I rise today to speak to third reading of the Convenient Care at Home Act. I will be sharing my time with my outstanding parliamentary assistants, MPP Robin Martin, the member for Eglinton–Lawrence, and MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy, the member for Newmarket–Aurora. Thank you for everything you do to make the Ministry of Health stronger.

We know people and their families want better and faster access to home care services, and as it has been said before, the only thing better than having care close to home is having care in your home. To do this, we are improving the way people connect to home and community care services by breaking down barriers—long-standing barriers—between home care and other parts of the health care system.

Through this proposed legislation, our government is taking another important step toward to improve and modernize home and community care. It supports our continued efforts to build a more connected and convenient health care system and to improve the patient experience for the people of Ontario. It is another way we are putting patients at the heart of our health care system.

We have met regularly with service providers as we have developed and implemented our home care modernization plans. The advice we have received from front-line experts in home and community care is integral to attaining our shared objective: to provide high-quality, connected and convenient care to Ontarians.

We appreciate the ongoing input from groups such as Home Care Ontario and the Ontario Community Support Association, whose members work alongside provider organizations to deliver home and community care to numerous Ontarians each and every day. The dedication, tireless efforts and support of our community partners has been key to the progress we’re making in home and community care. Their expertise and commitment to Ontarians’ well-being has been crucial in shaping the proposed legislation.

I also appreciate the invaluable input provided by the Minister’s Patient and Family Advisory Council. The council consists of patient, family and caregiver representatives who are ensuring the voices of patients, families and caregivers are a fundamental part of policy development and decision-making. Engaging with patients, families and caregivers is central to building a patient-centred health care system. Listening and learning from patient, family and caregiver experiences helps support better-quality care and improved health outcomes.

I have met with the council on a number of occasions and am grateful for their advice. The council has highlighted how timely and accessible home and community care plays a critical role in our health care system and in effectively meeting the needs of patients and families.

Engaging the council in ongoing discussions and input from organizations and stakeholders is a key part of our efforts to modernize home care and build a stronger, more connected health care system.

I want to take a moment, in particular, to thank Betty-Lou Kristy, the council’s chair. By bringing the patient experience to the forefront of decision-making, we are building a health care system that is more connected and convenient for all Ontarians.

Another pillar of this work is to ensure our home and community care workforce is supported effectively, so they can continue to provide the essential care so many Ontarians rely on. Thousands of dedicated front-line home and community care workers provide incredible support to people and families across Ontario each and every day. Their work can have a tremendous impact on people’s lives, often at a time when they need it most. They play a significant role in our communities and make a tangible contribution to our collective health and wellness. Our government values their role and the extraordinary care they provide to Ontarians.

That is why we are continuing to build home and community care capacity. We are delivering on our promise to expedite additional funding from our $1-billion investment to stabilize, expand and improve home care services and address worker compensation this year.

We are also investing an additional $100 million for community care to stabilize the delivery of services and address workers’ compensation. And our investments are having a real impact. In 2022-23, our investments provided additional volumes of service, including close to a million estimated hours of person-supported services and 120,000 nursing shifts. These are investments that help people return to the comfort of their own home sooner to recover after they have surgery or when they have complex health conditions.

Building our province’s home and community care capacity not only provides many people with a better health care experience, but it also supports our health care and hospital capacity. It helps reduce avoidable hospital readmissions, visits to emergency departments and unnecessary placements in long-term-care homes. It frees up crucial hospital resources and helps to ensure hospital beds are available for those who need them most. It’s an important part of providing people with the right care in the right place.

Speaker, supporting access to home and community care services helps ensure that Ontarians receive care in appropriate settings. Home care keeps people healthy and at home, where they want to be, and plays a significant role in the lives of around 700,000 families annually. Home care services in Ontario address the needs of people of all ages who are living with different conditions, disabilities or diseases, helping them live safely, healthy and independently in their homes or in community.

Home care services are complemented by community care services, which support around 600,000 people each year. And we know the demands for these services will continue to grow.

With an aging population, demographic changes and rising patient acuity, there will be an increased need for effective home and community care that is part of a strong, integrated health care system. We’ve seen a notable increase in the proportion of seniors who are seeking home care. The number of seniors in our province is also projected to significantly increase in the years and decades ahead. It’s imperative that we put in place an effective system of home and community care services. We need to make sure Ontarians receive the right care in the right setting. We need to make sure that home care is a strong, viable care option and that people don’t have to unnecessarily rely on hospitals or long-term-care homes.

Speaker, home and community care is an important part of an integrated and connected health care system. We need to ensure that our home and community care providers can work as effectively as possible with primary care, acute care providers, long-term-care homes and other providers, such as mental health and addictions providers and other providers of health and social services. To help ensure that home care services are better linked with primary care, hospitals and other parts of the health system, Ontario health teams are being established as a new model of integrated care delivery that will begin to take on the delivery of home care. This is another important milestone for Ontario health teams as they move forward with fulfilling their mandate to deliver integrated home care and health care.

Ontario health teams play a key role in connecting all parts of a patient’s care journey. These collaborative teams bring together various providers from across the health care system and community sectors. This includes primary care, hospitals, home and community care, long-term care, mental health and addictions, and other providers. In Ontario health teams, different providers work together to better coordinate care and share resources. They are responsible for understanding their patients’ health care history, providing support with navigating the health care system and easing transitions between providers. Ontario health teams provide patients with connected care from their different providers. The Convenient Care at Home Act would enable the gradual transition of home care to Ontario health teams. Ontario health teams are at various phases in their development and in their readiness to provide home care. As Ontario health teams develop and evolve, they will take the next step to better connect and coordinate people’s care and begin to take on direct responsibility for managing home care delivery.

This proposed legislation, if passed, would support the creation of a single integrated service organization known as Ontario Health atHome, which would support Ontario health teams. This organization would be a subsidiary of Ontario Health and would be created through the consolidation of the existing 14 regional home and community care support service organizations in Ontario. Local health integration networks, or LHINs, would no longer exist.

Ontario Health is the agency responsible for managing health care planning and delivery, and funding most other health care organizations in the province. Ontario Health has a key role in supporting the integration and coordination of our health care system to ensure it is centred on the needs of patients and families. It ensures providers have the information and tools they need to deliver high-quality, patient-focused care.

The proposed legislation amends provisions governing the designation of Ontario health teams, which will ultimately provide home care as part of their responsibility for locally integrated health care. It is the expected that the first group of Ontario health teams would start to be designated by the end of next year. By early 2025, the first transitions of home care funding and responsibilities to Ontario health teams are expected to take place. As each Ontario health team starts to take direct responsibility for managing home care delivery, strong, central back-office and operational supports will continue to be provided to them by Ontario Health atHome.

Furthermore, the province would continue to work with home care and health services providers to develop, implement and expand new, innovative models of care that provide better support for patients and their families. For example, these models of care could provide better support for hospital-to-home transitions. And to support new models of care and support quality improvement, home procurement models and contracting processes would also be updated. The focus would be on introducing new performance management standards, updating standardized contracts and preserving existing volumes for qualified providers.

As change takes place, such as the new consolidated home care agency, new models of care or updated contractual frameworks, our focus continues to be on the continuity and stability of care. Patients and families that need home care, long-term care, home placement and referral services can be assured of this throughout the transition process.

Stability and continuity of care also mean providing stability for the home care workforce. As home and community care support services transition to the new service organization, patients, families, and caregivers will continue to access home care in the same way and through the same trusted contacts. Under the proposed legislation, the employees of the home and community care support service organizations, including unionized and direct-care staff, would transition to the service organization. Their rights under their employment agreements or collective agreements would transfer with them.

Speaker, the proposed changes to modernize home care will also improve the system of care delivery for the many organizations and thousands of care workers in the sector. We are indebted to these amazing individuals who provide front-line care to some of the most vulnerable people in our province and make such a difference in their lives. Our changes are focused on supporting them as they provide this essential care to patients.

As we modernize home and community care, we are advancing the work of Ontario health teams. Through these teams, it will be easier for people to find and navigate home and community care and provide more seamless coordination of services. Ontario health teams will be a one-stop shop where people can be provided with an easy-to-understand home care plan. Under Ontario health teams, people will know the type of care they will receive before they head home from the hospital.

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. This connected approach would help enable seamless transitions from primary care or hospitals to home care.

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 or hospitals to home and community care with ease.

Speaker, our government has been making record investments in our public health care system and we are taking bold and innovative action to address long-standing challenges and pressures on our health care system. We know Ontarians deserve better health care. We know our tremendous health care workers need a system that better supports their incredible, world-class skills and allows them to do what they do best: provide exceptional patient care.

That’s why we are so focused on implementing our government’s Your Health plan and taking important, necessary steps to provide Ontarians with better and easier access to services across the health care system. This includes continuing to increase the number of assessments and treatments that can be conveniently provided to Ontarians by pharmacists without first having to get a doctor’s appointment.

We are expanding community surgical and diagnostic centres and access to MRI and CT scans and expanding health care training and education programs, grants and supports.

We are taking action to break down barriers for internationally educated health care workers and those registered in other provinces and territories to allow them to start working sooner in Ontario.

We are building on the 63,000 new nurses and 8,000 new physicians that have registered to work in Ontario since 2018, along with the thousands of additional personal support workers who are now providing care in our province.

We are fixing long-term care by building more than 30,000 net new long-term-care beds and upgrading more than 28,000 older beds, as well as increasing the amount of care residents receive and increasing the workforce.

We are supporting patients and health care providers alike through our government’s investment in digital and virtual care, including 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 health care system.

I’d like to share a couple of quotes on what the Convenient Care at Home Act means for home and community care providers and their clients. Sue VanderBent, the CEO of Home Care Ontario, said, “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 are an important step towards ensuring more Ontarians get the health care they require in the most appropriate setting—at home.”

Deborah Simon, CEO of the Ontario Community Support Association, had this to say: “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 care system.”

Sandra Ketchen, president and CEO of Spectrum Health Care, said, “This 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.”

Lastly, Matt Anderson, the CEO of Ontario Health: “This ‘connected care’ approach, and the provincial investment 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.”

The proposed Convenient Care at Home Act would help us fulfill our commitment to provide Ontarians with the right care in the right place. These changes would build a better, more connected model of home care, bringing decision-making closer to the patient where it belongs and strengthening support for our dedicated health care workers who coordinate and provide front-line care. The integration of home care through Ontario health teams will better connect our care services at the local level, building a model of home care that will ensure services can meet the unique needs of each patient and family.

We all know the only thing better than having care close to home is having care in your home. I encourage everyone in this Legislature to support this important piece of legislation and support better home care and community care for all Ontarians, because not only will it benefit your constituents and communities, but it will help ensure care is there for our loved ones as well, when and where they need it.

I’m now happy to turn my time over and share it with my exceptional parliamentary assistants, the member from Eglinton–Lawrence and the member from Newmarket–Aurora, who will speak further about our government’s efforts to improve home and community care service and provide more connected and convenient health care in Ontario.

Point of order, the member for Newmarket–Aurora.