Tuning in from Ottawa Centre is Megan Mick. This is Megan’s last day working in her short-term placement with us in Ottawa Centre.

Thank you, Megan, for tuning in this morning and for all you did for the great people of Ottawa Centre.

My question is for the Minister of Health. I cannot stress enough how importantly my riding needs solutions for access to primary care. Multiple groups of health care professionals have responded to the minister’s call for interest and submitted proposals to open more primary care clinics in Ottawa–Vanier. That was six months ago. People feel abandoned as they remain without proper health care services, and yet there is no response from the ministry.

Speaker, I showed the minister a map showing the void that exists in my riding when it comes to health care services. I’ve also written, providing evidence as to the need for help to fill that void in Ottawa–Vanier. We have professionals ready to help relieve the strain on our local hospitals. All they need is for this government to step up.

Can the minister please tell these health care professionals when they can expect a response so they can get to work providing much needed health care services to the people of Ottawa–Vanier?

Le Carrefour de pédiatrie sociale de Vanier, avec son équipe multidisciplinaire, dessert les enfants et les jeunes vulnérables d’Ottawa–Vanier en leur offrant un soutien dont ils ont besoin pour leur bien-être physique, mental, social et émotionnel. Le CAP, dans ma circonscription, offre également des services en français de la petite enfance à l’âge adulte, pour ceux qui font face à des défis de santé mentale ou de dépendances. Ces deux organismes nécessitent un financement qui leur permet d’assurer l’offre continu de leurs services, ce qui n’est pas le cas dans le moment.

Ce gouvernement a récemment annoncé des millions de dollars supplémentaires pour élargir les services pédiatriques à Hamilton et à Toronto. Quand la ville d’Ottawa verra-t-elle un tel engagement de la part du gouvernement pour soutenir les organismes comme le Carrefour de pédiatrie sociale de Vanier et le CAP, qui offrent à nos enfants des services essentiels?

Let’s talk about the minister’s record. There have been 20 emergency room closures in eastern Ontario so far this year, some of them for multiple days. Every time this happens it means chaos and long drives for patients in need of urgent care and it means longer wait-times for Ottawa emergency rooms, contributing to off-load delays for paramedics in Ottawa and over 1,400 level zeroes for Ottawa ambulances this year alone.

Why is the Minister of Health breaking our public health care system, with no regard to the patients who are paying the price?

I can assure the honourable member that I’ve actually been meeting with the mayor of Ottawa on a weekly basis since I became Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. We are working with him to address some of the challenges that he is indeed facing in the city of Ottawa. So I can assure the honourable member that we are working very closely with the mayor and his team to address some of those challenges that they’re facing.

But let me just say this: I am working very closely with the mayor of Ottawa, and also with the members of provincial Parliament from that area on our side. We are meeting very closely with them. We’re identifying some of the challenges that they’re having. We’ll continue those discussions with them, and we will make sure that we continue to support the city of Ottawa. We know how important it is not only to Ontario’s economy, but it is a very, very important tourist jurisdiction.

I had the opportunity to live in Ottawa for a number of years, Mr. Speaker. It’s an important university town. It is so important to the economic development and growth to build a bigger, better, bolder, stronger Ontario. We need Ottawa, and we’ll make sure that we’re there for them.