Mr. Speaker, in 1960, North York residents came together to build a local hospital, supported by Friends of North York General Hospital, the IODE, Missionary Health Institute and volunteer services. Three thousand volunteers raised over $3 million dollars.
On March 15, 1968, an $8.6 million, 70-bed community hospital opened at the corner of Leslie and Sheppard. Fifty years later, North York General Hospital remains one of Canada's leading community academic hospitals. Its emergency department had over 100,000 visits in 2016-17.
I congratulate the North York General Hospital community for having made a world of difference since 1968.