Niagara’s health care crisis isn’t about vacations — it’s about this Government’s failure to act

NIAGARA — NDP MPPs Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls), Jennie Stevens (St. Catharines), and Jeff Burch (Niagara Centre), are demanding the Ford government immediately reverse its decision to reduce hours at urgent care centres in Fort Erie and Port Colborne this summer, following Premier Doug Ford’s insensitive response that turned a regional health care crisis into a punchline.

In a press conference earlier today, Doug Ford responded to growing concerns about the cuts to urgent care by saying “I’m sorry if they have to close for one day during the Summer” downplaying a decision that’s already pushing emergency rooms in surrounding areas to the brink of exhaustion.

“No, Premier Ford — this doesn’t ‘just happen every summer. Fort Erie has close to 40,000 residents that need healthcare,” said Gates. “Let’s be clear: Doug Ford has been Premier for seven years. This crisis didn’t come out of nowhere, the Premier needs to take immediate action to restore 24/7/365 services at Douglas Memorial — Fort Erie deserves nothing less.”

“Doug Ford made a joke out of emergency room closures, but here in Niagara, no one is laughing,” said Stevens. “People in crisis are being turned away from local urgent care and forced to pile into already overwhelmed emergency rooms in regions like St. Catharines. Doctors and nurses are running on fumes at this point and the Premier shrugs it off like it's no big deal.”

“Doug Ford made a joke out of emergency room closures, but here in Niagara, no one is laughing,” said Burch. "When services are reduced in Welland, Port Colborne, and Fort Erie, it creates ripple effects throughout the entire system, leading to increased stress and hardship for both patients and staff across Niagara.”

This isn’t about a day off, it’s about years of underfunding, poor planning, and a total failure to fix the physician shortage across our health system. Brushing off this situation with a joke is reminding those in this region, healthcare staff and patients alike, that Ford does not care.

The three Niagara Region MPPs are calling on the Ford government to immediately reverse the summer reductions to urgent care centre hours in Fort Erie and Port Colborne and take this dire situation seriously.