Here are 10 outrageous things happening in our health care system under the Ford Conservative government:

(1) Some 2.2 million Ontarians are without primary care.

(2) Clinics charging an annual subscription fee simply to access primary care are growing.

(3) Hospitals are having to borrow money at high interest rates due to underfunding.

(4) Underfunding of hospitals has turned hallway health care into waiting room health care.

(5) Use of private agency nurses has exploded under this government’s watch, costing the system significantly more than hiring directly.

(6) Private clinics are renting space in public hospitals and being paid more for the same services, like cataract surgeries, leaving taxpayers with a higher bill.

(7) The Ontario government owes $6 billion in wages to the public sector, including health care workers, because their Bill 124 to cap wages was found unconstitutional.

(8) Over 280 emergency room closures in communities across Ontario due to underfunding, with people having to travel hours to access emergency care.

(9) Despite promises, still no coverage for take-home cancer treatments, leaving people to pay out of pocket if they don’t have private insurance.

(10) Pharmacists are being pressured by corporate offices at companies like Shoppers Drug Mart to do unnecessary medication reviews, which has cost the system as high as $1.4 million in one week.

Speaker, this government is delivering worse services at a higher cost, with questionable ethics. Are they so incompetent, or is this by design? Either way, Ontarians are getting a bad deal.

I thank the honourable member for the question, and I thank all the members here in this House. Mr. Speaker, through our government, I thank the leadership of Premier Ford.

We have made this very clear from day one: This is an issue that affects all communities across the province, one that requires action, which is why, in December, Minister Williams joined me in announcing Ontario-STANDS. Mr. Speaker, it was a statement to the province that we take this issue seriously and we backed that up by investment, working with the federal government.

I’ve said this throughout the entire time that I’ve been a minister at this ministry: No woman or girl in this province should ever have to live with the fear of violence or threat or exploitation. We will stand with them. We will make sure every single provider that’s helping, in partnership with us across the province, will have a partner in our government. We will not let them down, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, through Ontario-STANDS, as I mentioned, when we work with the federal government, there are plenty of initiatives and supports in this statement and this action plan that the province has put forward.

The investments that we announced in December to all the partners on the ground—an additional $18 million for the duration of this fiscal year. That investment will increase. In budget 2024, an additional $13.5 million was added to the support.

There’s a lot of great work that’s being done underground by service providers and partners. We want to make sure they have the resources to be able to provide those supports. That needs to be backed by investments. We passed legislation to make sure that happens so that people are protected, but that needs to be backed by investments. I thank the Premier for the commitment, and I thank the Minister of Finance.

As I said, we will not let them down. We will make sure they have the supports they need on the ground to help every single person in every community.