Thank you for the question.
I would certainly echo what Ms. Black has said, and I would add to that two things. First, at the beginning of this pandemic, we saw just how important and intrinsically related the caring economy and our health care system are to the vibrancy of our economy writ large. In Ontario, we had to basically shut the economy down very early in the pandemic due to capacity constraints within our health care system, but we also saw the government move very quickly on certain health initiatives, such as the immunization campaign in which we saw various health professionals allying and bringing together public health messaging and campaigns to boost Ontario's vaccination rates to some of the best nationwide, so I think we saw how effectively we can work as well.
There are two components to this. First, there is the funding component, and I think the pandemic has underscored just how strained some of the funding equations are for the health care system here in Ontario, so we are calling for a jump of the provincial health care spending from 22% to 35% when it comes to the transfer payment.
The second part of that, which touches on your question as well, I believe, is how that money gets spent. What are the systemic reforms that are going to be needed to deliver a health care system that matches the economy and the needs of society today? I think that is the bigger, trickier question that is probably beyond the scope of today's meeting, but obviously it is one that needs to be explored in earnest when we talk about the types of reforms and changes we need to bolster our health care system's capacity.