Liberals Won’t Stand Up for Patients

QUEEN’S PARK – This morning in the Legislature, Leader of the Official Opposition Patrick Brown called on the Premier to reconsider her cuts to health care funding, which is impacting services in communities throughout the province.

“Every one of us in this Legislature knows someone who doesn’t have a family doctor – there are 800,000 Ontarians without one.  The government’s response has been to cut clinical care funding more than 7 per cent over the last three years,” said Leader Patrick Brown.  “We all know someone battling addiction – whether you know it or not – and the government slashed addictions services funding by 50 per cent.”

“The government ignores the struggles these at-risk patients face each and every day,” Leader Patrick Brown continued.

Leader Patrick Brown highlighted the impact cuts to health care funding has had on communities such as Peterborough, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Kingston, and Ottawa.  The impacts ranged from doctors abandoning their plans to open a practice, blood monitoring clinics unable to stay open, or dermatology residents leaving the province to find work elsewhere.

“The government should be ashamed – these are all Liberal held ridings.  Has the Premier been ignoring her caucus colleagues’ pleas to restore health care funding, or are these Liberal MPPs just not fighting for their constituents who are struggling to find health care services?”