As MPP for one of the most northern parts of Ontario, let me tell you what it is like to lack access to health care and long-term-care services in the north.

In March 2022, an announcement by this government was made saying that 68 new and 60 upgraded beds for Extendicare would be in place in Kapuskasing.

Les gens du Nord sont malheureusement trop habitués à une réalité désolante. Les membres de nos familles doivent être envoyés à des centaines de kilomètres de nos proches. Les temps d’attente pour se voir attribuer un lit pour des soins de longue durée sont de plus de trois ans. La pénurie de personnel de soins de santé, empirée par la loi 124, affecte durement la disponibilité des lits dans des petites villes comme Kapuskasing, Hearst, Moonbeam, Cochrane, etc.

Therefore, when the government announces 68 new beds and improved services for long-term care in Kapuskasing, it is that much disappointing when the result is non-existent 18 months later. According to Extendicare, there is a delay due to the high cost of operations and construction of this project, due to taking so much time to be built, and it now needs more additional funding to begin.

We are facing a province-wide housing crisis on all fronts, and some of the elderly do not even have the opportunity to age with dignity, surrounded by their loved ones. That is the sad reality in the north at the moment.

I will be splitting my time with my colleagues MPP Hazell, MPP McCrimmon and MPP Shamji.

Madam Speaker, there is no question that what we are seeing unfold and the escalation at which it is happening is horrific and almost unfathomable. I share the painful feelings and have the utmost sympathy for every single person, child and community who is affected by the violence. Israeli and Palestinian civilians both deserve our concern.

I condemn the despicable acts and actions carried out by the terrorist organization Hamas and the further violence and fear they have evoked. This is not the world we want to live in.

I would like to acknowledge the work that has been done to bring about change. Heart to Heart is a youth leadership program here in Ontario for Palestinian and Jewish citizens of Israel. They are dedicated to empowering youth with the tools and skills they need to create a more inclusive and peaceful society, for that is our goal, a goal we can hang on to as we face the reality of divisiveness and its violent outcomes. Heart to Heart was created to counter the culture of division and fear—the fear that exists between these communities, the reality of structural racism and inequality in Israeli society—and to create an empowered generation ready to fight this system and demand better.

Although it may not be fair that young people inherit problems from previous generations, with the right tools, they can find the creative solutions needed to chart a new path. We believe that youth have a valuable role to play in creating change, not only as future leaders but as meaningful actors right now. Heart to Heart participants are a ray of hope and a reminder of what is possible when people are given the opportunity to come together, to learn and to listen. Programs like Heart to Heart and countless others that serve to achieve this goal need to be brought into the spotlight, for it is never too late.

We need to all have hope and work together in this chamber, compassionately and collegially, for peace.