Thank you to the member from St. Catharines for the question. Our government is making great strides to support women’s health, including the recent announcement of breast cancer screening from 40 years of age, which has been welcomed by the community. We have six publicly funded drug programs for Ontarians who need help getting the medications they need to live a healthy life. Through the Ontario Drug Benefit Program, many commonly used birth control products are available to eligible Ontarians as part of nearly 5,000 medications, which are part of this program. With six million Ontarians eligible to receive the Ontario Drug Benefit Program, nearly half of all Ontarians are eligible. OHIP+ assistance is also available to Ontarians 25 years of age or younger that are not covered by a private insurance plan.

Ontario invested through the ODB roughly $16 million on contraception in the 2021-22 fiscal year. With almost half of people covered, we’re making sure that Ontarians get the health care that they need when they need it.

Our government is making it easier for Ontarians to get prescriptions they need, such as birth control. Thanks to changes that we announced recently—I think it was November 6—we’ve made qualified midwives and registered nurses now able to provide convenient access to birth control prescriptions.

Through the Ontario Drug Benefit Program many commonly used birth control products are available to eligible Ontarians as part of nearly 5,000 medications covered by the program. With six million Ontarians eligible to receive the Ontario Drug Benefit Program, nearly half of all Ontarians are eligible.

We are going to continue to work to make sure that Ontarians are connected to convenient care where and when they need it across the province.