I want to thank the opposition for the question. The facts are, with recruiting and retaining, we added 14,500 new nurses. That’s on top of the 10,500 health care workers, which included nurses and PSWs.

We invested over $40 billion in 52 projects that were neglected under your government. Under their government, propped up by the Liberals and NDP, they fired 1,600 nurses.

I’ll tell you, Mr. Speaker, the opposition voted against historic funding, which went from $61 billion when we came into office in 2018 up to over $75 billion. That’s an over $14-billion increase. They voted no, against it, for the historic funding. They voted no, against the people of Ontario. They voted no, against the health care system. That’s their solution.

And by the way, the backlogged surgeries? We put $300 million into backlogged surgeries to make sure we get caught up, and we’re doing exactly that.

We’re building a new medical school that’s going to create more doctors in the system—as we did last year: Over 720 new doctors are coming into the system, Mr. Speaker. We are investing in health care like no other government in the history of this country.

But the opposition? Their answer is the status quo, the status quo that destroyed this health care system under 15 years of their rule, the NDP and the Liberals, that crumbled the health care system. We’re fixing the health care system. We’re putting in historic funding. We’re making sure that we put through processes that are going to make sure that people aren’t in emergency rooms for hours on top of hours. We’re fixing the health care system, the same system that they destroyed for 15 years, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we added 3,500 beds, and with a historic $40-billion investment, with 52 regions around Ontario that are either getting a new hospital or a new addition, we’re adding another 3,000 beds.

We’re working with the College of Nurses, working with the College of Physicians and Surgeons as well to make sure we speed up the process. As we saw, over 720 internationally trained nurses are now coming into the system. We need a lot more. We’re going to continue asking the College of Nurses to speed up the process to bring all these qualified nurses right here to Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, we are fixing a broken system we inherited and will continue to have a thriving system moving forward.

My question is to the Premier. Next month, the government will increase ODSP funding by a mere 5%, or $58 per month, to just over $1,200 a month. Meanwhile, Ontario Works recipients will receive no increase, with the government expecting them to live on $733 per month. Think about that: $733 a month. When pressed last week, the Minister of Finance refused to say whether he could live on such meagre rates. It is clear that the government members know it is not possible to survive with any dignity on these rates, but they choose to legislate people into poverty anyway. Will this government do the right thing, change course today and double the rates for OW and ODSP?

It’s also important to note that the civil service already has a mailroom. Why are we contracting out to another private organization to sort the mail which they are bungling, and then people aren’t getting the resources that they need. The question is, will the government stop the contracting out of ODSP’s mail sorting today?

Thank you for the question. Our government is supporting those who need it most, addressing this current period of economic uncertainty and preparing for future ones. That’s why we’re making the largest increase to ODSP rates in decades. We understand that, due to global factors, inflation is rising. That’s why, in our 2022 budget, we are aligning ODSP rates with inflation so that when the cost of living increases during times of high inflation, rates will too.

It is important to our government that the people of Ontario are able to pay for life’s essentials, especially our most vulnerable.

Our investment to align ODSP with inflation means that annual spending to meet inflation will occur, and that’s on top of regular annual funding like the $8.9 billion in payments issued in 2021-22. This is more money in the pockets of people who need it most to spend on the essentials of life.

Upon passage of the budget, the increase of ODSP rates and their alignment with inflation would be implemented for September, with recipients receiving the new rates from then on. Thank you for the question.