This news release was issued May 30, 2018, by the NDP on behalf of Sudbury candidate Jamie West and Nickel Belt candidate France Gélinas
WINDSOR – Andrea Horwath will deliver dental care to Ontario seniors who don’t have retirement benefits – an important part of her Dental Care for Everyone plan.
Horwath joined Windsor couple Debby and S.P. Aujlay, who are both in their late sixties, in Windsor Wednesday to talk about how seniors are coping with a lack of dental coverage, and how Horwath’s plan would make life healthier, and more affordable.
“Costs just keep climbing, so the fixed incomes of seniors have less and less buying power every month,” said Horwath. “As a result, too many seniors can’t afford to go to the dentist. They live with pain in their mouth that only gets worse the longer they’re forced to wait. Every three minutes in Ontario someone goes to the emergency room or the doctor for a dental issue. We have to stop putting seniors through that.
“Hearing seniors like the Aujlays talk about how dental coverage would change their lives makes me more determined than even to get this done – and to make sure Doug Ford doesn’t get a chance to make his cuts. The $6 billion in cuts he’s promised will take so much away from seniors in Windsor.”
Ford’s across-the-board cuts would mean 116 jobs cut, 20 beds shut down and other losses at the Windsor Regional Hospital alone.
As part of her Change for the Better platform, Horwath has promised to make the most significant investment in public dental coverage in Ontario’s history – which will ensure every senior who does not have retiree benefits will have publicly-funded dental coverage. The NDP plan will deliver publicly-funded dental coverage for 1.5 million seniors.
“This is going to mean better health for seniors, a more affordable life for them, and less stress for seniors and the families that love them.”
An NDP government will make life better for seniors and families by:
• Delivering prescription drug and dental coverage for every Ontarian, regardless of their employment status or age
• Investing $1.2 billion to end the hallway medicine crisis, including 2,000 new beds immediately
• Creating 40,000 more long-term care beds, including 15,000 new beds over the next five years
• Ensuring each resident in long-term care gets a minimum of four hours of hands-on care per day
• Launching a find-and-fix public inquiry into the long-term care system
• Updating the Long-Term Care Residents’ Bill of Rights to give couples the right to stay together
• Bringing Hydro One back into public ownership and lowering bills by 30 per cent
