Colleagues, this morning I’m very pleased to rise in this House to tell you about an historic day for Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound—the opening of the newly constructed Markdale Hospital. September 14 was a beautiful morning in Markdale—as most are—and it was so great to welcome the Premier and Minister of Health to our community.

The new Markdale Hospital is an absolutely stunning model for state-of-the-art health care. The rooms are spacious and beautifully equipped, the hallways are wide, the ceilings are high, and there is high-tech equipment everywhere.

Thank you, Premier, Minister of Health, and our PC team for your commitment to build new health care infrastructure all over Ontario.

Thank you, Centre Grey Health Services Foundation, Darlene Lamberti, Harvey Fraser, the board of directors, and especially our Markdale and Grey Highlands communities for your incredible support to the hospital.

Thank you, Bright Shores Health System, CEO Gary Sims, board chair Joanne Flewwelling, the management team and the entire board for your leadership in delivering this beautiful hospital.

Thank you, Bill Walker, our outstanding past MPP for Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound, for your determined efforts to make this project a reality

Thank you to the incredible team at Bird Construction for delivering this project on time, on budget.

Thank you, Mayor Paul McQueen, Deputy Mayor Dane Nielsen, and current and past members of council.

Colleagues, this is the future of health care in Ontario, and it was great to see it on that morning in Markdale.

Thank you so much to the member for that question. Madam Speaker, I am so grateful to talk about the investments in health care that I’m seeing and our community is seeing in Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound first-hand, beginning with the new Markdale hospital. In the fall of 2023, this hospital will open. It’s part of the Grey Bruce Health Services network of six hospitals—a brand new hospital on time, on budget, in Markdale. It will be great for our community and the whole region. But it’s beyond that.

Long-term-care centres: People Care just announced an opening of the long-term-care centre in Meaford—beautiful building. I was there to see it open first-hand.

Also in Owen Sound—a beautifully refurbished, Southbridge-operated long-term-care facility. It just opened, and I was there to see the residents were almost in tears at the beauty of their new home.

There are great health care services all over. I am so grateful to the health care workers in our community that are supporting these, but this is a government that has a long-term vision, opening these facilities for the future of our community.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.