Skip to content

MPPs say rainy day fund money must be spent on healthcare soon

Ontario government 2023 pre-budget consultation held at Delta Hotel
20230131-ndp-mpps-dt-02
Several local stakeholders met with NDP MPPs to discuss the Ontario healthcare system at a pre-budget consultation held at the Delta Hotel, Jan. 31, 2023.

While in Sault Ste. Marie for Ontario government 2023 pre-budget consultations at the Delta Hotel on Tuesday, two NDP MPPs shared their thoughts with SooToday regarding their party’s call for more funding for the province’s troubled healthcare system.

“Here in Sault Ste. Marie, mental health and healthcare are priorities and the consistent message to the government members is to invest strategically in healthcare and repeal Bill 124,” said Waterloo MPP and NDP finance critic Catherine Fife.

Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative government passed Bill 124 in 2019, capping wage increases for nurses at one per cent annually for three years.

The Ontario government has filed an appeal of a court decision that struck down Bill 124 but the legislation continues to anger unions.

“That is bleeding out healthcare professionals,” Fife told SooToday.

Bill 124 critics have said that the legislation’s one per cent wage increase cap has not only led some Ontario nurses to leave the profession - complaining of being overworked and underpaid - but has also discouraged younger people from entering the nursing profession.

The critics have said that is a key factor behind long waits in Ontario hospital emergency departments.

“Doug Ford promised to get rid of hallway healthcare and really all that he has done is expand it and it has actually resulted in closures of ERs,” Fife said.

Temporary emergency department closures have occurred in some hospitals in Ontario - and across Canada - but so far not at Sault Area Hospital.   

“What we need is a targeted investment to make sure that we have a plan to recruit, retain and return nurses back to the field. It’s an incredibly important field and without nurses, the healthcare system is in shambles,” said Terence Kernaghan, London North Centre MPP and NDP economic development critic.

Stakeholders at the Ontario government 2023 pre-budget consultation in the Sault included representatives from a variety of local entities.

The New Democrat MPPs said they have heard calls for increased funding from Canadian Mental Health Association branches and Ontario Medical Association members as the pre-budget consultations swing through Ontario communities.

The MPPs say they have heard complaints about gaps in locum programming within the healthcare sector, underfunding in education and are calling for more assistance for Ontario’s Indigenous population.   

“The government has indicated that we’re going to be moving into an austerity budget and the people that came here today were making the case that when you invest in the skilled trades for Indigenous people, then the return on that investment benefits the entire province,” Fife said.     

The money is there to revive the Ontario healthcare system, Kernaghan said.

“It’s a matter of targeted investment. They’ve sat on $1.2 billion that they could have spent on healthcare. They didn’t spend all of the COVID money that was given to the province by the federal government. They’ve deliberately created this crisis and they’re showing now, as their only solution, is this move to privatization, to allow private, for-profit clinics as the only option for Ontario, but they haven’t tried all the options.”

“The most important option is to invest into the healthcare that people need. Here in Ontario we value our publicly delivered and publicly funded healthcare because you should be able to get the healthcare when and where you need it regardless of your ability to pay,” Kernaghan said.

Ford has said that his government’s recently announced plan to increase the number of surgeries done in privately run for-profit clinics is a way to reduce wait times for certain surgical procedures - such as cataract removals - and that Ontarians will pay for such procedures at those clinics with an OHIP card, not a credit card.

When asked if the NDP has a dollar figure in mind regarding increased spending on healthcare, Fife said the Ford government already has the money.

“There’s $4.5 billion in a contingency fund that is unallocated. We’ve made the case for the investment because there is a cost to not investing. At the end of the day we’ll see where this government lands on healthcare. Right now, they're doing one-off little investments in communities which is not a systemic approach to the entire healthcare system.”

The visiting New Democrats said there must be more funding for mental healthcare needs in Ontario. 

“All the different CMHA branches that we have heard from say they have been suffering with underfunding for over 10 years. What they're calling for is eight per cent this year and I think it’s money well spent because if we can get people the care when and where they need it, they can have a better life and return to work,” Kernaghan said.

“They wouldn’t end up in an emergency room. There’s a cost to not investing and that has been the consistent theme at these budget committee meetings,” Fife said.

The New Democrat MPPs also called for greater utilization of nurse practitioner clinics in Ontario.

“They can serve a caseload of 900 patients…you would alleviate the pressure on the emergency rooms and create healthier communities,” Fife said, adding NPs deserve wage parity.

As for that $4.5 billion in contingency funding that the NDP states the government is not spending on healthcare and other crucial files?

“They say they’re saving for a rainy day, but when you visit northern Ontario the storm is already here,” Fife said.

The provincial government plans to present its budget by March 31.


What's next?


If you would like to apply to become a Verified reader Verified Commenter, please fill out this form.


Discussion


Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
Read more