Good morning.

I'm delighted to be here for an important announcement about the future of health care in this province.

I'm here today to announce that our government is launching a comprehensive strategy to address critical shortages of health human resources that put quality patient care at risk.

The reality is that our health care system - in fact health care systems the world over - are facing unprecedented challenges. The combination of an aging population, an aging workforce, and increases in chronic diseases presents us with unique challenges.

Shortages of health care professionals are not just a long-range forecast, they are quickly becoming the reality. And I'm not talking about developing countries, or the booming cities of China or Indonesia. I'm talking about Canada. I'm talking about Ontario.

And here in Ontario, we're getting into the game in a much more vigorous way.

Today, I'm proud to announce the launch of our HealthForceOntario Strategy.

This Strategy is designed to ensure that Ontario has the right supply and mix of health care professionals, not just today but for the next decade.

• First, we will create new and expanded health care roles in high-need areas,
• Second, we will develop Ontario's health care workforce, and
• Third, we will better equip Ontario to compete for health care professionals.

Let me tell you what we're doing in each of these areas.

In order to meet health care demands in high-need areas, we're creating four new health care positions :

• Physician Assistant,
• Nurse Endoscopist,
• Surgical First Assistant, and
• Clinical Specialist Radiation Therapist

Here's what these roles entail.

Physician Assistants will help supervising physicians with patient interviews, physical examinations, counselling patients on issues like preventive health care, and will perform certain diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.

By performing these services, Physician Assistants will reduce the burden on doctors, allowing them to see more patients and focus on the most complex cases.

Nurse Endoscopists are registered nurses with extended specialized education necessary to perform colorectal cancer screening and other high-demand procedures.

Surgical First Assistants work with a surgeon and an operating room team to ensure the safe outcome for a surgical patient before, during and after surgery. A registered nurse can with additional certification in surgical assistance can be a Surgical First Assist.

Clinical Specialist Radiation Therapists are medical radiation technologists with additional training to provide more specialized care. They, too, will help to reduce wait times and will ensure full-time operation of MRI and CT machines by fully trained professionals.

I'm very pleased to acknowledge that each of these new roles is represented here today. Allow me to introduce the following individuals and to welcome them into HealthForceOntario :

Stephen Randall, an RN currently working at Women's College Hospital, and among the first in Ontario to train and become a Nurse Endoscopist.

Anita Esson is a Surgical First Assistant nurse from Sault Saint Marie. In a wait times funded demonstration project her ability to help deliver critical services was demonstrated.

And finally, Helen Martin, who has served with distinction as a Physician Assistant in the Canadian military.

I'll be inviting Ms. Martin to speak in just a few moments.

These new professional roles will allow us to better serve patients, and will put us at the forefront when it comes to building a health care workforce for the future.

It's also important to recognize that there are models for each of these positions elsewhere in Canada and around the world. We're not shooting into the dark here… we're building on successes we've observed elsewhere, and we're applying these ideas for the benefit of Ontario patients.

I'm also confident that these new roles will serve as a ladder for health care providers whose skills are under-utilized - in many cases because they are new to Canada.

We want these people to succeed. And we want Canadian patients to benefit from their skills and expertise. These roles will allow many of them to realize their potential.

We know that not all current providers will entirely embrace all of these new roles. But we know patients will.

Because experience in other jurisdictions has shown that these changes are not only good for patients, they're also good for all those who work in the health care professi

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The second part of our HealthForceOntario Strategy is developing Ontario's health care workforce.

In order to do this, we will establish a one-stop centre for internationally educated health professionals to quickly, clearly and easily obtain the information and assistance they need to work and learn in Ontario

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The third part of our HealthForceOntario Strategy is to better equip our province to compete for health care professionals.

The first step in the launch of this marketing and recruitment centre -- HealthForceOntario - including a portal created by PAIRO and the New Health Professionals Network. This portal will highlight the great job opportunities that exist in Ontario.

Ontario is a great place to live and to work. We all know that. And we want health care professionals the world over to know that - so that they will choose to practice their skills here.

We have provided International Medical Graduates increased opportunities to work here. This year we took unprecedented steps to increase access to our province's 200 training positions. This will continue.

Finally, we are going to aggressively recruit the best and brightest health care workers to our province through a marketing and recruitment body including a single portal for all health job opportunities.

Meeting our province's health care needs takes more than short-term, stop-gap measures. It requires strategic long-term thinking and planning.

Through HealthForceOntario, that's exactly what we're doing.

I'm confident that this strategy will serve health care professionals very well. But even more important is what it means for the citizens of Ontario - all of them patients or future patients.

This Strategy will help to ensure that our health care system is there for them, when they need it. With the right mix of professionals, the right services, and the right care.

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It's now my pleasure to, once again, introduce Helen Martin and to invite her to say a few words.