Good morning. I would like to welcome Drs. Doris Grinspun and Claudette Holloway to Queen’s Park. Thank you so much for your outstanding leadership.

To all of the RNAO nurses, nurse practitioners, nursing students in the House, thank you very, very much for your hard work.

It was also great to see Sharla from the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario. I’m going to see you guys again next week.

I’d also like to thank Mason Rosen, Nolan Welsh and Allison Burns, who are students who participated in our Ontario Model Parliament program, for their incredible work. May they have a seat in one of these seats one day.

Speaker, I want to welcome my friend Phiona Durrant, from the Aurora Black Community Association; her son Jayden; and board member Bobbie Marshall. Welcome to Queen’s Park. Thank you so much for everything you do in our community, especially the last 28 days. Thank you so much, Phiona.

I just want to welcome my riding executive to the House today: my sister Mary Hogarth, Kathleen Gough, Tim Dobson, Gregory Wowchuk, Simon Nyilassy, Gary Stones, Oleg Zakala and a former employee, Joseph Corazza. They’re all here for lunch today. Welcome to the Legislative Assembly.

This question is for the Premier. Yesterday, while defending his latest plan to stack the judicial appointments committee with insiders and lobbyists, the Premier launched into a tirade about the state of crime in the province. He said, “They’re kicking in doors in the middle of the night, putting guns to people’s heads....”

Given the Premier’s concern about the risk of handguns in violent crime, why did he give a lobbyist for an American handgun manufacturer the power to choose Ontario’s next judges?

Interjections.

Speaker, the tough-on-crime so-called bluster here in the House is not going to change the fact that it’s this government’s failures that have left people without access to justice. Victims of crime are seeing their assailants walk free not because of an insufficiently conservative judge, but because of delays that are the direct result of this Premier’s mishandling and underfunding of our court system.

So, back to the Premier, Speaker: How will appointing a handgun lobbyist to the judicial appointments committee help reduce gun crime?

Interjections.

Speaker, not only are these new patronage appointments former Conservative staffers who lobby their former employers for a living, but one of them registered to lobby after they were appointed to the committee that selects judges. Judges are not meant to be like-minded with any political party and they are not meant to be appointed in the interests of private companies seeking to do business with the government. They are meant to serve the people.

So, Speaker, yes or no—back to the Premier—will these insiders continue to lobby for handgun manufacturers while they are appointing our judges?

Interjections.

I can understand the confusion that the Leader of the Opposition has in terms of how the system works. But, Mr. Speaker, the committee makes recommendations based on those who apply, and I don’t know what else they would have us do, except have people go through and do the interview. Would they prefer the federal system, Mr. Speaker? Would they prefer other systems?

This is a good system. There are good people, smart people, people who are looking for individuals that understand victims’ issues, individuals that understand cultural perspectives, individuals that understand community service. They are vetting candidates for consideration. But the choice is the government’s to make at the end of the day, and so I look forward to an alternate model from the member of the opposition.

Interjections.

That just happens to not be our view. We want our communities safe. We want the bad guys to have a sentence that is appropriate for the crime that they make. They didn’t even support us on reverse onus on bail, for which our Premier drove across this country, and the federal government eventually passed.

I, too, would like to give a very warm welcome to staff members and students who are part of the RNAO who are here today.

A special shout-out to members who live or work in Parkdale–High Park: Sharla Adams, Anlan Yao, Alicia Saunders, Susan McNeil.

I also want to say congratulations and a very warm welcome to president-elect Lhamo Dolkar.

Speaker, thanks for helping me get my squats in today. My Apple Watch has never been happier.

I’m blessed to have many friends in life, and for 40 years, Debra Walker has been one of them, joining us today in the gallery. I’m so thrilled to have her here.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome two students from the Model Parliament program and residents of London North Centre, Danielle Munang and Noah Debicki. It was great meeting you yesterday. I hope you have a great day.

On behalf of the Minister of Health—there were a few adjectives missed: dedicated, hard-working, tireless—I would love to welcome the executive director of the RNAO, Doris Grinspun, and her colleagues to the Legislature.

It is my very great honour to welcome Steven Street, the executive director of WoodWorks Ontario. Welcome to your House.

That concludes our introduction of visitors for this morning.

I want to thank the members for their indulgence and ask that next week we try to be as brief as possible with our introduction of visitors.

It is now time for oral questions.

To respond, the Attorney General.

Supplementary?

The Attorney General.

The Attorney General.

I just want to introduce Alexander Zan. He’s a student from Waterloo region. He’s participating in the Model Parliament. Welcome to your House.

I want to thank the members of CUPE Ontario, OPSEU, OECTA, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association as well as members of the OFL who were all here this morning at the press conference to support gender-affirming health care. Thank you very much.

I want to welcome, from my riding, Ashrita Samantula, who is participating in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s Model Parliament. I want to welcome her to Queen’s Park.

And I do want to give a shout-out to RNAO. As a board director at Credit Valley Hospital, I spent six years on the front lines, working with them, seeing the great work they do. I had that great privilege, and I want to thank all of you for being here today.

Speaker, the federal government has announced they’re finally going to start the process of establishing a national pharmacare program here in Canada. This will bring much-needed relief to people who are living with chronic illnesses, to seniors, to all people living with disabilities, and it’s something New Democrats at all levels have worked on for many, many years. But much depends on the provincial government to make universal pharmacare a reality, and so far, the Minister of Health has refused to commit to the deal.

So my question is to the Premier: Will you commit to ensuring that all Ontarians have access to essential medication and devices through single-payer coverage?

It’s pretty straightforward. Universal health care must include pharmacare. That was always the intention, since it was first introduced by Tommy Douglas.

We have talked about this many times in this room before—and I will remind everyone, the room is full of nurses here today. I was talking with them this morning about what a game-changer this universal pharmacare program is going to be for their patients. People should not have to choose between medication and food or transportation. Now, thanks to the NDP, Canadians who are struggling with the cost of prescriptions can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Back to the Premier: Will you commit today to ensure that Ontarians will have access to publicly funded contraceptives and supplies to manage diabetes?

Interjections.

This week, we learned that employees at Shoppers Drug Mart were being pushed to bill for consultations that patients do not need. That company can then bill the province up to $75 per call. That’s double what family doctors can bill for patient visits.

Speaker, I want to know what this Premier is doing to protect patients from this outrageous and unnecessary overbilling.

Interjections.

Speaker, 10,000 people in the Perth area are at risk of losing their family doctors and nurse practitioners, because this government arbitrarily decided not to fund one of their local clinics. There are only 10 doctors, and this government rejected their application for team-based care. Each of those 10 doctors wrote letters to the province asking them to reconsider the application to keep their doors open. If they don’t get the funding support, they expect to close within three years.

My question is for the Minister of Health: Are you going to fund the Tay River Health Centre in Perth?

Perth is just one of the many communities that is being left behind by this government. Some 10,000 people in Sault Ste. Marie are losing their family doctors in May and another 6,000 patients there are on the brink. I will remind the government that last week, I brought in retirees from Sault Ste. Marie, patients who are going to lose that care. In total, the number of patients who are losing access to primary care in Sault Ste. Marie represents more than a quarter of the population of that city. That is shameful.

Speaker, when will the Premier finally invest in the health care that people need in rural and northern Ontario instead of just serving them up his vanity ads?

Interjections.

To reply, the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health, the member for Eglinton–Lawrence.

Member for Eglinton–Lawrence.

Again, the member for Eglinton–Lawrence.

Supplementary question?

The member for Eglinton–Lawrence.

I thank the member opposite for the question.

Our government prefers to wait to see what the federal government is going to propose by way of a pharmacare program before we say what our position will be on that. We’re looking forward to receiving a clear description of what they are going to be proceeding with.

In the meantime, this government is making it more convenient for people to connect to care closer to home by launching pharmacists prescribing for some of our most common ailments, and that has been so successful. Local pharmacies have become a one-stop shop to get prescriptions for 19 of the most common ailments. This service makes it more convenient for people to access care, eliminating the need to go to doctors or emergency rooms, at no extra cost to Ontarians. Stopping by your local pharmacy is very convenient and, so far, 700,000 Ontarians have been able to do that at pharmacies, 94% of which are participating.

Obviously, we want to make sure that our Ontario residents have access to all the services they need here in Ontario, and that’s why we’re bringing care closer to home in so many ways.

The pharmacists, like I mentioned, are doing prescribing and treating minor ailments, and 700,000 Ontarians have been able the take advantage of that already.

MedsCheck started under the previous government, and just this morning, the member from Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas, in her members’ statement, said that it was a great service. It’s a one-to-one consultation between pharmacists and eligible patients to help comply with their prescription medications and explore how medications interact with each other.

But what is really important, as I said earlier, is the expanded role for pharmacists that they are now playing in our health care system, which has expanded. Local pharmacies have become one-stop shops for people to be able to get their prescriptions filled for 19 of the most common ailments, such as yeast infections, pink eye, acne and urinary tract infections, and that just requires a health card. The pharmacists have now assessed over 700,000 patients with common ailments. Those patients don’t have to go to primary care doctors and don’t have to go to emergency rooms.

This is a great innovation for our health care system. We’re going to keep working with pharmacists.

While the Liberals and the NDP cut residency school spots and limited the number of physicians practising in interdisciplinary teams, our government has added over 10,400 physicians since 2018, and our plan has invested nearly a billion dollars annually into interdisciplinary primary care teams.

In addition to these historic investments, we’ve expanded medical school spots. We’re breaking down barriers for—

Ontario is the first province to have a publicly funded a nurse practitioner-led clinic program, which I know the RNAO would support. And this is in addition to the new Practice Ready Ontario program that’s adding 50 new physicians this year. This government is making the investments that the other parties in this Legislature never made. We’re going to make sure primary care is there.

My question is to the Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism. Throughout Black History Month, we celebrate the rich history and many contributions Canada’s Black community has made to our province from the very beginning. As we approach the end of Black History Month, we are reminded that just because February has come to an end, the work doesn’t stop. That is why I’m proud to support this government’s implementation of mandatory Black history in grades 7, 8 and 10, as Black children and youth need to understand that Blacks are not newcomers but are part of the fabric of Canada as a nation since 1600. Yet, Speaker, Black youth in our province continue to face barriers that can impact their future and success.

Speaker, could the minister please tell this House what actions our government is taking to dismantle systemic barriers and empower the next generation of Black leaders with the necessary skills to succeed?

I want to thank the member from Ajax for the question and, of course, all you do as an ally, advocate and leader for Ontario’s Black communities.

Speaker, I am proud to say that, earlier this month, my ministry announced a further investment of $16.5 million into the economic stream of the Black Youth Action Plan. While previous Liberal governments stood by with the NDP, it is our government that took real action by increasing the funding of BYAP to over 500% from 2018 to dismantle barriers, improve outcomes and empower Black children, young professionals and families.

That work does not stop when Black History Month does. Our government will continue to take action and make critical investments needed to ensure all Ontarians, no matter their race, religion or background, have all the tools and opportunities they need—