Thank you, Speaker. It was nice of you to look my way. I appreciate that.

I would like to present this petition. I have over 16,000 names that were collected by Leadnow. It reads as follows:

“No Public Money for Private Care.

“Whereas on November 14, 2023, the CBC published documents showing that the Ontario government is paying a for-profit health clinic in Toronto more than twice as much as public hospitals to perform the same OHIP-covered procedure; and

“Whereas Ontario’s public health care system remains understaffed and under-resourced; and

“Whereas data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information indicates outsourcing essential surgery to private, for-profit clinics is a false solution to the health care crisis and instead lines the pockets of private investors; and

“Whereas the Ford government continues to hide the true cost of its expansion of for-profit health clinics;

They petition the Legislative Assembly “of Ontario to stop using public money to fund private, for-profit health care clinics and instead invest in our public heath care system.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my name to it and ask my good page Isaac to bring it to the Clerk.