On Monday, the Ontario Health Coalition brought almost 10,000 people on the front lawn of our Legislature. The entire NDP caucus was present, but not one member of the Conservative Party came to hear their message. The thousands of people who came spoke with one voice. Their message to the government on behalf of millions of Ontarians is really clear: Stop privatizing our health care system. Many shared personal stories of being charged at private clinics for services that should have been free; of having to pay $200 to a nutritionist in order to get a colonoscopy or $1,000 for a lens that their ophthalmologist prefers to use but is not covered.

The Auditor General’s outpatient surgeries report’s findings are not pretty but not surprising. Her report shows private clinics overcharge, many double-bill, and there is no accountability for their actions. Yet the Premier and the Minister of Health continue to give more and more money to private clinics—clinics that poach staff from our public health care system, making the health care staffing crisis worse.

I am from the party of Tommy Douglas, the father of medicare, a program that defines us as Canadians and as Ontarians, where care is based on needs, not on ability to pay.

Ontarians are united. They want the government to stop the privatization of our health care system. We live in a democracy. I hope the government starts to listen to the people of Ontario, not just the donors who showed up at their fundraisers.