When Premier Ford announced his government’s plans to privatize surgeries and diagnostics, he promised that Ontarians would never have to pay with their credit card, only their OHIP card. We knew the promises were empty words. When you open the door to profit, care takes a backseat. The reality is that more Ontarians are paying out of their pocket for health care services that are covered under OHIP.

Kate, a small business owner in Toronto, had to pay close to $8,000 for extra tests and eye surgery at a private clinic. She says, “At no time ever was I told that any of this was covered under OHIP. This was not a cosmetic procedure. This was a necessity. I could not function without it.”

Maureen from London was told she would have to wait years unless she paid out of pocket for her surgery. She paid $7,000. She says, “Being a senior on a fixed income, I am still trying to catch up with bills from this surgery.”

Mike’s wife was also told she would have to wait years for her surgery. Get this, when the clinic called to schedule the appointment, it turned out to be the same surgeon that did her first operation in the hospital four years earlier. He now had a private clinic. Mike says, “My wife got the surgery done at the for-profit clinic and it cost $3,000 more than when it was done at the hospital. We have one question: Who is supposed to protect us from such scams?”

The race to the bottom of health care continues under this Ford government. Care should be based on need, not on ability to pay.

Here are 10 outrageous things happening in our health care system under the Ford Conservative government:

(1) Some 2.2 million Ontarians are without primary care.

(2) Clinics charging an annual subscription fee simply to access primary care are growing.

(3) Hospitals are having to borrow money at high interest rates due to underfunding.

(4) Underfunding of hospitals has turned hallway health care into waiting room health care.

(5) Use of private agency nurses has exploded under this government’s watch, costing the system significantly more than hiring directly.

(6) Private clinics are renting space in public hospitals and being paid more for the same services, like cataract surgeries, leaving taxpayers with a higher bill.

(7) The Ontario government owes $6 billion in wages to the public sector, including health care workers, because their Bill 124 to cap wages was found unconstitutional.

(8) Over 280 emergency room closures in communities across Ontario due to underfunding, with people having to travel hours to access emergency care.

(9) Despite promises, still no coverage for take-home cancer treatments, leaving people to pay out of pocket if they don’t have private insurance.

(10) Pharmacists are being pressured by corporate offices at companies like Shoppers Drug Mart to do unnecessary medication reviews, which has cost the system as high as $1.4 million in one week.

Speaker, this government is delivering worse services at a higher cost, with questionable ethics. Are they so incompetent, or is this by design? Either way, Ontarians are getting a bad deal.

High-quality primary care is the foundation of a health care system. Primary care through family doctors is the first point of access and interaction with our health care system for the majority of people. Having access to primary care through a family doctor consistently leads to improved health outcomes. It prevents minor ailments from turning serious. It can prevent and manage chronic problems, as one of the main functions of primary care is disease prevention and health promotion. Through that it reduces the burden on hospitals, as it results in fewer emergency department visits and hospitalizations.

Having a family doctor also allows for follow-up care once a patient has been discharged from a hospital. Primary care is the first line of defence and we cannot underestimate how essential primary care is to ensuring that the rest of the health care system works.

Investing in primary care provides substantial savings to the province’s finances. Some 2.2 million Ontarians do not have a family doctor right now and according to the Ontario Medical Association, that is going to increase to 4.4 million people in just two years, of course unless significant action is taken.

What action can be taken? It’s not that hard to figure out. Family doctors will tell you exactly what needs to be done. Listen to the practitioners. There are several changes that need to be made. The NDP motion today is one step and it’s an important one, because it is a solution that results in help quickly while we also work on longer-term solutions.

The Ontario College of Family Physicians estimates almost half of a family doctor’s work week is taken up by paperwork. By providing the appropriate administrative supports, we can increase a doctor’s capacity for patient care. This is a simple solution. It frees up time for current doctors to take on more people as their patients, simply by hiring staff to take on the administrative portion of the doctor’s work.

We’re calling on the Conservatives to support this proposal that can and will make a difference in the lives of millions of Ontarians without a family doctor.

My question is to the Minister of Health. Some 2.2 million Ontarians don’t have a family doctor, and that number is going to double in two years. According to the Ontario Medical Association, Toronto alone is short 305 family doctors. As a result, we’re seeing private family clinics charging annual subscription fees for care pop up across Ontario under this minister’s watch.

My question is, what should Ontarians in need of a family doctor but who cannot afford to pay out of pocket do?

The Conservatives will have an opportunity today to vote on an NDP motion which proposes a practical solution that will address the problem by freeing up time for family doctors to take on more patients. It is a solution proposed by doctors themselves.

Will you support this plan so we can close the gap for people in Ontario who desperately need a family doctor now?

Minden’s local hospital closed on June 1 due to a staffing shortage and despite overwhelming opposition from the local community. Minden is far from alone. Lanark county, Guelph, Hamilton, Perth, Grand River, Windsor, Alexandria, Wingham, Thessalon, Kemptville, Seaforth, Ottawa, Bowmanville, Clinton, Orangeville, Carleton Place, Essex county, Kingston, Waterloo, Credit Valley, Smiths Falls, London, Chesley, Fort Erie, Port Colborne—all communities that have seen either no ambulances available or the closure of hospital services in the last year due to staffing shortages.

The staffing crisis continues in our health care system, and the government still refuses to repeal Bill 124 that suppresses the wages of health care workers. At the same time, staffing agencies like Canadian Health Labs are convincing hundreds of health care workers to leave their workplaces by offering them double the salaries they normally earn. The company made $154 million from just 500 nurses and PSWs they hired out of our public health systems. Their plan is to hire as many as 5,000 people. These agencies take health care workers out from the public system and sell them back at huge profits.

This is the systemic destruction of our public health care system, and we the public end up paying way more for declining services. I can only think this is happening due to the Conservative agenda to undermine the public health care system, because no one can be so incompetent to not see the damage these policies are creating.

My question is to the Premier. Premier, Grace is 13 years old. She was told last March that the only treatment option for her severe scoliosis is surgery. After 14 months of waiting, she still hasn’t even received a surgery date. Grace has 76% curvature to her spine and it’s getting worse. Her father, Andrew, is in the gallery today. After being told by the surgical board at SickKids that he should contact the Ministry of Health, the ministry told Andrew to contact me.

When is this Conservative government going to take responsibility for the suffering that children like Grace are enduring because of surgical backlogs?

Interjections.

What will the Premier do to make sure that young people like Grace, for whom this age is so formative, do not have to wait indefinitely to live their lives free of pain, stress and isolation?

Further debate?

All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”

All those opposed to the motion will please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the nays have it.

Call in the members. There will be a 10-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1453 to 1503.

MPP Stiles has moved opposition day number 1.

All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Motion negatived.

Resuming the debate adjourned on February 23, 2023, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 60, An Act to amend and enact various Acts with respect to the health system / Projet de loi 60, Loi visant à modifier et à édicter diverses lois en ce qui concerne le système de santé.

It’s now time for questions and responses from the speech by Ms. Bell.

A quick question and response, the government side?

Further debate?

Further debate?

Further debate?

Further debate?

Further debate?

This petition is titled “Repeal, Don’t Appeal: Save Our Public Health Care.” It reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the nursing shortage across Ontario has doubled in the past five years to push our public health care system to collapse;

“Whereas public health care is a human right that must be available to all Ontarians when they need it;

“Whereas Bill 124 has capped the wages of public sector workers, including nurses, to a 1% increase per year, which once adjusted to the current inflation rate of above 8% in 2022, represents a pay cut of 7%;

“Whereas the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that Bill 124 substantially interfered with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, declaring the law to be void and of no effect;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to respect the court decision and immediately repeal the wage-suppressing Bill 124 as part of the solution to save Ontario public health care.”

I fully support this petition and will affix my signature to it.

This petition is titled, “Health Care: Not For Sale.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontarians should get health care based on need—not the size of your wallet;

“Whereas Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones say they’re planning to privatize parts of health care;

“Whereas privatization will bleed nurses, doctors and PSWs out of our public hospitals, making the health care crisis worse;

“Whereas privatization always ends with patients getting a bill;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately stop all plans to further privatize Ontario’s health care system, and fix the crisis in health care by:

“—repealing Bill 124 and recruiting, retaining and respecting doctors, nurses and PSWs with better pay and better working conditions;

“—licensing tens of thousands of internationally educated nurses and other health care professionals already in Ontario, who wait years and pay thousands to have their credentials certified;

“—10 employer-paid sick days;

“—making education and training free or low-cost for nurses, doctors and other health care professionals;

“—incentivizing doctors and nurses to choose to live and work in northern Ontario;

“—funding hospitals to have enough nurses on every shift, on every ward.”

I support this petition and will affix my signature to it.

This petition is titled “Stop” the “Health Care Privatization Plan.” It reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontarians should get health care based on need—not the size of your wallet;

“Whereas” the Conservative government “say they’re planning to privatize parts of health care;

“Whereas privatization will bleed nurses, doctors and PSWs out of our public hospitals, making the health care crisis worse;

“Whereas privatization always ends with patients getting a bill;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately stop all plans to further privatize Ontario’s health care system, and fix the crisis in health care by:

“—repealing Bill 124 and recruiting, retaining and respecting doctors, nurses and PSWs with better pay and better working conditions;

“—licensing tens of thousands of internationally educated nurses and other health care professionals already in Ontario, who wait years and pay thousands to have their credentials certified;

“—making education and training free or low-cost for nurses, doctors and other health care professionals;

“—incentivizing doctors and nurses to choose to live and work in northern Ontario;

“—funding hospitals to have enough nurses on every shift, on every ward.”

I thank the signatories of this petition, and I’m glad to support it.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and woefully inadequate to cover the basic costs of food and rent;

“Whereas individuals on the Ontario Works program receive just $733 per month and individuals on the Ontario Disability Support Program receive just $1,169 per month, only 41% and 65% of the poverty line;

“Whereas the Ontario government has not increased social assistance rates” meaningfully “since 2018, and Canada’s inflation rate in January 2022 was 5.1%, the highest rate in 30 years;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized through the CERB program that a ‘basic income’ of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned ... petition the Legislative Assembly to increase social assistance rates to a base of $2,000 per month for those on Ontario Works, and to increase other programs accordingly.”

I fully support this petition and will affix my signature to it.

My question is to the Minister of Health. The Ministry of Health acknowledged in a memo this week that Ontario is facing a difficult and complex respiratory illness season. The government’s solution to this? They’re asking family doctors to do more.

The minister should know that the health care crisis includes a shortage of doctors. There just aren’t enough primary care physicians. More than one million Ontarians today don’t have a family doctor, and that is projected to rise to three million, or one in five, by 2025.

What is the government’s plan to address the doctor shortage?

The shortage of family doctors in this province is literally a situation of life or death.

How much longer will Jacqueline and Donald have to wait?