I would also like to recognize the Ontario Medical Association and the many doctors in our galleries today who have come from across Ontario to meet with members of the Legislature.

As the member opposite referenced, as part of their Queen’s Park day, the OMA is hosting a luncheon reception in room 230 of the Legislative Building beginning at 11:30.

I’d also like to recognize specifically and introduce the leaders of the OMA who are in the member’s gallery: Dr. Andrew Park, president of the OMA; Dr. Cathy Faulds, chair of the OMA board; Kim Moran, current chair of the Ontario College of Family Physicians and incoming CEO of the OMA; and, of course, members of the OMA executive. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

It is indeed my pleasure today to introduce the Convenient Care at Home Act, 2023, and to lead off debate of this important piece of legislation. I will share my time with my colleague the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility, Minister Raymond Cho. The minister responsible for seniors and accessibility will speak about how, if passed, the Convenient Care at Home Act will make it easier for seniors to age in their own homes.

Before I begin, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my two parliamentary assistants: MPP Robin Martin, member for Eglinton–Lawrence, and MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy, the member for Newmarket–Aurora. Both parliamentary assistants have been tremendous champions in their community and strong advocates for patient-focused health care. I am very appreciative of their support and their ongoing contributions toward building a stronger health care system that centres on the needs of patients and their families.

I would also like to extend my thanks to the entire team at the Ministry of Health. Working together to improve health care for all Ontarians continues to be our shared goal, and I am incredibly grateful for the work that has occurred behind the scenes to get this legislation introduced in the House today.

Lastly, I would also like to extend our deepest thanks to all the providers, health care professionals and volunteers who provide compassionate care for patients, families and loved ones. Our government sincerely appreciates the important work you do and your significant contributions to our health care system and to communities across Ontario.

Indeed, across Ontario, I have had the opportunity to see many examples of world-class health care taking place in communities in every corner of the province, delivered by our incredible health care workers. It’s great to see the ongoing collaboration and partnerships taking place across the health care sector, including in palliative and end-of-life care, but I know that our health care system and health care workers face some significant pressures and too many people face challenges to accessing care close to home. Our government is working hard to address these long-standing challenges, which is why, earlier this year, our government established Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care. Your Health is our plan to build a better health care system that puts patients at its heart. It is focused on improving the health care experiences of Ontarians at every stage of life, now and for years to come.

If passed, the Convenient Care at Home Act will support our broader Your Health plan to improve and modernize home and community care services, which are critical to providing patients with the right care in the right place. Speaker, we know people and their families want better and faster access to home care services. Home care plays an important role in the lives of around 700,000 families in our province each and every year. The only thing better than having care close to home is having care in your home.

We’ve heard loud and clear from Ontarians that they want better and faster access to home care services, and our investments will provide them with more choice to connect to convenient care in your own home and in their community, instead of a hospital or a long-term-care home.

Home care addresses the needs of people of all ages, such as people with medically complex needs, physical disabilities and chronic diseases; frail seniors; and others who need services and support to live safely and independently in the community or in their homes. Community care includes services such as personal support, homemaking, meals, transportation, caregiver and respite supports, and other services, and it supports over 800,000 people each and every year. Home and community care helps to keep people healthy and safe, and is an essential component of a connected, convenient and integrated health care system.

Home and community care providers work with primary care, acute care hospitals, mental health and addictions service providers, long-term-care homes and other providers of health and social services to provide appropriate and cost-effective care that meets people’s needs. Home care allows people to return home from the hospital sooner and reduces avoidable hospital readmissions, emergency department visits and unnecessary long-term-care-home placements.

Supporting access to home and community care services helps ensure that Ontarians are receiving the care they need in appropriate settings, such as in their homes, where they would rather be. All Ontarians deserve to be connected to the care they need in ways that are more convenient for them, throughout their life, every step of the way, and our government will continue working to improve patient care and build a more connected and convenient health care system.

Speaker, the proposed legislation being introduced today is another significant step forward in our government’s work to improve and modernize home and community care services and seamlessly connect people to care. The Convenient Care at Home Act would enable the gradual transition of home care to Ontario health teams. By taking on the delivery of home care, we are further developing Ontario health teams to fulfill their mandate to deliver integrated health care services across Ontario.

The first part of this gradual transition—implemented through today’s proposed legislation, if passed—would involve consolidating the province’s 14 regional home and community care support service organizations into a single integrated service organization called Ontario Health atHome, which would work under Ontario Health to support Ontario health teams to provide home care. Upon consolidation, the local health integration networks, or LHINs, would cease to exist.

I want to emphasize that under the proposed Convenient Care at Home Act, all employees of the home and community care support service organizations, including unionized and direct care staff, would transition to Ontario Health atHome. Following the creation of Ontario Health atHome, there would be a gradual transfer of responsibility for providing home care to Ontario health teams, with Ontario Health atHome continuing to provide strong central back-office supports to those teams.

Alongside the consolidation of 14 agencies into one under this proposed legislation, the province would continue to develop, implement and expand new innovative models of care with home care and health service providers, which will serve as a one-stop shop to better support hospital-to-home transitions, as an example, and provide better support for patients and their families. The province will also be updating home care procurement and contracting processes to support quality improvement and support new models of care, with a focus on introducing new performance standards, updating standardized contracts and preserving existing volumes for qualified providers.

Throughout all of these changes—consolidating 14 home care agencies into one, expanding new models of home care and updating home care contractual frameworks—we will continue to focus on maintaining stability and continuity of care for patients and families who need home care, long-term-care-home placements or referral services. I want to be clear that the stability and continuity of care for patients and families is an absolute, key priority during this process, and that means providing stability for important home care workers.

While Home and Community Care Support Services transitions to a new service organization, patients, families and caregivers will continue to access home care in the same way and through the same contacts they have come to know and trust. The new organization that would be created through the consolidation of the 14 regional Home and Community Care Support Services agencies would be a subsidiary of Ontario Health, the agency currently responsible for funding most other health care sector organizations. Ontario Health oversees health care planning and delivery across Ontario, ensuring providers have the tools and information to deliver high-quality care. And Ontario Health supports the integration and coordination of Ontario’s health care system to focus on the needs of patients and their families.

The proposed legislation also amends provisions governing the designation of Ontario health teams, which in the long term will ultimately provide home care as part of their responsibility for locally integrated health care. Ontario health teams are at different stages in their development and in their readiness to provide home care. And as each Ontario health team develops, they will start taking direct responsibility for managing home care delivery, with continuing operational and back office supports from Ontario Health atHome. It is anticipated that the first group of Ontario health teams would start to be designated by the end of 2024, with the first transitions of home care funding and responsibilities to Ontario health teams or their members in early 2025.

Ontario health teams play a key role in connecting all parts of a patient’s care journey. These teams are bringing together different health care providers from across health and community sectors—including, of course, primary care, hospitals, home and community care, long-term care, mental health and addictions, and more—to work as a collaborative team to better coordinate care, share responsibilities and ensure patients experience connected care from their providers.

Ontario health teams are responsible for delivering care for their patients and understanding their health care history while easing their transition from one provider to another, directly connecting them to different types of care and providing 24/7 help in navigating the health care system.

Through the next steps forward in home and community care, we will advance the work of Ontario health teams to seamlessly coordinate services for patients, support Ontarians who rely on these important services, make it easier for people to find and navigate home and community care services, bring decisions closer to the patient and improve the way people receive these services.

We’ve already approved the creation of 57 out of 58 Ontario health teams, entities that will simplify the process of transitioning between health care providers. These teams ensure that every individual’s care is coordinated seamlessly, offering a unified patient record and care plan.

But we are not stopping there. To further support this essential work, the government is investing over $128.2 million to empower each Ontario health team with $2.2 million over three years, helping us to better coordinate your care. Ontario health teams will be a one-stop shop that provide people with easy-to-understand home care plans that let them know the care they are going to receive when and before going home from hospital.

An initial group of 12 Ontario health teams has been chosen to lead the way in delivering home care in their communities starting in 2025. With the support of the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health, these teams will focus on transitioning individuals experiencing chronic diseases from primary care, hospitals, to home and community care with ease. We’ve seen successful examples like the Southlake Regional Health Centre, a pioneer in providing convenient and coordinated transition services. These initiatives ensure that people leaving the hospital have a home care plan in place, granting them peace of mind and a smoother transition.

The proposed changes to modernize home care will also improve the system of care delivery for the many organizations in the sector and thousands of health care workers on the front lines. I again want to acknowledge the countless individuals who work tirelessly every day to care for individuals in our community. They are the true heroes of our health care system, and this legislation is dedicated to making their jobs more manageable and more focused on the well-being of their patients.

Ontario Health atHome care coordinators would be assigned to work within Ontario health teams and other front-line care settings. They would also work alongside care providers like doctors and nurses, and directly with patients while in the hospital or in other care settings to facilitate seamless transitions for people from hospital or primary care to home care services. This change will make it easier for Ontarians to access the home care services they need. Instead of grappling with a complex system or waiting for a phone call, Ontario Health atHome and Ontario health teams will serve as a one-stop shop. This approach is about ensuring that Ontarians have the support they need to age comfortably and gracefully in the place they call home.

Speaker, our government recognizes the incredible dedication of the home and community care workforce and the value of the work they do every day. Across the province, thousands of front-line home and community care workers provide exceptional support to Ontarians, often at a time when they need it most. Home and community care workers play such an important role in many people’s lives, and they make a significant impact in our communities. We are very grateful for their contributions and their service to Ontarians, and our government continues to take action to support them so they can continue to provide essential care and support to the people of Ontario.

Our government also values the important partnerships the province has with many organizations that are involved in providing home and community care. I am very grateful for the input and advice provided by the Minister’s Patient and Family Advisory Council, who have emphasized how vital timely and easily accessible home and community care is to patients and families and the critical role it plays in our health care system. In particular, I want to thank our chair, Betty-Lou Kristy. Betty-Lou Kristy has lived experience as a patient, a caregiver and a bereaved mother, and she helps guide the advisory council to share their perspectives to better improve health care.

The council consists of patient, family, and caregiver representatives who are helping to improve patient care by ensuring that the voices of patients, families and caregivers are central to policy development and decision-making. An essential part of building a world-class health care system is listening to and learning from patient, family and caregiver experiences. Engaging with patients, families and caregivers in health care system design and navigation helps build a more effective and efficient system, resulting in better quality care and better patient outcomes.

I’ve been incredibly honoured to meet with the council on multiple occasions and it is fulfilling to see patient experiences being used as a catalyst for change in our health care system. Engaging the council, and ongoing conversations with organizations and stakeholders, is a key component of the province’s work to modernize home care and gradually bring it into Ontario health teams, as we work towards the shared goal of providing high-quality, connected and convenient care across Ontario.

I am also grateful for the continuing input from Home Care Ontario and the Ontario Community Support Association, whose member organizations, working alongside other provider organizations, deliver home and community care services to so many Ontarians each and every day. We’ve been meeting regularly with service providers at every step in the development and implementation of our home care modernization plans, and we know that the advice we receive from the front-line experts in home and community care will be key in our shared success.

Speaker, I want to highlight that the progress we’ve made is in no small part a testament to the unwavering support, tireless efforts and commitment of our community partners. Their dedication, expertise and passion for the well-being of Ontarians has been instrumental in shaping the proposed Convenient Care at Home Act and I am forever grateful for their input. We are proud to work hand in hand with these exceptional organizations, and we thank them for their unwavering dedication and partnership.

I want to take a few minutes, if I may, to share some of their comments. Deborah Simon, the CEO of the Ontario Community Support Association, says, “Home and community care plays a critical role in the future of a strong Ontario health care system. Legislative changes that strengthen this vital service will be important for supporting client care in an integrated health system.”

Sue VanderBent, the CEO of Home Care Ontario, says, “Ontario must massively expand the size and role of the provincial home and community care system to properly care for a growing and aging population. The legislative changes being introduced today are an important step towards ensuring more Ontarians can get the health care they require in the most appropriate setting—at home.”

Sandra Ketchen, the president and CEO of Spectrum Health Care, said, “Today’s announcement is an important step in modernizing Ontario’s home care system. We look forward to continuing to work together to provide the best possible care to patients, in the comfort of their homes.”

Matt Anderson, the president and CEO of Ontario Health, said, “This ‘connected care’ approach, and the provincial investments to support it, will help transform health care delivery and support the vision of all Ontarians having full access to the care they need, across the spectrum of health care—all working together to deliver integrated care, through their Ontario health team.”

Our government is also building home and community care capacity to help ensure patients are provided with the right care in the right place. We are delivering on our promise to expedite additional funding for our $1-billion investment to stabilize, expand and improve home care services and address worker compensation this year. Furthermore, we are going above and beyond by investing an additional $100 million for community care. This infusion of funds is aimed at stabilizing the delivery of services and addressing workers’ compensation concerns.

These investments aren’t just numbers on a budget sheet; they make a tangible impact on people’s lives. To put it in perspective, in the 2022-23 fiscal, our investments translated into additional volumes of services that included an estimated 930,000 hours of person support services and 120,000 nursing shifts. These numbers represent individuals who received the care they need in the comfort of their home, promoting faster recovery and improved overall health. Our investments are playing a crucial role in helping patients return home after surgeries to recover in a familiar environment. They are ensuring that individuals with complex health conditions receive the comprehensive care they require right in their own homes. This isn’t just about convenience. It’s about providing high-quality care where it matters most.

Moreover, our promise to build home and community care capacity is also integral to ensuring that hospital beds are available for those who need them most. By expanding and improving home care services, we are not only making health care more accessible, but also freeing up critical hospital resources to cater to our most urgent cases.

During my travels across Ontario, I’ve seen many examples of world-class health care, but I’ve also seen that our health care system and health care workers face some significant pressures. These are long-standing challenges that many communities have faced for decades. The status quo is not working. Our government has been unequivocal in our stance: We will not accept the status quo. We are standing up for Ontarians, who rightfully deserve better health care, and we are advancing bold, creative and innovative changes, which is why we are working tirelessly to increase access to service across the health care system. This, indeed, is central to our government’s Your Health plan.

As part of this plan, we are expanding the number of assessments and treatments that pharmacists can provide to Ontarians without the need for a doctor’s appointment. Pharmacies are some of our most accessible access points in our health care system, and I’m proud to say that since our government implemented these changes in January of this year, there have been over 400,000 pharmacist consultations.

Just last week, I heard about a mother who had a son with pink eye, who was able to conveniently go to their local pharmacy and receive an assessment and treatment on the spot. Speaker, that is convenient care close to home.

Additionally, we are increasing our investment in community surgical and diagnostic centres, and we are indeed improving access to MRI and CT scans. This means more people will have quicker access to critical diagnostics and treatments, ultimately enhancing the quality of their health care experience.

We are also investing in health care training and education programs. We’ve provided grants and supports to individuals pursuing careers in health care. Moreover, we are taking steps to break down barriers for internationally educated health care workers and those registered in other Canadian provinces and territories. Our aim is to facilitate their entry into the Ontario health care workforce, ensuring they can start making a difference that much sooner.

Last year was a remarkable year, one for health care in Ontario, as we set a record with nearly 15,000 new nurses registered to work and care for the people of Ontario. We are also building upon this progress with the addition of more than 62,000 new nurses and 8,000 new physicians registered to work in Ontario since 2018, along with the invaluable contribution of thousands of personal support workers. Under the leadership of the Minister of Long-Term Care, Stan Cho, we are leaving no stone unturned. With more than 30,000 net new long-term-care beds and upgrading over 28,000 beds, we are doing everything we can to be better equipped to meet the needs of our aging population. In communities across Ontario, we are getting shovels in the ground, with more than 50 approved hospital development projects that will add thousands of beds to our system.

And our government continues to make it easier and faster for people of all ages to connect to mental health and addiction supports by building on our Roadmap to Wellness, with additional investments and innovative new programs such as more youth wellness hubs and addiction treatment beds.

Patients and health care providers are also being supported by our government’s investment in digital and virtual care, including supporting initiatives such as virtual home and community care, integrated virtual care, remote care management and surgical transitions, and patient portals. And we are expanding access and improving the way people can connect to home and community care services by increasing funding for these services and breaking down long-standing barriers between home care and other parts of the home health care system.

As our population ages, the need for effective and accessible home and community care services becomes even more critical. Over the past decade, we’ve witnessed a 62% increase in the number of patients with complex or high needs. Simultaneously, the proportion of home care clients who are seniors has grown from 54% to now 68% in that same period. These figures underscore the growing importance of providing comprehensive home and community care services.

Looking ahead, the numbers are even more compelling. The senior population aged 65 and over in Ontario is projected to increase significantly from 2.8 million in 2022 to, indeed, 4.4 million by 2046. These projections present both a challenge and an opportunity. We have a responsibility to ensure that all Ontarians, particularly our seniors, receive the care they need and deserve.

The objective is clear: Ontarians should have access to appropriate care in an appropriate setting without being forced to rely on health care settings like hospitals or long-term-care homes, which may not always align with the unique needs of individual patients. It is because of this that we introduced the Convenient Care at Home Act. This act represents our unwavering dedication to providing Ontarians with the right care in the right place, both today and for future generations. By integrating home care through Ontario health teams, we are creating a robust framework that connects home care seamlessly with other types of care at the local level. This is about building a health care system that is not only more connected but also more patient-centered. These changes aim to create a better, more integrated model of home care. They bring decision-making closer to the patient, where it rightfully belongs. It’s about ensuring that our health care services can better align with the unique needs of patients and their families. By strengthening the connection between home care and the broader health care system, we are laying the foundation for a more comprehensive and coordinated approach to health care.

We must remember that the future of health care is not a distant vision; it is a reality that we are working tirelessly to build, now and for future generations.

I encourage everyone in this Legislature to read this legislation carefully and support this important piece of legislation that supports better home and community care for Ontarians.

It is a pleasure for me to share my time with the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility, Minister Raymond Cho, who will speak further about our government’s effort to improve care for seniors in their homes and everyday lives.

Speaker, I think all of us in this chamber have a personal story that we can share or have heard from our constituents about the value and the importance of the transitions that we are making with this legislation, and I hope that we can take those experiences and those stories and translate them into action through supporting this legislation.

I will turn it over to Minister Cho.

Well, I would respectfully say, absolutely, we are expanding the health care workforce. Does the member opposite, who voted against the Learn and Stay program that actually ensures we pay tuition and books for health care workers who are being trained in the province of Ontario—to then use that and practise in areas of highest need—that is the question. As we build our health care workforce, is the member opposite for or against that? Because her voting record would suggest that she is against that.

We need to make sure that we expand the program. The member opposite’s suggestion would actually lead to a shrinking of home care providers and home care access in the province of Ontario. I can’t believe there is anyone in this chamber who believes that we need to shrink home care in the province of Ontario. We need to expand it, which is exactly what we’re doing with this legislation.

The back-office support will be a key piece of this legislation to allow organizations that wish to provide in community the ability to do that and make it consistent, so that we don’t have these examples of “in Ottawa, I get three hours; in Orangeville, I get an hour.” That piece will be able to be consistent when we bring it together under one organization.

One of the things that you can tell Cindy is, in fact, we’ve done the work on stabilizing the health care workforce. It is absolutely important that whether that PSW is working in a hospital setting or in a home care setting or in a long-term-care home, there is a much more consistent approach in terms of remuneration. We’ve done that, and that has been very welcomed in the sector.

But if we want to talk about affordability, perhaps the member opposite could explain to her constituent Cindy why she supported the carbon tax, in fact making her job that much more expensive as she moves using a vehicle, moving from patient’s to patient’s home. Those are the types of affordability pieces that the member opposite and the party opposite don’t want to talk about. There is a cause and effect when you support the carbon tax that was put on by the federal government, which we oppose, and now we’re seeing the outcome, which is, of course, higher tax, higher inflation.