I want to use my last supplementary to ask about another emerging health care issue. This government’s privatization-for-profit scheme is leaving patients across this province frustrated and very, very deeply worried about being charged for medically necessary services.

The Minister of Health has stood there and said that they are expanding private cataract surgeries, but we have more reports today that dozens of patients are being overbilled and charged for additional lenses and services that they did not ask for. This is exactly what we warned about: Patients being told they will only have to use their health card are just being handed a bill for thousands of dollars after their treatment.

The minister’s response has been incredibly disappointing. She recognized this practice as a violation of the commitment-to-medicare act, but has not offered, to this date, any solutions to protect patients.

I’m going to ask the minister, and I don’t want to hear that these patients consented to it, because it’s clear that patients were misled by this clinic. Minister, when will you enforce your own regulations and stop companies profiting off the backs of patients?

Interjections.

The Leader of the Opposition will please take her seat. The member for Sault Ste. Marie will come to order. The member for Kitchener–Conestoga will come to order.

Interjections.

The Premier can respond.

Interjection.

The final supplementary: once again, the Leader of the Opposition.

The Minister of Health.

Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.

The supplementary question? The member for Nickel Belt.

My question is for the Minister of Long-Term Care. Every senior in Ontario deserves access to quality care and quality of life both now and into the future. But many families, like those in my riding of Newmarket–Aurora, are concerned about the safety and well-being of their loved ones in long-term-care homes. While our province already has the toughest inspection and enforcement program in Canada, we must take further action to improve compliance and provide comfort and certainty to residents and their families.

Speaker, can the minister please tell the House what our government is doing to strengthen oversight and resident safety in long-term-care homes?

The member addresses some very valid concerns for her constituents, because it goes beyond just building long-term-care homes, which this government is doing to a record level. It goes beyond just health human resources, which this government is doing to record levels once again. It’s about the safety of those in long-term-care homes. That’s why, since I was appointed five and a half months ago, we have been working tirelessly to ensure that that is the number one priority within the long-term-care setting.

Supported by an investment of $72.3 million, I announced last month the formation of Ontario’s first dedicated long-term-care investigative unit. The new 10-member unit will go after the worst offenders in the long-term-care system, and I want to be very clear, Speaker: I hope that they never have to be used. These investigators have the authority to add more accountability to address the most serious forms of non-compliance so Ontarians can be sure that their loved ones are safe.

I’ll repeat it in this Legislature once again: Our seniors took care of us. It is our turn to take care of them.

In another shameful milestone for this government, Sudbury now has a private for-profit nurse practitioner-led clinic charging money to patients for each and every visit. The nurse practitioner said, and I will quote her words, “Had the Capreol clinic received funding to hire a permanent position, I would have likely stayed there.”

Speaker, I have hand-delivered modest funding proposals from the Capreol Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic to the Minister of Health numerous times since 2021. We have underemployed nurse practitioners in northern Ontario that would love to care for us in the public system, but this government is bent into private clinics only, forcing them to go to the private sector.

When will the Capreol Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic get the money they have been asking for since 2021?

Remarks in Anishininiimowin. The question is for the Premier. Speaker, the health care system in northern Ontario has huge challenges. We are short hundreds of doctors and people are getting sicker. People are dying. This is the Ontario that I know.

Two weeks ago, the Nishnawbe Aski Nation declared a health state of emergency across the whole north, not just on reserves. This government doesn’t have the courtesy to respond when emergencies get declared. Northern health care should not operate in a state of emergency. Will the government respond to the state of emergency? Yes or no?

Interjections.

Thank you for the question. Mr. Speaker, after decades of neglect by previous governments, addictions and support services in Ontario have rotted. They are non-existent. It’s a deeply unfortunate situation in Belleville, but unlike those governments, we take these issues seriously and we have already taken action to alleviate the pressure on the city and have begun discussions on longer-term solutions.

Last week, I joined the member for Bay of Quinte in Belleville, where we announced emergency funding to address the immediate needs of the community as identified by the CMHA. We’re helping them to increase temporary staffing at key service providers, add mental health supports for existing staff, improve the security of the downtown area and purchase new equipment for outreach teams and service providers that will help them identify and intervene early in the event of an overdose.

We also met with the mayor, the first responders and health care agencies to talk about the situation and how we’re going to work together to improve mental health and addictions care in Belleville. Mr. Speaker, we have a clear agenda to ensure that we build a system that will help the people of Belleville.

Let’s just start with where we began. How about the fact that you closed 13% of Ontario’s mental health beds and 9,645 hospital beds? How about the fact that you’re the ones that created the doctor shortage in the first place? How about the fact that you cut $53 million in mental health supports when you were in power? How about the fact that you voted against the Roadmap to Wellness and did not provide the support to the government in ensuring that we built the system—

Interjection.

Interjections.

It’s great to hear the minister talk about the measures our government is taking to ensure every long-term-care resident lives with dignity and is offered the care they deserve.

While this is an important step forward in protecting Ontario’s seniors, some individuals are concerned that it will be used to punish workers in the sector. Speaker, we know that front-line staff are essential in providing quality care to residents each and every day. That’s why our government must build on the progress already made and continue to invest in initiatives that will expand and enhance the long-term-care workforce.

Can the minister please elaborate on how our government is supporting staff in long-term-care homes to deliver safe and effective care?

My question is to the Premier. Earlier this month, the mayor of Belleville declared a local state of emergency after EMS responded to 17 drug overdoses in just over 24 hours, with a total of 23 overdoses in less than 48 hours. Devastated by the loss and desperate for support, the mayor of Belleville reached out to this Conservative government, only to have the request ignored.

Belleville needs $2 million to fund a local health and social services hub and a detox centre to address the ongoing addictions and overdose crisis. There is no time to wait. The community wants to see a new service hub open by the end of this year. So my question to the Premier is this: Will you immediately fund the desperately needed service hub and detox centre for Belleville?

Belleville desperately needs adequate funding to build and operate a local service hub, not measly one-time funding. They need reliable, continuous support to address the addictions and overdose crisis.

The community has been asking, pleading for this funding for months with no answer from this government. It’s not a “tough ask,” as the Conservative member for that riding and the associate minister have told the mayor. What’s tough is watching our family members and our community members overdose and die in the streets.

Last week, the Premier acknowledged the need to urgently fund mental health and addiction supports, but the people of Belleville still have no commitment for a much-needed service hub and detox centre in their community. So I ask the Premier again: Will you honour your promise about increasing supports by immediately funding the construction and operation of a local health and social services hub and detox centre in Belleville? Yes or no?

Interjections.

My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Ontario’s agricultural and food industry contributes over $48 billion to our province’s GDP and our economy. In my riding of Brantford–Brant, there are over 1,400 agri-food businesses that all serve a vital role in contributing to Ontario’s economic prosperity and job creation. That’s why it is of critical importance that our government supports measures that strengthen and grow this vital sector.

People in my riding were thrilled to hear the minister first announce the Grow Ontario Strategy to expand production and enhance efficiencies. Can the minister please provide the House with an update on what our government is doing to implement the strategy and ensure we are supporting the agriculture and food sector?

I appreciate the question from the member from Brantford–Brant very much because it allows us to stand in this House to share with everyone and those watching live that our Grow Ontario Strategy is working. For example, we had put in our strategy that we wanted to increase exports of Ontario-grown and -produced food by 30% by the year 2020 and essentially, in 2022 and 2023, we’ve actually increased exports by 20.9%. Ladies and gentlemen, our plan is working.

Furthermore, research is so important and we need to continue to innovate. Our strategy set out that we wanted to see more than 250 patents and licences realized by the year 2032. Through 2022 to the end of 2023, we actually saw 43 patents and licences realized through funding by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Our strategy is on the mark—

And the supplementary question.

The Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

Order. Order.

Okay. Let’s start the clock. The next question.

The supplementary question?

As I said before, your government destroyed the health care system here in Ontario. Mr. Speaker, they fired 1,600 nurses; we’ve registered 80,000 nurses, 17,500 last year alone. They were so dysfunctional, the OMA, the Ontario Medical Association, wouldn’t even speak to them. They shut down hospital beds like we’ve never seen. They created hallway health care.

What we’ve done: We’ve added 3,500 beds. We’re adding another 3,000 beds. We’ve added 10,000 doctors. We’ve added 80,000 registered nurses. We’re building universities that are going to create the next doctors—

Interjections.

Thank you, Minister, for that response. From the minister’s response, it’s clear that our government has committed to tangible actions that will ensure the continuous growth of the agri-food sector in Ontario.

Agri-food businesses in my community and across the province expect their government to implement measures that are innovative and will address their needs. It’s critical that our government ensures that these industries have access to new processes, new equipment and new technology to expand production and enhance efficiency.

Speaker, can the minister please provide an update on some of the actions and results of the new Grow Ontario Strategy?

I really am pleased and proud to share with you that not only are farmers responding to the importance and the need to drive innovation to realize efficiencies and increase yields, but our processors are as well, and our programs are hitting the mark.

Just last week, I was in Strathroy, and I visited Nortera. It’s a processing plant that specializes in frozen vegetables. They actually have plants in Strathroy, Ingersoll and Tecumseh in southwestern Ontario, and they process 635 million pounds of frozen vegetables. Last year, they actually invested in new technologies to drive line efficiencies that ultimately resulted from a new enhanced bagging and scale piece of equipment. This spring, based on success, they’re actually investing in new optical sorting equipment that will drive continued product quality.

Again, Speaker, our strategy to grow Ontario is working, and—

Thank you very much.

The next question.

The Premier will take his seat. The member for Ottawa South will put the cards back in his wallet.

Supplementary question?

I apologize to the Minister of Health. I had to interrupt because I couldn’t hear what she was saying because of the noise in the House.

I’m going to ask the member for Ottawa South to come to order and the government House leader to come to order.

Interjections.

Oh, Speaker. Let’s do a bit of compare and contrast, shall we? The Liberal government cut residency positions in the province of Ontario. The Conservative government actually expands residency positions, and two new medical schools in the province of Ontario, in Brampton and in Scarborough.

The previous Liberal Premier acknowledged, after you were defeated, that her biggest regret was how she decimated the health care system. It was your Premier and your leader who said that—

Interjections.

Thank you for the question. First and foremost, our thoughts are with those workers in Terrace Bay in that mill that has been idled. We want to get them back to work as soon as possible. That’s why, Mr. Speaker, the moment that this happened, we started outreach not only to the workers but to the mayors of the affected communities all through the sector to make sure that we have opportunities that are presented to us to work with the owners, to work with the sector to find a way to get this mill back up and running again.

Speaker, we know that the forestry sector is a very integrated sector. When something like this happens, it can cause challenges all throughout the sector. We are leaving no stone unturned to find a way to get this mill back open, whether it’s with the current owner or whether it’s with another operator. We know that the future of forestry in northern Ontario still remains bright. We will find ways to get over this hurdle and continue to make northern Ontario the strong powerhouse that it deserves to be.

Mr. Speaker, this government continues to invest in the forestry sector in Ontario; we’ll make no bones about that. We want to ensure that this sector is very strong in the northwest, in the northeast and all throughout the integrated—and I’ll use that word many, many times, “integrated”—forestry sector that exists in this province. It is one of the backbones of our province’s economy, and 142,000 people work in this sector. We’re making investments every day, whether it’s through our biomass program or our forestry innovation program, to ensure that opportunities continue to exist in forestry in Ontario now and well into the future.

To the Minister of Natural Resources, through you, Speaker: As you know, the mill in Terrace Bay has been idled since January. I have met with the union leadership, mayors, First Nations chiefs, our provincial and federal representatives and small business owners in Terrace Bay and Schreiber, and nothing has happened to slow down the potential social and economic collapse of these communities. There are 500 direct lost jobs but 1,900 jobs at risk throughout the region.

Given that the owners of the mill won’t communicate beyond saying they will entertain offers of purchase, I’m wondering what update the government can share with these workers about their plans to address this issue.

Who is going to ensure that the company does not get away with leaving a huge cleanup liability for a potential buyer or the community of Terrace Bay?