This question is for the Minister of Health. A good portion of the most vulnerable residents in Ottawa live in my riding, especially in the Vanier and Overbrook neighbourhoods, but access to primary health care is cruelly lacking.

The good news is that there are solutions. A group of nurse practitioners has submitted an efficient plan for a nurse practitioner-led clinic that would provide primary care to 10,000 residents. In order to make this a reality, however, they need this government to do their part and provide the necessary funding.

If the government is willing to pay $8.3 billion of taxpayer money to pave over the greenbelt that led to a criminal investigation, can the government find enough money to provide primary care to those in need? Unless this is not a priority for the government.

I’ll give the minister a chance to explain where the ministry is in the process of approving these critical projects so that Ontarians can have access to primary health care.

When the Ministry of Health put out a call for proposals, people started to hope. Several groups submitted proposals to create clinics to provide much-needed access to care. However, it’s been months and months of waiting, and none of them have yet been approved. In the meantime, this situation keeps getting worse. When will the minister start approving the proposals for primary care practitioners so that residents can get access to the primary care that they need now?