Under the previous Liberal government, Ontario’s emergency management system was not up to date. Stockpiles of personal protective equipment were depleted or expired when they were critically needed. The province was left with the serious challenge of finding new PPE when worldwide production shortages occurred. This was unacceptable. My constituents in Richmond Hill were very concerned.

Our government must ensure that Ontario is never again placed in a situation where critical supplies of personal protective equipment must be sourced from other jurisdictions.

Can the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery please update the House on what action our government is taking to safeguard our access to critical PPE supplies?

While our PPE stockpile remains a critical part of our government’s plan to stay open, we know that a whole-of-government approach will be required to address any future needs that could arise. Can the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery please elaborate on how the government is strengthening our emergency response planning?

I thank the great member for Richmond Hill for her question and the great work she is doing in her community.

Speaker, under the leadership of Premier Ford, this government remains laser-focused when it comes to the health and safety of Ontarians, and this is why we have built a robust PPE stockpile to protect front-line and other critical workers, while ensuring our province is ready for any future emergencies.

We have shipped over 700 million pieces of PPE since the start of the pandemic, and we have procured and distributed over 157 million rapid antigen tests, over 97,000 HEPA filter units. And thanks to the Premier and this great Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, I’m proud to say that 93% of the forecast PPE procurement for the next 18 months will be with Ontario or Canadian-based manufacturers.

Speaker, our government will continue its data-driven approach, ensuring we avoid the mistakes made by the previous governments and are well prepared in the future. All of this will further help us to ensure our province stays open and continues to—