Thank you to the member opposite for the question.

For years, health care in the north has not been performing well, and we know that more needs to be done.

In the 2012 Auditor General’s report on health human resources, it was revealed that northern Ontario had a shortage of 200 physicians, or 40,000 hours of care.

Under the former government, supported by the opposition as well, little was done.

But this government is getting things done. That’s why we issued Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, and thousands of copies of that plan have been distributed.

Our government is expanding the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine offers a total of 108 seats—nearly doubling that capacity for their MD program. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine will increase those graduate positions from 60 to 123 by 2028.

We’re making sure that the resources will be there for people in the north.

Years of neglect by previous governments, supported by the New Democrats, got us into the situation that we’re in today. But we’re taking action to fix the mistakes of past governments.

I can’t believe the member opposite is complaining about the number of ministers going to the north from this government. That should be a good thing.

We are paying attention to what’s happening in the north, and we’re already seeing results from our plan.

We’re nearly doubling the capacity of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, which keeps northerners in the north while pursuing the education they need to become medical professionals. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is attracting future professionals who will experience the advantages and the beauty of living in the north while they’re making plans about where to live and work.

We’re going to continue to work with all of our partners, including Ontario Health, northern hospital corporations, health sector unions, to address the challenges that are unique to northern Ontario. Thank goodness our ministers are going there all the time so that they know what those challenges are on the ground and can let us know so we can make sure that we’re addressing them. We’re going to keep working for the north.