Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I think “prioritize” is the right word.
If my colleagues indulge me, I just want to start by thanking Sonya for putting in the summary of the testimonies from the previous Parliament, specifically on the COVID-19 pandemic collateral effects on page 3. I want to highlight the paragraph, as this talks to the point of why this study should be prioritized—not necessarily the first one, but near the top. I'm quoting from page 3, paragraph number 4:
The committee heard that more needs to be done than simply addressing the backlog since the healthcare system has been stretched for years. Prior to the pandemic, Ontario was in need of an additional 20,000 nurses, according to Ms. Worsfold. Today, five million Canadians do not have access to a family doctor or primary care team, according to Dr. Collins. Furthermore, about two thirds of Ontario’s nurses reported in 2019 that their work environment was fair to poor and almost as many, 60%, were considering leaving their jobs, one quarter of whom intended to leave the nursing profession. Dr. Legault worried that those health-care workers who were taken out of their areas of specialty to deal with COVID-19 surges, such as surgical nurses, might not return.
This is just one aspect of the health care resources. They're in crisis. They were in crisis before, and they're going to be continuing the crisis.
I definitely support not only doing this study but prioritizing it. It's impacting our ability to be able to provide the health care support that's needed.