Families worry nursing and other health jobs will be cut under Conservative health care scheme: NDP

QUEEN’S PARK—NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath said that front line health care professionals, like nurses, are already losing their jobs under the Conservative government, and people are worried the latest Conservative health care scheme will bring major cuts to front line positions throughout the province.

Doug Ford’s minister of health admitted the government doesn’t know how many jobs will be lost under their massive health care scheme. During the election campaign, Doug Ford claimed no one would lose their job as a result of his deep cuts. That’s already not true.

“Once again Doug Ford and his ministers were caught making stuff up,” said Horwath. “Chronic hospital underfunding has already led to job loses throughout the province, and Ford’s health scheme could be threatening thousands more.

“The last time the Conservatives were in office, 6,000 nursing jobs vanished and 28 hospitals were shuttered. When a Conservative government says they don’t know how many jobs will be lost, families are right to be worried.” There are 20 agencies being eliminated, including Cancer Care Ontario, that employ 10,500 health care workers.

Horwath said that families are already paying the price for years of hospital cuts and funding freezes under past Liberal governments—chronic underfunding that’s expected to get so much worse under the Conservatives. The Grand River Hospital in Waterloo region is facing a budget deficit of over $7 million, and is laying off 40 nurses and closing four hospital beds to grapple with the costs.

“Kitchener families are already seeing the impact, with 40 nursing jobs gone and four fewer beds at Grand River Hospital,” said Horwath. “That means longer waits for front line care and more pressure on staff to deliver with even fewer resources.

“You can’t cut your way to better health care. Ontarians deserve more investment in health care, not cuts.”

Horwath and the NDP have long called for an immediate investment into hospitals, and ongoing funding that keeps pace with inflation, population growth and the unique needs of local communities.