Senator Martin: As I’m sure you know, some Canadians who don’t have access to a family doctor will ultimately seek care at a hospital emergency room. This past weekend, three hospitals that serve smaller communities in different parts of B.C. closed their emergency rooms due to staff shortages. These types of closures are becoming a common occurrence.

On Monday, the mayor of Clearwater told CTV that their local hospital emergency room has been closed so many times in recent months that he can’t even keep track of the number of times this has happened.

Leader, does the NDP-Liberal government have any timeline for when it intends to fulfill its promise of 7,500 new doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners in Canada? And how did you determine that 7,500 was an adequate number?