April 29th, 2022
Horwath will invest in public services, Ford could cut the equivalent of 70,000 health workers
SCARBOROUGH — Ford’s budget revealed that he’ll cut at least $2.7 billion if he’s re-elected. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath joined with health care workers on Friday to say she’ll do the exact opposite, investing to fix public services like Ontario’s world-class health care system.
By funding way below inflation, Ford will cut $2.7 billion in three years — that’s the equivalent of:
- 29,000 nurses for a year
- Or 70,000 PSWs for a year
“There is an urgent need to invest in better health care, and to do that we need more frontline health care workers, not cuts,” said Horwath. “People are waiting for hours in pain in emergency rooms. And the wait for surgeries can be months of worry and anguish, while your quality of life wastes away.
“Health care workers are exhausted, run off their feet and always understaffed. Doug Ford’s plan to cut $2.7 billion could translate into tens of thousands of frontline health care heroes getting the axe. We can’t let patients, families and working people pay the price for Doug Ford’s big cuts and bad choices.”
Horwath’s platform commits to funding hospitals differently — exceeding health sector inflation, and taking into account population growth, expanded operating plans, and unique local needs such as aging populations. The commitment means better patient care, sooner.
Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government, with Steven Del Duca as a cabinet minister, froze hospital budgets for four years, axing 1,600 nurses. That triggered the hallway medicine problems Ontario is facing more than ever today.
“The good news is that we can start to fix it. We can focus on the needs of everyday families instead of a few insider buddies. We can invest in health care instead of cutting. Together, we can defeat Doug Ford and start to fix what really matters.”
