November 4, 2014

Indira Naidoo-Harris, MPP
Halton
Parliamentary Assistant,
Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
11th Floor, Hepburn Block
80 Grosvenor Street
Toronto ON  M7A 2C4

Dear Ms. Naidoo-Harris:

It is an honour and a pleasure to have you as my Parliamentary Assistant. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and to outline some of the important work that lies ahead of us.

As you know, our government has a plan to invest in the talent and skills of our people, build modern infrastructure, support a dynamic and innovative business climate, and provide better retirement security to people across the province. At the heart of this plan are partnerships with businesses, people and communities, which will help our government grow the economy, create jobs and implement solutions that have a meaningful impact on people’s lives.

This balanced and comprehensive plan is underpinned by a focus on fiscal prudence. The mandate letter I received from Premier Wynne reinforced our government’s commitment to balance the budget by 2017­-18 and to pursue increased openness, accountability and modernization.

Parliamentary Assistants play a key role in delivering these priorities and have a responsibility to put our government’s plan into action.

As Ontario’s population ages, our government must be prepared to meet the health care needs of a growing senior community. To achieve this, we must put in place a comprehensive strategy to provide quality care to patients and appropriate supports to caregivers at home and in the community.

As Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, your specific responsibilities include:

  • Championing the development of more evidence so that we may better understand Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and using research and innovation to explore ways in which we can improve supports for these diseases throughout the sector.
  • Working with the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and the Minister Responsible for Seniors Affairs to develop a comprehensive strategy to care for patients with Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Expanding access points to care for patients and their families by supporting the implementation of 25 new Memory Clinics across Ontario.
  • Supporting work at the national level to engage the discussion on Dementia and Alzheimer’s care.
  • Working with your colleagues across government to identify ways to expand supports to family caregivers, including the right to time off work, access to respite programs, as well as access to education and training resources.

I am confident that together, working in collaboration with our partners in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, we can deliver on our commitment to the people we are privileged to represent and serve. I look forward to working with you to deliver our ministry’s mandate, build Ontario up — and help achieve a brighter future for every person in this province.

Yours sincerely,

Eric Hoskins signature

Dr. Eric Hoskins
Minister