This week is Community Health and Wellbeing Week in Ontario. It is a week to celebrate the members of the Alliance for Healthier Communities—those are community health centres, Indigenous primary health care organizations, community family health teams and nurse practitioner-led clinics—and all the good work that they do in caring for us and keeping us healthy.

There are 111 members of the alliance who serve Ontarians in every corner of this province. These are not-for-profit agencies that provide comprehensive primary care to the people who often face barriers to access and health inequities. From health promotion, disease prevention, primary care to chronic disease management, from newborn and children programs to elderly persons’ centres, they do it all. They keep people healthy and out of emergency rooms, which is good for their clients, decreases demand on our acute-care system and saves money. It’s a win-win.

I can assure you that my NDP colleagues and I will always stand for equitable access to health care services for everyone living in Ontario. That includes the 2.2 million Ontarians who do not have access to primary care.

The Ontario Medical Association was here two days ago asking the government to fund interdisciplinary primary care teams. We can do this, Speaker. The Ontario government needs to fund more nurse practitioner-led clinics, community family health teams, Indigenous primary health care organizations and community health centres right now.