan Arnold. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to welcome Kelly Harris to the Legislature today. Kelly does corporate and public affairs for PlasCred. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Thank you, Speaker, and congratulations on your election once again.

I am here to welcome, as well, Cathryn Hoy from ONA, along with Etana Cain. Welcome to the Legislature, and thank you for your hard work.

My question is to the Minister of Health.

Yesterday, the Minister of Health was asked by journalists whether the government is considering further privatizing our health care system. The minister said that the government is exploring all options.

Is this government looking to the private and for-profit sector to take over health care services that are currently publicly delivered?

Again, to the minister: Reliance on private health care providers will plunge our public hospitals and health care systems deeper into crisis. Bill 124 is draining staff from the public system, and private staffing agencies are gouging hospitals.

Will the minister allow private health care companies into Ontario, siphoning doctors, nurses and health care workers out of the public system?

Again, to the minister: Private corporations have a financial responsibility to generate profit. That’s a direct conflict of interest with their responsibility to offer affordable, accessible and high-quality care, regardless of the patient’s ability to pay.

Does the minister think patients should have to start paying for care they now receive as of right?

My question is to the Minister of Health.

Chris Hodgins lives in London West and had to take his 84-year-old mother to University Hospital ER for severe hip pain. She waited 16½ hours before being seen and then waited two hours more in the treatment room. Another patient with acute appendicitis waited five hours longer than Chris’s mother.

Speaker, how many hours will Londoners have to wait before this government finally acknowledges that our health care system is in crisis? Or does the entire ER have to shut down?

Like many Londoners, a constituent told me that she and her husband have been unable to find a new family doctor. After being turned away from overwhelmed walk-in clinics, they felt they had no other option than to pay to join a private medical service in order to access basic medical care. They have the means to pay but feel that this is fundamentally wrong.

Why is this government more interested in promoting privatized two-tier health care than in making the urgent investments that our public health care system and our exhausted health care workers so desperately need?

In Tuesday’s throne speech, the government highlighted its desire to put in place the conditions that will lead to the construction of over a million homes.

We have seen that the lack of supply, along with the recent Bank of Canada interest rate hikes, are placing a strain on many young Ontario families looking to buy their first home—but it’s not just potential homebuyers; it’s also people looking for rental accommodation in an increasingly tough environment.

More often than not, delays caused by red tape, infighting at local councils or simply bad policy have stalled construction of housing, be it rental, non-profit, long-term-care or even someone wanting to buy a home.

Yesterday, the government tabled legislation that would supplement the powers of mayors in Toronto and Ottawa. Specifically, I want to know how these added authorities help move projects along.

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.

Back to the Premier: With respect, the question that I had was really about what you are going to do in the next 24 hours.

My constituent further invites all of us to consider this: Reflect on what it would be like to be unable to breathe during every single breath that you’re drawing. Please think about what it’s like when your lungs are filled with water. Reflect upon that.

Speaker, no one in Ontario hospitals should have to experience that agony because they’re waiting for an urgent procedure.

My question again is, will this government listen to health care professionals and implement the solutions that are needed to address the health care crisis and this understaffing crisis in our hospitals?

Another constituent of mine, Gregory, needs urgent abdominal surgery. But because of the surgical backlog that we have already heard a lot about, he was told to find a doctor outside of Ontario, never mind outside of the city or in another neighbourhood. He called my office to say this: “Do they really think someone in my condition is ready to try to find care outside of the province?”

Speaker, health care workers have told the government how to clear the surgical backlog: Hire 30,000 nurses, repeal Bill 124, and fund public health care at the rate of inflation. Will the government put these recommendations into action or are they really just setting up the excuse for privatization?

Minister of Health.

Yesterday, I was pleased to announce that our government is introducing legislation that is intended to give the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa the ability to move forward provincial priorities, select municipal department heads and deliver budgets.

We know that municipal governments play a crucial role in determining housing supply. And the reality is that over one third of Ontario’s growth in the next 10 years will come in the cities of Toronto and Ottawa.

Too many families today are struggling with housing and the rising cost of living. We need to empower our local leaders with the tools that they need to get it done. We are also counting on them to cut red tape, to build housing faster so that more Ontarians can realize the dream of attainable home ownership.

Thank you for the question.

Back to the Minister of Health: People admitted to an ICU are really sick. Many have a 5% to 10% chance of survival.

Bowmanville had to close their intensive care unit. They had to transport people sick enough to be in an ICU because they did not have enough nurses. It came with great risks.

There is an easy solution that will keep hundreds of nurses on the job. How much risk is the Minister of Health willing to take before she withdraws Bill 124?

In fact, Mr. Speaker, the Toronto board of trade has said, “Toronto faces numerous urgent city-wide challenges, from housing, land use, transit, ... budget” and “economic development.... Effective, timely solutions require a city chief executive with clear authority.... Now is the time to act.”

Minister, we have a vibrant province. If our communities are to continue to thrive, people need to be able to stop dreaming of a home and know that they will have housing options—rental, non-profit, single detached, condo—choice and options, timely delivery as well, a clear path for residents and, more importantly, our municipal partners.

Does the minister agree with the board of trade, and does the legislation provide a realistic path to more homes, more choice and housing predictability in Toronto and Ottawa?

My question is to the Minister of Health.

Critically sick patients had to be transferred out of Bowmanville Hospital when Lakeridge Health had to make the unimaginable decision to close the intensive care unit there because of a staffing shortage.

Shelly, an ICU nurse who worked at Bowmanville, stood on the lawn of Queen’s Park and bravely told us what it was like to watch fellow co-workers make the difficult decision to leave the bedside in a health care system where nurses cannot take it any longer.

Bill 124 has unfairly suppressed wages, and exhausted nurses feel devalued, underappreciated and disrespected—and this after two years of COVID. We need the Bowmanville ICU to reopen.

How will this Premier ensure nurses can stay and ICUs can stay open?

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.

The member and the Toronto regional board of trade are 100% correct. Urgent action is needed to address Ontario’s housing crisis. Too many families are already struggling with housing and the rising cost of living.

We just had an election where we committed to Ontarians that we would build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years. Increasing housing supply is a priority for our government, and we know that it is a shared priority with our municipal partners.

Speaker, the changes, if passed, would help empower the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa to ensure that they drive priority provincial projects forward. As our province grows, we need to ensure that communities keep pace. This will require bold solutions from all levels of government working together.

I’m proud to support Toronto and Ottawa as they cut through red tape and as they speed up development timelines so that more families can realize attainable home ownership.

We’re providing enhanced tools to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa to get more homes built faster. These mayors oversee the two largest cities in our province, which are projected to have over one third of our province’s growth over the next decade. They need the tools to prepare for growth and ensure that the creation of new homes keeps pace with demand.

Speaker, we’re going to work with our two largest cities and other fast-growing communities that are shovel-ready, committed to growth and ready to cut red tape.

To help communities across Ontario build more attainable homes, Ontario is launching the housing supply action plan implementation team. The team will provide advice on market housing initiatives, including building on the vision of the Housing Affordability Task Force, More Homes for Everyone Act and other government consultations.

The government intends to appoint Drew Dilkens, the mayor of the city of Windsor, as chair and Mayor Cheryl Fort from the township of Moosonee. Both Mayor Dilkens and Mayor Fort have excellent track records for their service and success for their residents. Other team members will be appointed in the coming weeks, with the first meeting to take place in the fall.