Liberals re-announce old news as hospital cuts continue: NDP

Today, Ontario NDP Health Critic France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt, released the following statement:

“The Liberals are re-announcing old news in a desperate attempt to distract from their cuts to health care and the sell off of Hydro One. More photo-ops won’t fool anyone who has to wait for the care they need. Patients and families know that Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals are forcing hospitals across Ontario to cut front line staff. That means longer wait times for patients and even more cuts to local hospitals.

“Small hospitals have received this one percent increase in base funding in each of the past two years, while larger hospitals’ budgets have been frozen for four straight years. Nothing has changed in today’s announcement. Every hospital in Ontario will continue to feel the squeeze, including the cost of rising hydro bills. Even Liberal MPP Lou Rinaldi, who joined Minister Hoskins today, admits that his own local hospital has “been cut to the bone. We can’t do it any more.”

“To meet the needs of our growing families and aging grandparents, we need to stop these Liberal cuts to our hospitals. New Democrats will continue working to build a public health care system that meets the needs of every patient, reduces wait times, and protects the front line care that families count on.”