Friday, December 5, 2025

Ms. Brittany McMillan

Hi, everyone. My name is Brittany McMillan. I am the executive director of the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, also known as KSAC for the rest of the presentation. KSAC serves Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton and Northumberland, covering a large, diverse region of rural, urban and remote communities. We provide counselling, crisis support, advocacy, prevention education and specialized support for survivors of sexual violence, including those impacted by sex trafficking. We do all of this on just under $400,000 in provincial core funding. Canadian data shows that sexual violence is both widespread and deeply under-reported. Approximately one in three women will experience sexual violence in her lifetime. Research also shows that transgender and non-binary people experience significantly higher rates than cisgender people. Men experience sexual violence as well, though at lower rates. Across our region, this translates into tens of thousands of people who will need sexual assault services at some point in their lives. The reality of living with that risk is something that many women carry every single day. Recently, I bought a new vehicle, and my brother-in-law, who was also my salesperson, handed me my new key fob. I literally just stared at it. I was like, “What the heck is this, Terry?” I couldn’t focus on the features of the orientation of the car or anything like that because I had to actually ask him, “Where is my actual key?” For me, that key has always been my safety clutch. It’s the thing I hold when I walk across a parking lot. I remember thinking, “How did we get here? How is it that women, including someone who leads a sexual assault centre, are still carrying this level of fear in our everyday lives?” The truth is, the real danger is usually not a stranger in the dark, waiting at our cars. It is someone who we know and who we trust. There is growing discussion in Ontario right now about recognizing intimate partner violence as endemic. What we see on the front lines reflects exactly that. Sexual violence within intimate partner relationships is rising, and more survivors are reporting assaults involving high levels of violence, including strangulation. Strangulation increases the risk of homicide by 750%. This is a public safety issue, a health issue and an economic issue, and one that requires stable, long-term investments. Sexual assault centres are specialist services. We are not general counselling programs. Our staff are trained specifically in trauma, sexual violence and risk assessment, and we provide support that reflects the real-world dynamics that survivors face. Survivors consistently report that specialist sexual violence services meet their needs far more effectively than general counselling. If Ontario wants survivors to be supported safely and effectively, then sexual assault centres must be funded as the expert services that we are. With that context, three realities stand out in our region, each with solutions aligned with Ontario’s priorities of public safety, value for money, community stability and supporting children and families. First is access and equity. Our region is large, and the need is significant. We have nearly 100 people on our counselling wait-list in Peterborough alone, not including those in Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton and Northumberland. There is also no free, long-term, community-based sexual violence counselling for survivors under the age of 16, even as disclosures from children and youth are increasing. Early intervention is one of the most effective ways to reduce long-term trauma and system cost, yet it is not available to young people. When people call us to ask if we have services for their children and we have to turn them away, it’s heartbreaking. Second is public safety and health. We are seeing more sexual violence within intimate partner violence, more strangulation and a sharp increase in sex trafficking involving children and youth. These cases are complex and require specialized intervention. Without timely supports, survivors face higher risks of PTSD, housing instability, emergency room use, school disengagement and crisis involvement. Third is prevention and culture change. We still teach girls to keep themselves safe while the programs that actually shift behaviour, like consent, emotional regulation and healthy masculinity, remain underfunded or completely unavailable. These are often missing for boys and young men. Prevention works, but it requires long-term investment. Sexual assault centres also deliver this work, but without stable funding we cannot reach the scale needed to make communities safer. When we look at the whole picture, there’s a clear mismatch between where survivors seek help and where provincial dollars are going. Only a small percentage of sexual assaults are ever reported to police and even fewer result in charges or convictions, yet most provincial investments sit within policing and victim services. Those services matter, but they only serve the minority who enter the justice system. Most survivors seek support outside the justice system, and they come to us. Strengthening sexual assault centres is one of the most efficient and upstream investments Ontario can make. When survivors receive support early, it reduces pressures on hospitals, policing, emergency mental health services and the courts. This is not about taking funding away from anywhere; it’s about ensuring the full continuum of support is resourced so survivors can access the help that they need.

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

One minute.

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

To meet the needs across our region, we are asking for two key investments from our provincial government: For our centre alone, we would need $3.2 million in annual core funding to provide equitable access across all four of our catchment areas, and $1 million to launch community-based sexual violence supports for children and youth under 16. These investments support Ontario’s goals of improving public safety, supporting children and families, strengthening communities, reducing downstream costs and investing in specialist services already proven to work. We are ready to deliver, and we just need your partnership. Thank you for your time.

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

Thank you very much for the presentation. We will now hear from Peterborough county.

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

Thank you, MPP Hardeman. It’s a pleasure to see PA Saunderson again. Only in God’s country, as our own MPP would say. I mentioned that at Queen’s Park yesterday. I’m going to speak about a few topics: infrastructure funding; the courthouse acquisition, which is owned—

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

Warden, could you give us your name before you start?

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

Oh, I’m sorry. Thank you. I am Warden Bonnie Clark of Peterborough county.

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

Thank you.

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

I’m going to talk about a few subjects: infrastructure funding, of course; the courthouse acquisition; our community paramedics; and, of course, Peterborough regional hospital, which was ahead of us on the panel—

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Failure of sound system.

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

I’m hearing my own voice. As per the Ministry of Finance projections, the Peterborough—

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Failure of sound system.

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

Yeah. Well, we say if we echo it three or four times, yes, the message will be received. As per the Ministry of Finance projections, the Peterborough CMA is estimated to grow between 20% and 35% from 2024 to 2051. We have engaged the services of Watson to update our growth management plan, and it projects our population in the county to grow to 90,000 by 2051. In addition, the county has over 5,400 housing units in development approval at this time. While we do appreciate, of course, the HEWSF funding that we’ve received in both municipalities of Cavan Monaghan and Havelock-Belmont-Methuen—and thank you, MPP Smith, for that—the additional 5,400 units are in jeopardy if urgent funding isn’t approved in Asphodel-Norwood, specifically, and Selwyn, around the water and waste water infrastructure. Targeted investment is critical and is needed. Additionally, this growth has identified a need for a second crossing near Lakefield. This will be a multi-million-dollar project which will require both provincial and federal partner investment. We have implemented in the county a dedicated infrastructure capital—a levy of 2.5% each year—and we’ve done that since 2018. We have identified the gap, which, when we started, was $75 million. It is now at $35 million. That’s just showing you that we have skin in the game here, but we do need partners. Provincial and federal government input is needed, and we do recognize that the feds have been absent from the table. As chair of the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, when we did have Parliament Hill days, we certainly were specific about that. All partners are needed. I’ll move on to my second topic, the courthouse acquisition, which MPP Smith is certainly familiar about. We do chat frequently about this. The Ministry of the Solicitor General leases the majority of the county courthouse at 470 Water Street in Peterborough, which is owned by the county. But it is a purpose-built courthouse, built in the mid-1800s. The Superior and Family Courts are operated from this building. Since 2018, the county has been working with Infrastructure Ontario to facilitate the purchase of this property in the core of downtown Peterborough for courts’ use only. Most recently, increases in court security requirements have conflicted with the administrative use of the county of Peterborough, and in order to facilitate the needs of the courts, total ownership of the building is required. As such, the county has already secured a property for the construction of a county administrative building in the county. The county is seeking confirmation that this purchase of the courthouse building at 470 Water Street, Peterborough, is included in the 2026 budget—and I will look over, hopingly. I will move on to community paramedics. As you’re aware, the impact of community paramedics and the services they provide to assist keeping people out of the emergency department and assist people in aging at home has been enormous, and we thank the province for making the community paramedics’ funding under the Ministry of Long-Term Care permanent. We urge the province to do the same for the CP funding under the Ministry of Health. We have done statistics, and 6% to 11% of the emergency visits have been avoided due to that impact of care in the community. This will allow us to secure sustained funding and offer permanent staffing positions, which will offer a greater certainty to staff and the programming itself. There was a question around housing and there are two things that I do want to speak up about Peterborough and Peterborough county. It’s the fact that we are now demographically the oldest community in the province, and we do know that homelessness is increasing with seniors; that is the highest demographic around homelessness. So that is why this is so badly needed.

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

One minute.

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

Thank you. And just in support of Peterborough regional’s hybrid—I’m a retired OR nurse. I spent 28 years, actually, working here at the regional hospital, and we are in full support of, certainly, the $10 million and asking for that for the hybrid OR. It is certainly critical that, with our senior demographics here, we are able to put the ports in that deliver both the chemotherapy and dialysis and not have our seniors to travel outside the community. Of the 600,000 people that it does serve, 30% are from our area. Thank you.

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

Thank you very much for the presentation. We now will go to the City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team.

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Dr. Ruth Wilson

Good morning, members of the committee. Thank you very much for having us. I’m Dr. Ruth Wilson. I’m a family physician in Lindsay and president of the City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team. With me this morning is Mike Perry, our team’s executive director. We’re very pleased to be here today, both of us, and want to thank you for this opportunity to speak with you. I want to start with what’s working. As you know, the government of Ontario has made historic investments in primary care: $2.1 billion to add 305 new teams and $142 million for workforce retention. These are unprecedented commitments that show real leadership. The goal of getting two million more Ontarians a family doctor by 2029 is both bold and achievable, but those initial investments are only a start. I need to be direct with you: Without continued urgent action in this budget cycle, we risk building a second story on a foundation that’s crumbling beneath our feet. We need to strengthen the foundation. Let me tell you what that looks like next door in the city of Kawartha Lakes, where our family health team operates and where I practise medicine. We serve some 29,000 Ontarians, nearly 38% of everyone attached to primary care in our region. In our region, it’s reported that 11,300 people do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner. More than 35% of primary care visits come from unattached patients who are cycling through walk-in clinics and emergency departments because they have nowhere else to go. That is extremely draining on the system and very, very expensive. I was just at the walk-in clinic last night in our community, the after-hours clinic, and I see evidence of this every time I work in the walk-in clinic: 35% of those patients don’t have anywhere else to go except the emergency department. I also practise obstetrics, and often when I take care of babies in the hospital, we discharge them and they have no primary care provider. It’s distressing, honestly. Our team includes family physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, dietitians, mental health professionals and pharmacists—the kind of interdisciplinary care that keeps people healthy and away from the emergency department, out of the hospital and connected to their community. This model works. When it’s properly resourced, team-based care delivers better outcomes at lower cost. Patients with complex needs get coordinated support. Chronic diseases are managed proactively. Emergency visits drop significantly. Families stay healthier. But here’s the crisis: We can’t staff the teams we have, let alone expand to serve more people. Across Ontario, vacancy and turnover rates in primary care teams have reached 40% annually. Other health sectors, like hospitals and community organizations, pay 15% to 30% more for the same roles. Our nurses, social workers and allied health professionals are leaving for better pay elsewhere in the system. The government has committed funding for retention; however, as of October, only 19% has been released. That means family health teams hemorrhage staff while waiting for money that has already been budgeted. We can’t make comparable firm offers to new hires, we can’t implement retention strategies, and every position that stays vacant is a direct constraint on how many patients we can treat and serve. When teams shrink, doctors and nurse practitioners have to reduce their scope of practice. They spend more time on administrative tasks. They see fewer patients. The capacity the government is counting on to take on that two-million patient goal starts to evaporate. I’ll just hand it over to Mike Perry.

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Mr. Mike Perry

Thank you, members. I’m Mike Perry, the executive director of the City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team. Again, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I’ll be brief and direct in terms of—we wouldn’t want to come and make a presentation to the finance committee without offering some solutions. In the time remaining, I’ll offer two tacks that could bring us to straightforward solutions on how to address the issues that Dr. Wilson has raised around family health care, family health care teams and how to strengthen that foundation. The first would be an immediate release of the $115 million in committed workforce funding. That’s money that has already been allocated and no new appropriation is required. We’d like to ask all of you as members of provincial Parliament and as the members of this committee to get that money into our hands across the province in family health teams so we can stabilize the health care workforce as it is before the next wave of expansion begins. The second is a request globally—not simply for our family health team in Kawartha Lakes—for a commitment in this budget of $430 million over five years to bridge the structural compensation gap. The 2025 funding provided only a 2.7% pay increase after six years of working as health care professionals in a collaborative primary health care setting. We’re unable to compete with the 15% to 30% gap in family health team health professional salaries and those at hospitals and other service providers. With that, Chair, I’d like to simply conclude, putting those urgent requests forward for consideration and inclusion in the upcoming budget but also end with room for hope, because there is room for hope. Dr. Wilson referenced the $2.1 billion in funding. Ontario is closer than ever to be able to build that strong, equitable and high-performing primary care system.

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

One minute.

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Mr. Mike Perry

We often hear about $430 billion, for example, being a big number. But together, these savings in emergency room visits, in hospital care can save an estimated $1.2 billion—not short-term but, as we’ve heard so long before, investing in the long term. I want to thank the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario for all the work that they do. Know that we at the City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team are ready; we are in the process of attaching patients to health care providers. All of us in this room need health care. We have families who need health care, primary health care, a foundation to stand on. So please, won’t you come and be a part of this? Join us in being able to provide the health care that all of us need. Thank you for your time this morning.

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

Thank you very much for the presentation. That concludes the presentations. We’ll start the first round of questions. MPP Cerjanec.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Thank you, Chair, and through you: Brittany, thanks for your presentation today. I’m wondering, how much funding does your organization receive from the province right now?

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

From the province, we receive $389,000 of core funding, and then we get an additional $64,000 of human trafficking funding.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Okay. What does your annual budget look like?

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

We’re at about a million right now.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Sorry? You’re at—

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

About a million, but those are all piecemealed together through other funding sources.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Yes. Right now, I think you mentioned you have over a hundred people on counselling wait-lists just in Peterborough alone, not counting other places. I remember—I think it was maybe a couple of years ago—there was some federal funding that was flowed through the province, that was administered by the province. There were calls for proposals, I believe, around intimate partner violence work. Did your organization receive any of that funding?

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

We did receive a little increase during that time in our core funding, but it wasn’t during the call for proposals. It was just a small increase, but before that, there was no increase since the 1990s.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Okay. Have you folks been approached by other organizations to support intimate partner violence work?

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

Yes. We do a lot of collaborative work with the YWCA locally. I also sit on the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres as the board chair. So, we’re doing a lot of collaborative work across Ontario’s sexual assault centres. But when it comes down to core funding pieces, no, we haven’t sustained—other than from Trent University and Fleming College, who provide us with annual core funding, we don’t have any others from other orgs.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

The reason why I’m asking that is, my understanding: There was some kind of more one-time funding from the federal government that went to the province that then the province administered through a call for proposals. What was a little shocking to me in speaking to some organizations is there are organizations that are doing that work that didn’t receive that funding. And then there were other organizations that weren’t directly involved in intimate partner violence work but maybe a little bit more on the periphery that then did receive that funding, and those organizations then went to organizations that did not receive that funding and asked them for their help and partnership in delivering those programs. It felt a little backwards to me when I learned that. When you’re the experts in dealing with that work, my view is that you should be receiving that funding directly and then working with other organizations so that you’re developing those partnerships, as opposed to the other way around. I was a little shocked to hear that. So you’re asking, specifically for the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, I think $3.2 million in annual core funding?

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

My goal is also to advocate for the other SACs across Ontario as well.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Of course.

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

But I like that you brought that up, because we find that when any call for proposal about IPV comes up, we’re getting calls from partners that haven’t wanted to partner with us in the past, so it does seem backwards. We’re trying to operate core funding-wise and often don’t have the capacity to start a new project without the core funding. So yes, that’s what our centre would need to be able to support all four of our catchment areas, and then other SACs would be in a similar position and needing that much of an increase.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Okay. If you were able to receive maybe your full core funding ask, or at least significantly more than the 10% of which you’re receiving from the province right now, what would that impact be?

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

We wouldn’t have a wait-list in Peterborough, definitely. We’d be able to retain highly qualified staff. Right now, if my staff come to me and say, “I got into my masters,” We’re, “Oh, good,” knowing that we’re going to lose them—congratulations. And this is really expert work.

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

One minute.

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

We can’t have new grads coming in; we need specialized therapists and counsellors. And then we’d really solidify the prevention education across our areas, specifically towards boys and young men.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

You would probably then be able to do a bit more, not just advocacy work but ensuring that folks in the community know you’re there so you can support more individuals, because I think you mentioned quite a large number of these cases are unreported.

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

Yes.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

I think we’ve really got to change something in this province because it’s very worrying, and the conversations that I think we’re having are very concerning to me. I just want to thank you very much for the work that you’re doing, and I really do hope that you’ll be able to receive more from this provincial government.

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

Perfect. Thank you so much.

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

Thank you very much. MPP Brady.

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Ms. Bobbi Ann Brady

Thank you all for your presentations. I’ll start with Dr. Wilson and Mike. The $115 million, the release of those monies—that is the second time in our pre-budget consultations in two days that we have heard that, so thank you for that. You spoke about—I guess you’re more optimistic than I am—reaching that goal of attaching Ontarians to primary care. Especially when you use words like, “We are haemorrhaging staff,” and “We cannot make doctors overnight; we can’t make health care workers overnight,” I’m wondering what practical steps we can take to try and fill some of those gaps. I spoke in the last round with OMA at the table. I spoke about retiring docs and the fact that they carry very large rosters, and the doctors replacing them at this point in time do not carry those large rosters. How do we fix that gap, and could we start expanding the scope of nurse practitioners and perhaps give them the ability to bill OHIP? There’s a lot there to unpack, sorry.

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Dr. Ruth Wilson

Thanks for that. I’ll let Mike speak as well. Yes, there’s a lot to unpack there. Yes, this is a long-term goal, a long-term investment, and some of these investments now are going to take some time to pay off, but I really think we have to be bold. We have to act before things get worse. The investments in primary care teams are going to both help recruit new doctors to areas like ours and across the province, but they will also help retain the doctors we already have. In our community, there have been a number of physicians retiring. We went from 28 physicians as part of our family health team when I started 15 years ago now to 17. So having strong teams around them will actually help retain them longer. I think care is more complex, so having interdisciplinary health providers involved to help provide that care—building that care around the patient—will help, as will advocating for increased administrative support for physicians and nurse practitioners and building solutions in terms of IT and so on to make the system more streamlined. Obviously, there’s a lot to unpack here. I could go on, but I don’t know if Mike has anything to add.

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Mr. Mike Perry

Just very briefly on that: As we had mentioned, stabilization here is the key at this stage to build that foundation. We all want people to access primary care. That’s where we first should go, all of us, with our health care needs, and so when teams have—

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

Thank you very much. That concludes that question. MPP Smith.

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Mr. Dave Smith

Thanks Chair, I appreciate that. I want to thank everyone for coming out today. Obviously, I have good working relationships with all of you on various things. I’m going to start with you, Brittany. Our region, at one point, had the fourth-highest rate of sexually trafficked young women in the country. The average age of someone sexually trafficked is 12. You can only help with someone who is 16 or older at present. What do we need to do to change that so that you can help those individuals in our community that are being sexually trafficked at 12?

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

That’s a great question. Right now, we’re one of the chairs of the human trafficking response team here in Peterborough. We’re seeing hugely alarming rates: 11 to 14-year-olds, grooming and luring, things like that. Really, we need the investment for just our core funding, what we’re mandated currently to do, and then in addition to that we need specific funding for people under the age of 16 who are the most vulnerable, specifically, to trafficking. Right now, we can provide a little bit of support in coordinating services for them. We can’t offer counselling support, which is what they need to be able to live healthy lives in the future, and prevention education is huge in that area, too, that we need.

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Mr. Dave Smith

So, obviously, we have a similar good working relationship. We’ve met a number of times. We’ve had lots of great conversations. So I’m in a spot where I’m simultaneously trying to advocate for my community, but I’m also trying to draw some bigger province-wide things because that’s really what this committee is supposed to be doing. If I were to take it from just your organization and look at it province-wide, I know that there is a lot of funding that goes into police services on victim support, and I know that there is a gap right now in information for organizations like yours. What can the province do, then, to better promote the services that you do, so that those who don’t feel comfortable going to the police to report it—and we know that’s a very low percentage. How do we do things, then, to get the word out about the type of work that you do so that those who have experienced this type of horrific act know that they have someone who is supportive, that they can get to? Ms. Brittany McMillan: I think that’s really coming with the conversations happening around epidemic versus endemic, and so showing solidarity for survivors, I think for so long, especially sexual assaults have been silenced. We don’t want to hear about it, right? So it’s really just giving opportunity for voices to be heard, like mine today, and standing by a commitment financially really shows that we’re able to support survivors and meet them where they’re at. If we look at it statistically, about 6% go to police. We work really hard to continue to advocate for those services with survivors and with police and OPP, but we’re looking at the 90% plus. I think it’s really having Ontario stand by us and say, “We’re investing in that.” Sexual violence often gets overlooked in intimate partner violence, but it’s one of the most prominent types of violence against women. I think it’s really realizing it’s still happening and it’s happening at alarming rates, and it continues to be that way. That’s why I think the term “endemic” is smart in that capacity of how we can’t keep sitting quiet over this. We’ve got to do something. I have a new baby niece, and I think every day, I hope to have a world that’s a lot safer for her. I’ve raised two boys, and I hope that I’m raising them to be respectful young men.

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Mr. Dave Smith

One of the things that you had mentioned in your presentation was healthy masculinity. We’ve heard a lot about toxic masculinity. We’ve heard, as members of the provincial Parliament, that masculinity is one of the challenges, so I was happy hear you talk about healthy masculinity. What do you think we should be doing to promote that? Where do we promote that? How do we do it?

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

One minute.

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

Yes. I have a big grant proposal put into the OTF right now around that, but I think it’s in the male-dominated world. We do a lot with minor hockey, but we don’t do enough. Minor hockey is just one example of masculinity places that we can work on, and we’re really hopeful to do more. We were doing some with police foundations, but we just don’t have the capacity to keep people full-time, to keep those things going. I think that’s really where it starts. It starts at really young ages, and it starts in rooms where we open up the conversation to consent in really healthy, age-appropriate ways so that boys are growing up knowing that that’s good. We have this “man box” we do, and quite often, even the Peterborough Petes do this workshop—

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

Thank you very much. We’ll now go to the official opposition. MPP French.

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Ms. Jennifer K. French

I appreciate all of your presentations and your voices, and I wish we had so much more time, because there’s so much that you didn’t fit into your presentations—and couldn’t. So again, thank you very much for the work that you do. Brittany, I’ll start with you. I’m not trying to be snarky here, but have you been given a reason, or is there a measure that you need to provide, when working with the government, for why supports for sexual assault survivors under 16 are not funded or cannot yet be funded? Is there something structural in the way, or is there paperwork in the way? It doesn’t make sense to anyone sitting in this room, obviously. So what’s in the way?

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

Yes. I don’t know that I can answer that. I’ve advocated time and time again. We’re through MCCSS funding, and really, the answer I get back is, “Well, this is the mandate. This is the clientele you are to serve.” When we did get public safety through the federal government, we did open it up to the younger age demographic just to support them but not providing the supports that they need. But I don’t think we’ve gotten a clear answer. I think that it comes a little bit to a place of privilege, when we think of families that can probably pay for counselling. Some kids are probably being served privately. But again, we’re the experts in this stuff, so we want to be the ones that actually can do that.

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Ms. Jennifer K. French

Well, politically speaking, I don’t know the Premier personally, but I feel like this is something that I can imagine his response or reaction to. So I’m just wondering—I don’t think it’s the political in the way. If there’s something that we can problem solve, all of us would be wanting to engage in that work. Thank you. Bonnie, you were talking about—and I’m wording it this way—kind of a senior-centred approach. I come from the Durham region, but all of us are seeing it more and more in our communities that seniors are really struggling and are in need, whether it’s with housing supports or whatnot. But if you could, give us a couple of reasons why that senior-centred approach matters, what it looks like and how we can make more of that happen.

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

We all know that seniors want to age in their home, so the community paramedic program allows for that. We’ve heard here about primary care, with the number of seniors right across our area, across the province, that don’t have that primary care. By having the community paramedics be able to visit them in their homes, it certainly is that connection then to the health care system instead of waiting until there is an emergency or a 911 call. Economically, it’s viable as well because we know the stats out of eastern Ontario, from the city of Kawartha Lakes right down to the Quebec border. That’s up to 11% of 911 calls that have been averted. I think that’s why it’s important. Also, our median income in this area as well: We all know when we’re seniors, our source of income goes down, so that makes a lot of options around rent not economically feasible for them. They’re choosing between the rent and food.

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Ms. Jennifer K. French

We were realizing—or we know that there are a number of seniors across communities that are quietly leaving housing. They can’t afford it; they’re being evicted, whatever happens—the death of a spouse. They no longer can afford all of those things, and they’re living in their cars if they’re fortunate enough to have them, and maybe not living close enough to family. I mean, this is ugly and it’s sad and it’s layered. So any of these specific solutions that folks can offer, I know that we value as legislators. I’m running out of time because five and a half minutes is nothing. So Mike and Ruth, thank you for the work that you do. Your two asks—

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

One minute.

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Ms. Jennifer K. French

Oh, I have more time than I thought. I appreciate the presentation. But as you have said, you were calling for the immediate release of the committed workforce funding. I missed the number; I think you said $150 million.

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Mr. Mike Perry

Some $115 million.

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Ms. Jennifer K. French

Oh, $115 million. I was trying to get you an upgrade. Okay, $115 million that has been budgeted—you’re waiting for the release; only $19 million has been released. What can we do to make that happen? Who do we call? I’m happy to chase and poke, but how do we make that flow?

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Dr. Ruth Wilson

I’ll let Mike take that one.

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Mr. Mike Perry

Thanks for the question. In the time remaining: We would be in your hands in terms of our elected officials and our members of provincial Parliament. I’m sure the public service at Ontario Health, the Ministry of Health, are seized with this issue, as would be your cabinet colleagues—

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

Thank you very much. With that, we’ll go to MPP Cerjanec.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Thank you very much, Bonnie, for your presentation today. Do you have enough paramedics to support regular operations in the community paramedic program right now?

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

We do. However, with the community paramedic program not having permanent funding—any good business plan has their base funding and moves on. So that makes that program a little precarious as far as being able to have permanent staff there. However, the other thing in looking at health care: I would ask also for the scope of practice for paramedics to be expanded, as well. I think we have to put all options on the table, and that is certainly one area that I don’t believe we have utilized well enough.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Thank you. I know this probably would fall under more the township of Cavan Monaghan, but the Kawartha Downs racetrack here—has Peterborough county been doing any work around that? I know the casino that was there is now slated to be closed.

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

Yes. Certainly, we work hand in hand with upper-tier and lower-tier, and looking at all those employment land opportunities. So certainly it is on the horizon there, I would say. Any development possible is needed, and certainly we’re working with them.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Would it be the county’s position that you would like that casino to stay at the track?

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

Absolutely. If it is functioning and viable, we would certainly support that. It brings jobs to our community. There are a lot of different functions other than the casino there. I think the wiener dog races bring thousands in. There’s the tractor pull as well. So it could be a community hub, I feel. Certainly, I would like to see—there isn’t a facility here as far as being able to house conventions. That would be a perfect spot for that kind of vision.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Yes, I think having more—the horse riding industry always goes through some challenges. It’s supported by the province as well, through funding. Ontario Racing administers it. I know casinos sometimes provide an extra added element at the track. Some folks would go watch races, some would go to the casino, some others have other activities as well. I asked this question of the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, if they are going to consider actually extending those leases, because right now they’ve said that that lease is done in March 2026, and that’s it. It’s not coming back. I think that’s a really important piece. And it all provides revenue, as well, to that specific township—I think over 60-something million dollars—throughout its inception. It’s a lot of money over the long term that can help pay for capital, operating and other priorities and a place of employment, as well. I just wanted to raise that here in this committee, especially given that we’re in the area, and hope to see a positive development there.

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

Thank you for raising that. I really appreciate that, because it does have a huge impact.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Thank you. Mike and Ruth, thank you very much. Talking about family health, primary care, do you know why that workforce funding hasn’t been released? What do you think the holdup is?

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Dr. Ruth Wilson

I can’t answer that. I have no knowledge of the inner workings of—

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Mr. Mike Perry

We’re not privy to that information. But I think it’s important to stress the importance and the urgency of that $115 million allocated, which should be a favourable expense from this committee, as it’s already allocated, cost-free. But with the $430 million over the five years, that’s to bridge this 15% to 30% pay gap to keep our nurse practitioners, RNs, RPNs, mental health workers, social workers, pharmacists working in collaboration with their doctors and saving that $2.1 billion by diverting patients from the ER and from the hospital.

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

One minute.

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Mr. Mike Perry

I know here around the table, especially hearing the last presentations, we all have constituents who need family doctors, perhaps nurse practitioners or other allied health professionals. This really is the front line of health care. I know that’s been recognized in the government’s $2.1-billion investment, but again, it’s that foundation piece: How do we retain those that we have? Part of that is using these funds that we’re requesting to bridge the salary gap so we aren’t having primary care team members going over to the hospital sector, other providers, or the new quasi-private health care clinics.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

You had mentioned that turnover is what, 40%?

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Mr. Mike Perry

That’s provincial.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

Provincially—that’s a lot.

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Mr. Mike Perry

It is a lot.

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Mr. Rob Cerjanec

That’s a lot. That funding needs to be released now. I’ll leave it there. Thank you, Chair.

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Mr. Mike Perry

And of course, there are patients behind that—

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

Thank you very much. That concludes the time. MPP Brady.

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Ms. Bobbi Ann Brady

Warden Clark, I just have a comment: I really support your idea of expanding community paramedics. It works well in my riding, where we see a lack of primary care, and it keeps people out of the ER and helps those who want to stay in their home longer, so I support that. I’m going to turn to Brittany, and I’m going to follow up on MPP Smith’s line of questioning with respect to sex trafficking. I’d like to give a shout-out to MPP Laurie Scott, who has done a great deal of work on this file over the years. I see it along the Highway 3 corridor. In my riding, Highway 3 runs through, and sex trafficking, apparently, along that Highway 3 corridor, is growing. I’m always shocked to learn the demographic or who is a victim of sexual trafficking. Can you educate us a little bit on who the victims are and how we can identify them earlier?

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

Yes. I mean, I’m certainly not the expert in working front-line with our sex trafficking folks—it’s our colleagues at KSAC—but from the knowledge I know, yes, we’re also a corridor—401, pieces like that. But it’s often—the grooming and luring is happening to all demographics, I think. It’s not necessarily any particular demographic. It could be anyone’s kids, around the table. Online issues, right now, are the big pieces. It’s easy to lure kids that way. I think that those pieces are where it starts to get alarming: trying to navigate our online systems and figuring out ways to keep our kids safe. That would be the extent of that piece, but again, because we’re not super funded for that role—

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

One minute.

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Ms. Brittany McMillan

—we don’t necessarily have stats on demographics that way, if that makes sense.

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Ms. Bobbi Ann Brady

Yes, and if I could make a suggestion with respect to the online presence, I think we do need legislation in this country to protect our young people from that online luring and grooming. Other jurisdictions have done it, and I think Ontario could be a leader in that respect. So if you ever want a project, that would be a great one. I’ll just leave it at that, Chair. Thank you very much to you all.

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The Chair (Hon. Ernie Hardeman)

We’ll go to MPP Saunderson.

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Mr. Brian Saunderson

Good morning, everyone. Speaking of AI, I had an AI fight with my phone all the way here, because I got caught in a fight with the Don Valley Parkway. But that’s another topic. We’re not going to go there. I want to think everyone this morning for your comments. This is an important process, and you represent front-line, very critical demographics, or constituents, in our province and on very critical issues. So thank you all for taking time today to share your expertise. Bonnie, I am going to direct my questions at you, given that we share the municipal world together and I came from the municipal world. It was great to see you yesterday. Thanks for your input on that. Really, I wanted to get a better understanding of the issues that are facing the county. I come from Simcoe county, which has 16 member municipalities, about a population of 500,000. I think you have eight member municipalities.

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

Yes, we do.

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Mr. Brian Saunderson

What’s the population in total?

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

We’re around 74,000, is what the Peterborough county is.

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Mr. Brian Saunderson

Okay. I know from my experience at Simcoe county, of the total global budget of the county, about 60% is flow-through funding from the province for things like paramedicine, long-term care, ODSP, housing, those sorts of things. What’s the ratio for your county?

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Ms. Bonnie Clark

We’re about the same. Certainly, social services are delivered through the city, a joint service commitment, and we deliver the paramedic side. In saying that, certainly the cost of the admin and that is based on our assessments. The county’s assessment is higher, so we pay about 56%, depending on who is delivering the service.

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Mr. Brian Saunderson

Right, okay. You’ve got 5,400 housing units in the pipeline, but it sounds to me like infrastructure is a pinch point.

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