June 4th, 2018

London families need health care improvements, not Ford’s cuts: Horwath

LONDON — NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is committed to major investments into health care to end hallway medicine and fix the painfully long wait times – and said Monday that she’s determined to stop Doug Ford’s $6 billion in across-the-board cuts, which would mean 600 front-line workers laid off and 42 fewer beds at hospitals in the London Health Sciences Centre network.

“This election is not just about change, it’s about change for the better,” said Horwath. “People are tired of switching between bad or worse. They’ve felt the consequences of Kathleen Wynne’s cuts in hospitals – and they won’t settle for a leader that cuts even deeper.

“The thing is, it doesn’t have to be this way. Together, we can end hallway medicine and finally have shorter waits in our hospitals. And we can build the new services we need like dental coverage for everyone.”

Horwath’s fully-costed platform includes $1.2 billion to ease the stress on hospitals and end hallway medicine.

Meanwhile, with Ford’s plan, in exchange for the 600 health care workers they would lose and the wait times that would get longer and longer, most London families would get an $18 per year tax break.

“Doug Ford’s plan is for the rich, and it’s paid for by the people,” Horwath said. “Schools would be cut. Hospitals would be cut. Together, we need to stand up for London families and stop Doug Ford.”

Horwath’s plan will make life better for people in Ontario by:

  • Ending hallway medicine
  • Fixing seniors care
  • Lowering hydro bills by 30 per cent
  • Creating thousands of student co-op jobs and internships
  • Providing drug and dental coverage for everyone

The NDP’s fully-costed Change for the Better platform can be found at ontariondp.ca/platform.