Thank you to the member for the question.

It’s very interesting; every day, you’re all talk, talk, talk about more doctors and nurses, but every time you get up to vote, it’s no, no, no. Bill 60—every one of you voted last week against adding additional nurses, PSWs, doctors to the system.

This week, I was with the Minister of Health when we kicked off the announcement for the Learn and Stay grant—which will actually affect your community—through Cambrian College and through Laurentian University. We’ve already seen 1,300 students register for this program. It’s amazing to see the nurses.

You voted against Bill 60. But you have a chance today to stand up and vote for the budget, which will, again, include more doctors and nurses. So I ask you today to stand up and vote and support the budget, so we can see more health human resources added to the system.

We’re talking about health human resources, including adding more additional health human resources, more—

Interjection.

Today, we vote for budget 2023, and I hope that all members in this House stand and support adding additional health human resources—

Thank you to the member for that question. Having supports in the north is very important, and in underserved areas. That’s why, with the new Learn and Stay grant, we’ve seen those areas specifically identified not just for nursing, but for lab technologists, for paramedicine.

With the work that we’ve been doing to ensure that there are more doctors, this is the first time in 10 years that we’ve seen a seat expansion for doctors: 160 undergraduate spaces and 295 postgraduate spaces. This was not done under the Liberal government. It was this government that came in and said, “We need to ensure that people have access to doctors.”

I can tell you that in my own area, I’ve talked to families who are experiencing not having a local doctor, but accessing the work at some of our community care clinics through our local health teams and the resources and supports that are served there. So we do recognize the need for more doctors in the north, but also in rural and underserved areas across this province.

The status quo is not working. We need to do better for the people of Ontario. Before COVID, we were working hard, and COVID just expedited that as well, but the investments are being made. We’re here to support all Ontarians and ensure that you’re going to the doctor or a hospital and using your OHIP card and not a credit card.

I just have a note from my staff that says that as of 9 a.m. today, the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant website has had over 405,000 visits, so the word is getting out there. It’s to support northern and rural communities, the ones you’re talking about, that we’re encouraging students and paying for their education to get them to learn in those communities and make that commitment of staying for two years, because if you’re staying there for two years, you’re starting to set down roots. You are becoming familiar with the community and maybe meeting someone there and staying in that area.

But the supports that we’re giving to ensure that more nurses, paramedics, lab technologists—we’re also working with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine to ensure there are more doctors in the north as well, so that everyone has access to quality care.