Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says it’s completely unacceptable that the North Bay Regional Health Centre is having to cut 30 to 40 more jobs. She says this news is just another example of how Premier Kathleen Wynne has failed the healthcare system. Horwath is also calling on the Premier to take immediate action to stop services from being cut and workers being laid off. She added the fact that the hospital is being forced to cut jobs again after having cut over 300 in the past three years just to balance the budget shows the system is broken right now.
Horwath was in North Bay this past summer, and in her discussions with people they expressed how upset and frustrated they were with the erosion of the health care system in the city. Horwath says these cuts don’t just affect and hurt the 30 to 40 families involved, it’ll also have a direct result on the quality of care people in the community receive. She says it’s going hurt seniors, and the people who require medical attention day to day. People don’t want cuts to hospitals, that’s not what people signed up for when they voted for the Liberals according to Horwath.
Rising energy costs were one of the reasons for the cuts, with NBRHC President and CEO Paul Heinrich saying the hospital didn’t qualify for recent hydro rebates. Horwath says it’s just adding insult to injury for hospitals after they’ve been squeezed so hard by the government. She says the fact hospitals are under the gun just shows how the Liberal government has hurt Ontario with the current hydro crisis. On that point, Horwath has challenged the Premier to release her full hydro plan by Monday, March 20th.
So, what would a potential NDP government in Ontario do to help the health care system? Horwath says the NDP was the party that started universal healthcare in the country, so if there’s one issue they’re dedicated to that’s it. She says an NDP government in Ontario wouldn’t cut funding for hospitals, and would implement a plan for northern and rural hospitals. She says they would provide special funding for northern and rural hospitals because they understand that hospitals in those communities are different. Horwath says they have different pressures, and different needs and the funding envelope would be reflective of those pressures.
