Mine mill Unifor Local 598 members from Sudbury, including the member from Sudbury’s dad, travelled to the headquarters of Jarlette Health Services on Monday to hold an information picket in support of the workers at the Elizabeth Centre in Val Caron. Why did union members from Sudbury get on a bus early in the morning and travel three hours to Midland, Speaker? Because the workers at the Elizabeth Centre have been without a collective agreement since 2022—two long years. This is happening under this government’s watch.

With so little resources at the Ministry of Labour, once an employer asks for arbitration, it doesn’t take days, weeks or months; it takes years.

That’s right, Speaker: Retirees and workers on their day off travelled down to the headquarters to remind management that these workers are without a contract.

The Elizabeth Centre is a long-term-care home in my riding. They house 128 residents. The Unifor members working there look after frail, elderly residents. They are dealing with the same cost-of-living challenges that every other Ontarian faces. Many of them can barely afford rent, never mind a car payment. They need a new collective agreement now. But here we are, two years after their last contract ended. These workers are left to wait, wait and wait some more.

I hope this government agrees that this must stop. These workers need a new collective agreement, and they need a collective agreement right now.