My question is for the Premier.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, the emergency room in Chesley, Ontario had its hours limited from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Chesley residents who have emergencies outside of bankers’ hours, according to this government, are just out of luck. Coupled with our family doctor shortage, Ontarians are left with fewer and fewer options, and residents of Chesley are understandably angry.

Last month, hundreds of Chesley residents protested the ER’s extended closures, even organizing the petition that will be read into the record later today. The people of Chesley have had enough of this government’s inaction as the province’s health care crisis sweeps through their community.

Will the Premier drop his appeal of Bill 124, address the staffing crisis, adequately fund our hospitals, and keep emergency rooms open across Ontario?

The health care crisis in Chesley is not a one-off; it’s merely the tip of the iceberg. Unless this government changes course, it will happen again and again and again.

For the people in Chesley without a family doctor, who can’t drive half an hour when they’re having a heart attack and need emergency room access, what does the Premier recommend they do in a medical emergency?

My supplementary is also for the Premier. Since 2018, more Ontarians are lacking access to a family doctor, not fewer Ontarians. Like every other part of the province, the shortage of family doctors is having a profound impact on my own hometown, in Ottawa. Ottawa Public Health estimates that some 150,000 Ottawa residents don’t have access to primary care, and OPH admits that this number could be wildly underestimated.

The problem is only getting worse. In the first six months of the pandemic, twice as many family physicians stopped work completely compared to trends from the previous decade. In Orléans, several family doctors have announced that they are closing their practices later this spring. Some of these are very young doctors, Mr. Speaker. They’re not closing due to retirement; they’re closing because of the challenges within the health care system and the lack of support from this government. This is leaving potentially thousands more residents in the lurch without primary care.

A group of community leaders and not-for-profit groups are coming together to explore the creation of a community health centre for Orléans and for east Ottawa. Will the government support the creation of a new community health centre in east Ottawa to provide primary care to these residents?

It’s nice to finally be back. My question is for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, perhaps the most important priority any government should have is the health of the citizens that it represents, and a critical element of maintaining good health is regular access to your family doctor or other primary care professionals. Right now, here in Ontario, there are 2.2 million Ontarians without access to a family doctor. That’s almost 15% of the population, and it’s up from 1.8 million just a few years ago. Too many of our neighbours, parents and grandparents, fathers and mothers, don’t have access to primary care. Too many children don’t have access.

We’re hearing a lot of talk about big plans to reform the health system. What we haven’t heard is how this is going to help Ontarians access primary care. So what is the Premier’s government going to do to ensure that these 2.2 million Ontarians can access the important and often life-saving care from family doctors, nurse practitioners and other front-line health practitioners?

My question is for the Premier. Children’s hospitals across Ontario are facing unprecedented challenges. In Ottawa, CHEO is operating at 113% capacity, while its intensive care unit is at over 180%. CHEO is cancelling surgeries and converting that space for more intensive care need. There are shortages in the lack of children’s pain medications, which is forcing more and more parents to go to the emergency room to seek care for their kids. Under the watch of this government, CHEO has had to cancel appointments and surgeries because of this influx of patients and the lack of sufficient resources to deal with the surge.

They don’t have sufficient resources because of Bill 124. They don’t have sufficient resources because this government is fixated on election gimmicks instead of investing in our health care. The hospitals don’t have sufficient resources because this government doesn’t have their back.

Mr. Speaker, what is this government going to do today to fix the health care crisis in our hospitals, in particular our children’s hospitals?

Despite the level zero crisis we’re facing, neither the word “paramedic” nor the word “ambulance” is mentioned one time—not once—in the fall economic statement. The city of Ottawa is asking for $5 million to strategically position paramedics at hospitals across the city to help with offload delays. Will the government provide the city this funding to reduce level zero events and ensure an ambulance is there to respond to 911 calls?