I thank the member for the question—but it’s very interesting about the language that’s used. In opposing this bill, as it seems the opposition intends to do, which I am saddened to hear, the language used is inappropriate.

What is happening, as I indicated, is close to $80 billion this year alone, record investments in public health care—health care that is accessed by our fellow citizens utilizing their OHIP card, not their credit card. And to protect Ontarians from extra billing, we’re expanding oversight and patient protections when it comes to Your Health. That is the key—publicly funded health care and guards against extra billing.

When it comes to Your Health, under Bill 60, we know that the status quo is no longer acceptable. We must build on the positive aspects of the system but go in a direction of innovation for other aspects. That is why we are taking this bold action to eliminate surgical backlogs and reduce wait times for publicly funded surgeries and procedures. The three-step plan that better integrates and uses community surgical and diagnostic centres and their state-of-the-art facilities to speed up how quickly people are able to get surgeries, using their health care card, will add 14,000 more OHIP-insured surgeries—cataract surgeries, in particular—each year and expand access to diagnostic imaging tests.

Yes, we both share Oshawa; north Oshawa is part of my riding of Durham—proudly representing that part of Durham and all of the Durham riding.

I don’t know who the member for Oshawa has been speaking to, because in my meetings in the community—most recently, earlier this week at Lakeridge Health Oshawa—we were applauded for the plan with Queen’s University to add many new medical seats. We have Queen’s University medical faculty students working right at Lakeridge Health. That’s expanding the number of doctors. They will stay in the community. That’s getting it done, in a very, very important way.

We’ve made the investment in Oak Ridges Hospice for end-of-life care, adding two new beds, and that has made a remarkable difference.

I’ve been hearing nothing but thanks and applause for our government’s plan—not just in a general way, with the nearly $80 billion in new investment this year alone, but the effect on the ground in Durham riding, including Oshawa. We’re being applauded for it. That’s what I’m hearing.

Then, beginning in 2018, and now again in our 2022 new mandate, record investments—and not just talking about it, but getting it done and actually seeing the results, with more nurses, with more PSWs, more home care, more doctors, and a bright future, to save and expand our publicly funded health care system. Our citizens are seeing it right in our community of Durham, and that’s the difference compared to what we saw before 2018.

We’re now increasing, like we’ve not seen in decades, the number of medical places across the province—including our plan at Lakeridge Health with Queen’s University, which I was proud to be part of the other day. with Minister Jones, Minister Bethlenfalvy and Minister Dunlop. We were there with Dr. Jane Philpott, a former Liberal member of Parliament, who proudly stood with us as we made this announcement for more family doctors in Durham.

I thank the member for Scarborough–Rouge Park for his thoughtful and careful remarks in regard to Bill 69. The Reducing Inefficiencies Act (Infrastructure Statute Law Amendments), 2023, is indeed, as the member’s thoughtful remarks indicate, about being fiscally prudent, saving taxpayer dollars, cutting red tape and practising good governance. The proposed legislation is indeed another step toward modernizing government process and oversight.

I want to ask the member, then, through you, Speaker: How is this government, with this proposed legislation, keeping the environment top of mind while reducing inefficiencies?

There are many redundancies in government left behind by the previous administration—much unnecessary overhead and burdens and hoops to jump through.

But there is plenty of oversight for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, and the Auditor General continues to have a very broad mandate for value-for-money audits.

What we’re doing is removing redundancies, removing duplication. That’s part of reducing red tape and regulation without compromising oversight. That’s the key to this bill.

Again, a little bit of a history lesson when we talk about minority governments and official opposition—yes, His Majesty’s loyal opposition, that’s the name for it for a reason. However, minority versus majority governments—when there is a budget bill, when there is a minority government, you can bring the government down. The NDP could have done that from 2011 to 2014 but did not do so. They aided and abetted the Liberal legacy.

There are a number of acts being amended or proposed to be amended by this bill.

The Courts of Justice Act—to remove the requirement of the Auditor General to audit the accounts and financial transactions of the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. Again, oversight is still there, but it’s removing duplication.

The Creditors’ Relief Act will include electronic formats, if those amendments are passed.

The Execution Act—for a principal residence exemption in forced sales. That amendment will be made if this act is passed.

Updating hearings before the hearing and appeal divisions under the Law Society Act—I covered that off in my speech, but that gives the chair the discretion to go to one-member tribunals instead of three, if appropriate.

Amending the Substitute Decisions Act, updating that—this would clarify that an attorney has the power to access personal information about an incapable person.

Updating the Trustee Act to facilitate investment of trust investments—and, of course, the amendment to The Hague Convention to allow proper enforcement of child support orders.

These are very important measures, and I urge all members of the House to support them.