Since becoming the Liberal candidate for this spring’s provincial election, I have knocked on thousands of doors throughout Sudbury, and had hundreds of inspiring conversations with Sudburians.
I have heard many things: Doug Ford is a hopelessly incompetent Premier; the NDP have been feeble opposition to an uncaring government; Sudbury is no longer effectively represented at Queen’s Park; life is becoming unaffordable, and Sudburians are being left behind in Ontario’s pandemic economic recovery.
But one thing that keeps coming back, over and over, is concern for the future of health care in Ontario, and Sudbury in particular.
I hear about parents struggling to find proper services for their children in our fractured health-care system, including mental health care and autism supports.
I hear about staffing shortages in hospitals, long-term care homes and home-care services. I hear frustrations over cancelled surgeries and increased wait times in emergency rooms.
I hear about people trying to find a safe and suitable home for their parents who are unable to live on their own, or basic supports for older adults who are.
I have heard that Northern Health Travel Grant doesn’t work for Northerners. It offers reimbursement rates that are too far below the costs of travel, long wait times and an unfair expectation that people pay travel costs upfront.
A couple of weeks ago, the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Ontario’s Conservative government asking for parity in health care services.
“Due to the lack of health care services, in particular an insufficient number of beds at Health Sciences North (HSN) to service the hospital’s needs as a regional referral centre, as well as in long-term care residences, Public Health Sudbury and Districts had to impose stringent COVID-19 restrictions which directly affected local businesses,” Chamber Chair Neil Milner wrote.
“The wait time for surgeries is longer (than) provincial average and our residents disproportionately suffer from limited mental health services and have seen an increasing number of opioid-related deaths during the pandemic.”
These concerns are bang on! Did the Ford government listen? Who knows?
What we do know is that Doug Ford has made health care investments in both North Bay and Sault Ste. Marie in recent weeks. And we know that when Ford visits Sudbury, as he did earlier this year, he comes to raise money … instead of investing in Sudbury, Ford comes to take money out of our community.
Instead of supporting health care professionals in Ontario, Doug Ford has ignored their advice during a global pandemic and passed Bill 124 to suppress their wages. Instead of supporting Ontarians through this pandemic, Doug Ford has put his supporters at the front of the line, and the most vulnerable of us at back of the line.
Steven Del Duca and the Ontario Liberal Party are developing plans to deal with shortages of health providers in Northern Ontario, build Health Sciences North into the regional hospital it was designed to be (Health Sciences North is too small!!!!), and find solutions to fixing the Northern Health Travel Grant.
As your MPP, I will fight to increase these grants and improve processing efficiency. But that’s a short-term fix. In the long term, we need to stop treating Northerners like second-class citizens and ensure essential health care be provided in our own communities.
I have heard what Sudburians want from their provincial government, and I am prepared to fight for them every day at Queen’s Park. I will deliver as a member of a Liberal government. Together, we can fix these inequities, and give Sudburians back their strong voice at Queen’s Park.
David Farrow is the Liberal candidate for Sudbury in the coming Ontario general election.
