Yes, Haileybury. Again, it’s an offshoot: Training people in the north helps to keep people in the north. The member who was on the committee with me, from Mushkegowuk–James Bay, commented about the lack of veterinary medicine in northern Ontario. And my colleague from Kiiwetinoong, the farther north you go, the lack becomes more acute, more acute, more acute and more acute.

I’d say we’re more mid-north than north-north, but it’s hard to get veterinary medicine. Considering that, particularly for animal agriculture, it’s moving north, access to veterinary medicine isn’t necessarily keeping it up with it. That’s an issue.

I don’t like to criticize the government, but sometimes the government just deserves criticism. That’s two different things. But I also give credit when credit is due. I feel that’s important.

But I do give credit where credit is due. I’ve spent a lot of time talking about vet techs, but vets are also a very important part of the veterinary medicine team, and the government has announced funding for 20 more seats for vets. It’s been a long time coming, not just from this government but from previous governments. One of the unique things they have announced is that some of those seats will be in Thunder Bay, at Lakehead. That’s a good move. I said so at committee, and I don’t mind saying it again. Having seats at Lakehead in veterinary medicine is a good idea.

I’ve also said, and I will say it again, that I don’t believe that the whole program should be at Lakehead. Guelph is a centre of excellence for a lot of things agricultural, but for veterinary medicine it’s a centre of excellence, and I do believe that anyone who trains to be a veterinarian in Ontario should have the Guelph experience.

The reason it’s so important to include Thunder Bay—and hopefully, maybe, some day another university, but we’re happy with Thunder Bay—is that they will be able to recruit potential vets from the north. We know this from the college of northern Ontario—it used to be the school of medicine, but now it’s the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. They have been successful at recruiting and training doctors from northern Ontario and have largely been successful at keeping them in northern Ontario. That’s very critical.

Those of us who live in northern Ontario—no offence to people in Toronto, but if I have to pick a place to live, I’m going home. Likely, if you grew up around here, where you grew up and what you’re used to is where you feel at home. It’s much easier to work where you feel at home.

I’m going to go off on a huge tangent, but my parents are immigrants, my wife is an immigrant, and to everyone who comes to this country with their parents, I have to give a shout-out. I just said it’s so much easier to do things close to home, but whoever leaves their home to come and leaves everything behind—I have to give a great shout-out to those people, along with First Nations, who have helped build this country. I see it. I don’t know it—I was born here—but I see it in my wife, in the things that she has given up and also the things she has gained. Some days she would question whether marrying me is a gain, but—

As I was saying, it’s easier to get professionals to come when you train them where they’re used to. So anyone, from wherever in the world you come from, when you emigrate—man, that’s a huge, huge step, and it takes a lot of guts to do that.

But anyway, it’s a good plan to train people, to train vets in Thunder Bay and bring them to Guelph. I give the government credit where credit is due that they’ve taken that step.

Should we do more? We can always do more. Should we create more seats? Yes. Let’s get this program up and running. Let’s get it up and running as quickly as possible.

As we all know, all universities are having some funding issues right now, so we need to work on that as well, because announcing new programs—if the core of the university is struggling, then that puts more pressure on the new programs as well.

Something else that this bill—an hour is a long time, so I might come back to veterinary technicians. But I’m going to come back: The bill also exempts some things like grooming, hoof trimming or massage that don’t have to be regulated. That’s also, I think, a good thing.

Hoof trimming is something I know a lot about. If you’ve got some time, look up videos on hoof trimming. They’re kind of mesmerizing in a way, but they bring back memories for me.

But no, it’s interesting. For a farmer—and obviously for the animal, but for the farmer—it’s a great feeling when a cow has got a bit of a limp and you fix it, because you can see that they walk a lot nicer. They—

Interjection.

I didn’t even know these videos existed, but sometimes I miss the farm and I’ll punch something in. I’ll look up farming or something on the farm, and all of a sudden I’ll get all these ads for milking parlours and for hoof trimmers.

I’m really getting off track now.

Thank you to the member for Kitchener–Conestoga and my colleague from Etobicoke–Lakeshore for that wonderful presentation. Thank you for your passion for animals. I was a farmer’s son. We had a lot of animals in the backyard during my childhood. I know this bill is very important because of increasing Ontario’s veterinary capacity. It’s a very integral part of this legislation. Could you please tell us, how will this proposed legislation increase the veterinary capacity for owners in Ontario?

I had the opportunity to attend the public hearings on this bill. I was there for a panel that had deputations from Dr. Martha Harding—who is from the East Village Animal Hospitals, which are veterinary clinics in London, Kitchener and Hamilton that are run as non-profits—the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society as well as the Toronto Humane Society. All three of those presenters talked about the barriers to pet ownership and accessing veterinary care because the model that is enshrined in the Veterinarians Act does not allow not-for-profit corporations to own and operate veterinary clinics.

I understand that this may be addressed in the regulations, but I’m interested in hearing from the members whether that is the direction that this government is going in because it’s so important for low-income individuals to access veterinary care.

Thank you to the member for the question. Actually, there was a member from across the way, from Timiskaming–Cochrane, that gave a list of all the new responsibilities that vet techs will be able to take on. This is really important that we’re not just relying on the veterinarian—it’s two professionals in each office or more. So we’re getting more work out of the people who are already there and who already have gone to school. They care for these animals; they love the profession. You’re not going to get into veterinary care if you don’t love those animals. That’s just part of what you do, maybe kind of like us. We wouldn’t be in this job if we didn’t love what we do, so there’s that.

But we’re also opening up 20 new seats in northern Ontario, where we’re bringing—just like when Mike Harris brought in the medical school in northern Ontario, we brought that school in so doctors would stay. We’re bringing a veterinarian school there so those vets will stay in that community—so more seats and more work for those who are already in the field.

In regard to veterinarians who provide veterinary medicine, we all know they have a wide range of clients; they serve pet owners and livestock owners. So in your opinion, how will this legislation, if passed, benefit animal owners across Ontario?

To the member opposite: As we know, this bill is restructuring the regulated college, and it will allow for a broader range of voices for veterinary practices, including the registration of veterinary technicians, members of the public and academics. Will the member say that he agrees with these changes, as we will be increasing the transparency of veterinary practice, ensuring all the voices are heard and ensuring that there are more veterinary services available across the province?