It is my distinct pleasure to present a petition that I’m not allowed read but focuses on the crisis in mental health across this province, in particular the experience of the Roth family, where they were denied access and timely care and their daughter Kaitlyn died by suicide. We can do better in the province of Ontario. I fully support the alternative destination locations for care instead of emergency rooms.

With that, I’ll be affixing my signature to the petition that I cannot read.

Resuming the debate adjourned on April 11, 2024, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 185, An Act to amend various Acts / Projet de loi 185, Loi modifiant diverses lois.

My question is to the Premier.

Ambulance shortages have recently become a recurring problem in Waterloo region and across Ontario. Two weeks ago, during a code red, ambulances were coming into Waterloo region from Guelph-Wellington for backup—only for Guelph-Wellington to end up in a code red the following day. At one point, 600,000 people did not have access to an ambulance or a paramedic. In Waterloo region, we’ve lost 17 paramedics since January, largely due to burnout and lack of time off.

It’s literally a matter of life and death that Ontario is this ill-equipped to care for its growing and aging population. So I ask the Premier, I ask the minister, I ask anyone on that side of the House: How would you feel if you and your loved one experienced a medical emergency and no one was there to answer the call? What would you do? Because that’s where the province of Ontario is at right now.

According to Dave Bryant, who is the co-VP of CUPE 5191, the Region of Waterloo Paramedics Services, they have the highest number of code reds the region has ever had within a 24-hour period on September 26. A local paramedic told me that, at one point, there were five full hours where no ambulances were available, and offload times ranged from seven hours to 22 hours.

When the minister—or the parliamentary assistant—says that they’re doing everything they can, clearly that is not correct, because you have Bill 124 on the books. This is wage-suppression legislation. It is pushing health care workers and nurses out of the province of Ontario. And with all due respect, you actually have the money to recognize and respect health care workers in Ontario.

So how can this government continue to sit by idly when another crucial part of our health care system is collapsing and you are sticking to your speaking points?