Horwath brings vision for better health care to Toronto town hall

TORONTO — NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath will hold a town hall in Toronto Tuesday evening to share her vision for better health care in Toronto, and hear from patients, families and community members.

The town hall comes as Doug Ford plows ahead with a scheme to drastically alter health care in Ontario, creating a SuperAgency to oversee it all, and throwing the door wide open to even more privatization in health care.

“Toronto families deserve health care that is second to none, but for too long we have been told to settle for less. We’ve been told to settle for longer waits, less one-on-one support in long-term care homes and a dysfunctional, patchwork home care system. Years of hospital budget cuts and funding freezes have forced patients to wait for hours in emergency rooms, only to be moved onto gurneys in hallways in the midst of an ongoing hallway medicine crisis. Now, it looks like Doug Ford is scheming to make those problems even worse by letting private for-profit corporations get their mitts on even more of our public health care dollars.

“People, and the care they need and deserve, should drive our health care system — but that won’t happen unless we listen to patients, families, and front-line health care workers.”

Horwath and the NDP have been pushing the Ford government to hold province-wide consultations on their planned health care scheme but, so far, Ford hasn’t agreed to do that.

Horwath said her vision for Ontario’s health care is about expanding medicare, not putting holes in it or selling it off part-by-part.

“We envision a future where our public health care system better protects people’s health, including things like prescription drug coverage and dental coverage,” said Horwath. “We envision a future where the promise of high-quality health care in Ontario doesn’t end if the care you need includes medication, mental health supports or if the pain is in your mouth. And we envision a future where no one should have to empty their wallet or rack up credit card bills in order to get the care they need.”