Yes, Yak-tastic, as my colleague said. Also, I have to share that that access to underserviced communities is going to be incredibly well received, from Sturgeon Falls to Markdale, which is represented by our amazing member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound.

We have also announced that we are investing up to $14.7 million in the creation of veterinary medicine seats, which will result in 20 additional veterinarians graduating each year. All of these actions, together with the proposed Enhancing Professional Care for Animals Act, will help us to care for our animals, whether they be pets, service animals or livestock.

At the end of the day, this is making sure that people who choose to be pet owners or people who proudly farm and have livestock that they care for have the supports needed, because animals play such an important role. We’ve got a 75-pound lap dog. I don’t know how that happened; my husband will blame me. But we would do anything for her. And even, begrudgingly, my husband would do anything for our barn cats. Our livestock, our purebred Boer goats matter as well, because we are raising our goats in spirit of having the very best genetics in the province of Ontario that other people can benefit from. Those six goats that we kept are working very hard to make sure that we are coming back and increasing our herd in rapid style, much to our chagrin in some cases. We like twins. We’re good with twins, but these triplets and quads blow my mind. I’m always busy on the weekends when I get home to be hands-on.

I also want to share that we’re sincere in the manner in which we are coming forward with this piece of legislation. Bill 171 represents a cumulative effort to make sure we’re getting it right in the spirit of modernization. Getting it right means that there needs to be compromise and that there needs to be the opportunity to understand the importance of working together in the spirit of making sure that, together, in the spirit of a team, we are enabling Ontarians to access the care that they choose, when and where they need it.

Again, our government is getting it done. When you combine the modernization of the Veterinarians Act with the proposed legislation that we’re talking about today, with the fact that we’ve made a significant investment—up to $50,000 over five years—to incent veterinarians to go into practice to care for large animals, particularly in northern and rural remote areas that are underserviced, and you combine that with the additional 20 seats that MCU has worked with finance and OMAFRA on, our government is taking bold steps that haven’t been taken for decades.

Again, this legislation hasn’t been looked at for 35 years, and we need to modernize. I think about our veterinarian at home, Clayton. When I reached out to him to get his perspective on this legislation that we’re bringing forward, he was excited. He said, “I don’t think many veterinarians in this county have had a Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs reach out to see how they felt about a piece of legislation.” That’s the difference between our government and governments of the past. We care enough to take the time to listen.

With that, I look forward to passing the floor over to my esteemed colleague from Chatham-Kent–Leamington. I hope you’ll listen to what he has to share, because he has played a pivotal role in the process of bringing this legislation to the floor.

Thank you to the member opposite. She represents Carleton so well, and I’ve seen first-hand how well she connects with her farming communities. I thank her for that.

We’re connecting with our pet owners and farming communities as well at the ministry. By introducing the Enhancing Professional Care for Animals Act, we’re moving forward with five key deliverables. First and foremost, we’re formalizing the scope of practice for veterinary technicians so that they can assist their veterinarians with the services that are being asked for in their clinics. We’re also allowing the regulatory college to set requirements for continuing education that will be similar to other regulated professionals. In addition to that, we’re streamlining the complaints resolution process so that people who have issues with vets will have their voices heard, but more importantly, if necessary, the vets will be cleared quickly. We’re going to increase penalties for bad actors. We’re going to ensure there’s greater public transparency and representation on the council. But most importantly, this legislation is reflecting what we’ve heard from over 300 stakeholders contributing.

In addition to that, we’re working with the Minister of Colleges and Universities to expand veterinary seats. This is something that has been badly needed.

And in addition to that, I’m very pleased to say, in response to the need for large animal veterinarians, we’ve introduced an incentive program that will encourage recently graduated veterinarians to work in remote and northern communities, where it’s needed.