I’m proud to present this petition on behalf of the good people of Toronto Centre.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas this government knew exactly what was coming with the Omicron wave—we all did. But they marched us right into it without preparing hospitals and long-term-care homes;

“Whereas hospitals are so understaffed and overrun that people are left to worry if they can get the care they need;

“Whereas front-line health care heroes are exhausted, run off their feet on every shift, getting sick at an alarming rate, and doing it all while being disrespected by the government;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:

“—scrap Bill 124 and increase health care workers’ wages;

“—increase hospital funding that matches inflation, population and the community’s needs;

“—give all workers 10 permanent paid sick days;

“—expedite recognition of nursing credentials of 15,000 internationally trained nurses;

“—create new jobs for late-career and recently retired nurses in supervisory roles and mentorship roles;

“—implement a funded return-to-nursing program to bring back the over 4,000 nurses who have left the profession.”

Sorry, Speaker, I’m just not feeling well. I proudly affix my signature to this petition and send it back to the Clerks’ desk. Thank you very much.

“Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas health care and support services are increasingly understaffed workplaces; and

“Whereas health and care services rank second highest for lost-time injuries (LTIs) among all sectors in Ontario; and

“Whereas complex care is increasingly prevalent with a growing and aging population; and

“Whereas recipients of care prefer services outside of large institutions and close to or inside their homes, whether group homes, retirement homes, or other residential care facilities; and

“Whereas personal support workers (PSWs) are the backbone of retirement homes and home and community care settings that deliver care for seniors; and

“Whereas developmental support workers (DSWs) are the backbone of group homes and similar residential care facilities that deliver care for people with exceptionalities; and

“Whereas bites, cuts, broken bones are all-too-common injuries when doing this work; and

“Whereas all group home and residential care workers deserve workplace protections as we ask them to care for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities; and

“Whereas it is not currently mandatory for employers to provide WSIB protections to PSWs and DSWs, particularly in retirement homes and group homes where a majority of workers like them provide care; and

“Whereas approximately 25% of health and care workers have no WSIB protections under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997; and

“Whereas efforts to expand WSIB coverage to PSWs and DSWs and all workers like them have received yes votes from members of all political parties represented in the Legislature in the past; and

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“Legislate or regulate an expansion of mandatory WSIB coverage to all health and care service workers in Ontario by categorizing all those who operate a group home or residential care facilities or home/community care, including retirement homes, rest homes and senior citizens’ residences a schedule 1 employer.”

I want to thank the good people of SEIU for canvassing and collecting the signatures for this petition.