In 2018, when the Liberals left government, you had nearly a $13-billion deficit with no plan to balance, no long-term-care homes to show for it—611 net new you built. You came to me asking to build in your own riding because your government back then couldn’t do it.

The question back to you—and we have no time for this—is, how could you fail so miserably? Lisa Levin, CEO of AdvantAge not-for profits, has already said that this government has done more than your government had done in 15 years. We’ve done more in just one—

By the same numbers, what the member is saying is that 17,337 seniors went from being ALC patients in hospitals to being residents in long-term care. Speaker, that’s 17,000 more beds in hospitals for more acute care. That’s 17,000 seniors who get to call a home a home, because it is this government that is investing into these homes, not just by building more capacity, but making sure that they have a level of comfort that they deserve.

Interjections.

Guess what? This morning, the cameras must be on because the member stands in his place and he claims to be a defender of seniors. But in his own riding, Oakwood Manor, Crescent Manor, Radiant Care Pleasant Manor Long-Term Care—it’s a long list and thousands of beds. The member votes against building beds in his own riding, against supports for beds in his own riding.

You want to give an apology? You should apologize to the seniors of this province for not protecting them before the pandemic hit.

Interjections.

It’s an important issue that’s raised by the member opposite, and I appreciate that he does that this morning. Culturally sensitive homes are very important in this province. We have a diverse population, and a growing aging population at that, and we must be sensitive to the different cultural diversity in this great province of ours. That, of course, includes French Canadians. That’s why, Speaker, we are building record capacity into the system, with $10 billion in expansion—the largest in our country’s history—creating 58,000 new and redeveloped spaces, as well as culturally specific homes designated to cater towards those communities.

Now, the member does raise an important issue when it comes to rural and northern areas. That’s why we need to continue to build and continue to invest and attract health human resources. We’ve done that under the leadership of this Premier: nearly $5 billion, the largest expansion into health human resources in, again, our country’s history. There is, of course, more to be done. That’s why we continue to introduce local priorities, specialized equipment to cater to those unique communities. We’re going to stay on that goal, Speaker. We’re well on the way to making sure that we take care of our seniors, because they took care of us.

Interjections.

There’s a budget—six more sleeps to go—by the fine finance minister over here. I hope that the member learns that if he wants to build capacity in the north, as he wants in Kapuskasing—and the Liberals, who are chirping, want to do better than they did in their past mistakes, by not building beds—well, vote in favour of the budget. I look forward to that support. We’re going to continue to take care of seniors in this—

Interjections.

Speaker, the member is absolutely right: Seniors did build this province and our community, so happy International Women’s Day to the many women seniors who live in our long-term-care homes. Thank you for everything that you’ve done.

I hear that concern the member raises every day in Willowdale. It’s exactly why our government embarked on a historic plan—a historic plan, led by this Premier, to build 58,000 new and upgraded spaces, the most aggressive capital plan in this country’s history. But there are challenges, and one of the biggest challenges is the cost of doing business and building, a cost that will rise, thanks to the federal Liberals’ carbon tax, 23% in the very near future.

Our government is fighting to keep costs low, fighting to build Ontario. But right now, when we are trying to build the homes for seniors to age in comfort and dignity, the carbon tax is standing in the way. Every time we try and make it easier to build, the Liberals and the NDP get in the way. I challenge them to stand up and do the right thing. Let’s scrap—

Unfortunately, the Liberals, led by the queen of the carbon tax, Bonnie Crombie, wants to do what she did in Mississauga: She wants to stop building everywhere. I’ve heard from workers, I’ve heard from lenders, I’ve heard from the operators, and they are saying that this tax on everything is costing Ontario’s long-term-care sector. It costs more to build. It costs more to take care of our seniors. It costs more to get equipment to our seniors. Costs have risen 30% in only five years.

This Premier will continue to fight for the hard-working people, the seniors who built our communities. We’re not taking any lessons from the heckle party over there. We’re getting it done—

Interjections.

I’m sure that hard-working member will agree with me when I say that we don’t always see eye to eye with the NDP and the Green Party over there, but I was glad to hear over the weekend that the NDP and Green Party agree that long-term-care homes are indeed homes.

Well, Speaker, that just leaves one party in this Legislature that doesn’t seem to get that picture. And I guess it’s no surprise, right? The Liberals, when they were in power for the better part of two decades, made a goal. They said they were going to build 35,000 long-term-care spaces, an admirable goal; I think that was in 2007. But do you know what happened when they exited government in 2018? They had built a net new 611. So it’s no wonder, I suppose, that the Liberals don’t want to consider these homes homes, because they failed miserably to actually build them.

This Premier is getting it done with a record investment in capital and the health human—

Speaking of behavioural specialized units—a $5.5-million investment announced just recently for three BSUs in homes in Brampton, Timmins and Etobicoke.

This is the game-changing investment that we need for our seniors. It’s not just about capital, which we are investing to record levels; it’s not just about health human resources, which we are investing to record levels—it is about targeted approaches to making sure our seniors get the right care in the right place.

Let’s contrast that. We talked about the past record of the Liberal government. Today, they have a leader in Bonnie Crombie, somebody who promises to build but fails to deliver and doesn’t even consider a long-term-care home a home for its residents.

I challenge the Leader of the Liberal Party and every single one of those Liberal members to walk with me into their ridings, into those homes and tell those hard-working seniors who built our communities, who gave us our lives as we know it, that they are not living in a home. This government disagrees. We’re going to continue to invest into those who took care of us—

That’s very fair. The member raises what is probably the most important piece of our long-term-care-home system and that is the hard-working front-line health care workers who make these homes homes every single day, doing the work for our loved ones that, frankly, many of us cannot do.

This unit is set out—and I want to be very clear on this—to go after the worst offenders and hold them to account for their actions. And as I said, we hope they are never used.

Service to our residents is the most important thing. That’s why our government is making sure we take care of our staff and give them the tools to do their jobs better. Just last fall, we invested $300 million to recruit thousands of PSWs to the long-term-care sector. In 2023 alone, we increased the local priorities fund by $35 million to support residents with complex needs.

We also invested $342 million into immediate and longer-term recruitment initiatives that would add over 13,000 workers to Ontario’s health care system. This includes 5,000 new and upskilled registered nurses and registered practical nurses, as well as 8,000 PSWs.

Speaker, the cat is out of the bag. This Premier is taking care of front-line health care workers and the amazing residents within the long-term-care system.

The member addresses some very valid concerns for her constituents, because it goes beyond just building long-term-care homes, which this government is doing to a record level. It goes beyond just health human resources, which this government is doing to record levels once again. It’s about the safety of those in long-term-care homes. That’s why, since I was appointed five and a half months ago, we have been working tirelessly to ensure that that is the number one priority within the long-term-care setting.

Supported by an investment of $72.3 million, I announced last month the formation of Ontario’s first dedicated long-term-care investigative unit. The new 10-member unit will go after the worst offenders in the long-term-care system, and I want to be very clear, Speaker: I hope that they never have to be used. These investigators have the authority to add more accountability to address the most serious forms of non-compliance so Ontarians can be sure that their loved ones are safe.

I’ll repeat it in this Legislature once again: Our seniors took care of us. It is our turn to take care of them.

Speaker, what a question from the member from Perth–Wellington this morning. He brings up some important facts, doesn’t he? It’s under the leadership of this Premier that this government, in five years, has 18,000 homes built or shovels in the ground today.

Now, let’s not get lost in the numbers. We need to build more, and we know that. The member mentions West Perth, which is fantastic, but those aren’t the only beds that have been announced since this government came to power. Let’s talk about Ritz Lutheran Villa, 128 redeveloped beds; Knollcrest Lodge, three new spaces; Saugeen Valley Nursing Home, 87 redeveloped spaces; and Strathcona Long Term Care, nine new spaces. Speaker, we’re going to keep going, because it’s not just about capacity. It’s about health human resources, investing nearly $5 billion to have the best quality of care and focusing on outcomes as well.

I want to thank the member from Perth–Wellington for a fantastic question this morning.

You know what this last Minister of Long-Term Care did, recognizing that construction was challenged with increased costs and supply chain challenges? He introduced the construction funding subsidy, which led to the building of over 11,000 spaces for our wonderful seniors in the province of Ontario. I want to thank the minister for that work.

But that’s not all he did. He introduced something called the Local Priorities Fund, which actually targets the outcomes within our health care system. That includes, of course, long-term-care homes.

Do you know what this member got in his riding? Let’s talk about it, Speaker: $8,700 to Spruce Lodge for the purchase of diagnostic equipment; $52,000 to Kingsway Lodge for the purchase of specialized geriatric equipment, as well as better outcomes for the dementia seniors who live there; $19,000 to Kingsway Lodge for the purchase of diagnostic equipment, and the list goes on, Speaker. Because why? If we can keep our seniors out of the hospitals for minor ailments, fractures, that’s a better outcome for the hard-working people of this province.

Let’s say it again: Seniors built this country. They took care of us. That member and this government is taking care of them.

There’s a lot to update this House on in long-term care, which we’ve been doing for the past several years, to be frank: a $10-billion capital plan with a plan to build and redevelop 58,000—and they’re not beds, they’re homes in this province for our amazing seniors.

In fact, Speaker, the member does mention something very important, which is that construction costs have escalated. That’s why we introduced the construction funding subsidy under the leadership of our last Minister of Long-Term Care, which has led to the approval of 11,000 beds for construction in this province.

The member sits next to the independent Liberals, who built 611 net new beds for the better part of a decade. I’m proud to update this House that, under this Premier’s leadership, since 2018, we have completed—or are under construction—18,000 beds in this great province.

There’s more work to be done, but we’re on track. We’re going to take care of our seniors in Ontario.

We acknowledge that seniors need more homes. It is this government that has taken it upon themselves to actually build that capacity and staff it with health human resources. So I encourage the member: Perhaps instead of standing in question period and saying, “The neighbourhood needs this and that,” come to me and show that information to me and let’s work on that because this government has proven, under the leadership of this Premier, that we are building those very beds in this province.

After a decade of neglect under the people who sit next to her, this government has taken it upon themselves to take care of our seniors. They took care of us—

Interjections.

Let’s start with what a shift this is, under the leadership of this Premier and this wonderful former Minister of Long-Term Care, building record homes in this province.

Let’s just take Peterborough, Pembroke and surrounding areas as one example: 416 new, safe, modern long-term-care beds. This is the tip of the iceberg, though, Speaker, because our government is supporting another six projects in Renfrew county and four more in Peterborough county. That’s a total of 1,400 new and upgraded long-term-care beds. What a stark contrast, just in that area alone, compared to what the Liberals did for the better part of a decade, a net 611 new beds.

In fact, I have a bigger update for this House, Speaker. Since taking office, under the leadership of this Premier, since 2018, 18,000 beds have been completed or are under construction. That is fantastic news for our seniors. They took care of us; we’re going to take care of them.

The program he’s speaking of is the construction funding subsidy, or the CFS. Some 67 projects have been approved under the CFS. This will add over 11,000 new and upgraded long-term-care beds across the province, despite the challenges they’re having with the construction issues.

This is one of the largest long-term capital development projects in this province’s history, in this country’s history, part of a larger plan to build 30,000 new long-term-care beds and improve 28,000 additional, for nearly 60,000 in added capacity. Compare that to the track record of the last government.

But more importantly, we need to make sure these beds are actually staffed: $4.9 billion to establish four hours of daily care per resident in our great province.

Speaker, I’ll say it again: Our seniors took care of us. It is our responsibility to take care of them.