Community Health Centres are needed to Address the Healthcare Crisis
Tyler Watt, joined by health care providers at Pinecrest Queensway Community Health Centre, in November 2025.
Column published in the December 4, 2025 edition of Your Barrhaven Independent — Community Voice.
By: Tyler Watt, MPP
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of visiting the Pinecrest Queensway Community Health Centre (PQCHC) and its satellite Barrhaven location, the South Nepean Community Health Centre. What I saw there was inspiring – a model of community care that fills critical gaps at a time when our healthcare system is stretched to its breaking point.
In Nepean alone, more than 31,000 residents lack access to a Nurse Practitioner or family doctor. That’s nearly one in four people. For many, there is nowhere to turn when they need primary care. Whether it’s a nurse practitioner or family doctor, the difficulty in accessing basic primary care is one of the most evident signs that Ontario’s healthcare system is in severe crisis.
But at PQCHC, I witnessed what real, community-centric healthcare should look like. I met with the incredible, dedicated staff – nurses, social workers, educators, outreach coordinators, nurse practitioners, and early childhood educators – all of whom make this community health centre so impactful to the residents it serves. PQCHC delivers far more than just medical appointments. They provide tutoring for local high school students, employment support for adults seeking work, EarlyON playgroups for families with young children, mental health services, chronic disease management, and so much more.
Centres like this support people throughout every stage of their lives, from early childhood to their senior years. They understand that health care is more than physical health and treating illness; it is shaped by your housing, income, education, community, and access to care. PQCHC and other community health centres bring these pieces under one roof.
This model of care is what communities in Ontario need if this government is serious about fixing the crisis we are in. Community health centres are essential hubs for a healthy, equitable province for all.
Yet despite their clear impact, the government’s latest Fall Economic Statement, tabled on November 6th, once again fails to meet the moment. There remains a massive funding shortfall for hospitals and frontline healthcare. That is why my caucus colleagues and I have called on the government to invest $1 billion in our hospitals across the province, along with much needed investments in access to care in the community. Emergency rooms across the province are overcrowded, nurses and healthcare workers are burnt out, and aging infrastructure is, in some cases, literally crumbling. Our healthcare system is bleeding, and we cannot keep putting a Band-Aid over the open wound that is our healthcare crisis. We need sustainable and significant investments now.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with a class of first-year nursing students at Carleton University. They’re the future of our healthcare system. Their curiosity and passion inspired me and reminded me of why I got into politics in the first place: to do what I can to fix the system they will be entering. If we want these young people to stay in Ontario and thrive in their careers, we need to rebuild the system they will inherit.
The healthcare crisis didn’t happen overnight, and it won’t be solved overnight either. But the solution is right in front of us. Community Health Centres like PQCHC are already delivering the comprehensive, compassionate, and all-around care our province desperately needs.
If we invest in them – and in our hospitals and the healthcare workers that form the backbone of our system – we can build a healthier, fairer Ontario where everyone gets the healthcare they need and deserve.
