Ms. Lisa MacLeod (Nepean–Carleton): I am pleased to stand in this Legislature today and congratulate my city, the city of Ottawa, for coming to the rescue of the McGuinty Liberals and providing some more long-term-care beds.

Just last night in this chamber, I stood and spoke to Bill 140 and the lack of adequate long-term-care beds in my city. I pointed out how rushed and inadequate this new Liberal bill was and how many more broken promises it failed to remedy.

When I brought this issue to the attention of the minister in the Legislature, I was hoping that he would be working on this problem for the people of Ottawa. It turns out that instead the city of Ottawa is coming to the rescue. As pointed out in the Ottawa Citizen on October 14, the lack of long-term-care beds in Ottawa “has led to cancelled surgeries, crowded emergency rooms and longer wait times for key procedures.”

The capital region is short 850 long-term-care beds. That is enough beds to fill a community hospital.

I am pleased to point out that the city of Ottawa will be opening up one bed at Carleton Lodge in my riding immediately and five beds at the Peter D. Clark home over the next three weeks. Six beds is a start, but the problem is far from solved.

If the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care had a real, concrete plan, the city would not have to squeeze a few beds from its already taxed system in order to bail them out. One has to wonder if this is the same approach that the Minister of Health will depend on to solve other health care problems in Ottawa and around the province.

If the minister is waiting for municipalities to bail his government out, then he should be honest about it instead of hiding behind rhetoric and blaming parliamentary ghosts from years past with this ineffective legislation.