Ontario Premier Doug Ford said through his government’s throne speech that more can be done to ease pressures on the health care system, but has yet to detail any new solutions.
lieutenant governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell delivered Ford’s Speech from the Throne, marking the start of a new legislative session. Then the 2022 budget was reintroduced.
The speech said the Progressive Conservative government is working with stakeholders in the health care system to identify ideas to address the problem.
Ford has been prime minister since 2018, and the speech shows what he has already done in health, including adding thousands of hospital beds and nurses, investing in home and community care, introducing a grant to attract health professionals to rural areas and remote areas and plan to build 30,000 new long-term care beds.
“While these historic investments have helped support the province’s health care system through the most challenging period in modern history, there is no doubt that, like health care systems across Canada, it continues to experience significant pressures, including a depleted workforce and increasingly stressed emergency departments.” Dowdeswell said.
“More can still be done. Your government is actively engaging with health system partners to identify urgent and actionable solutions and will implement all necessary measures to help ease the immediate pressures, while ensuring the province is prepared to remain open during any winter surge. .”
Emergency departments in Ontario have closed for hours or days at a time this summer, which officials and advocates say is due to a nursing staffing crisis.
Dr. Shazeen Suleman, pediatrician, addresses the crowd during a rally organized by the Healthcare for All Coalition and participating community organizations at Queen’s Park on August 3. Opposition parties and nursing groups have urged Ford to repeal what they say is wage restraint legislation. is hurting efforts to recruit and retain more nurses. (Sabah Rahman/CBC)
Opposition parties and nursing groups have urged Ford to repeal the pay cap legislation which they say is undermining efforts to recruit and retain more nurses, who are leaving the sector in droves after more than two years on the front line of the fight against COVID-19.
Ford indicated through the speech that his government will work to address “short-term stressors” in health, but also make long-term investments, such as how the government previously created Ontario’s health teams to integrate the attention and implement a “Roadmap to well-being”. “Mental health and addiction care plan.
LOOK | lieutenant governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell addresses health challenges in throne speech:
“More can still be done,” says the lieutenant governor. during the prime minister’s throne speech
During the speech from the throne, Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell admits the Ontario government needs to do more to provide solutions to ease pressures on the health care system.
“As the province continues to pursue these reforms, it will not be constrained by conventional thinking that stifles innovation and preserves a status quo that struggles to respond to growing challenges and changing needs,” the speech said.
“Instead, guided by the best evidence and the successes of other jurisdictions, your government will take bold action that puts patients and their health above all else.”
The budgets are critical of the opposition
The only change in the budget since it was first presented in April is a five per cent increase in disability support payment rates, which Ford promised during the election. However, advocates say it is still too low and payments should be doubled.
Ontario also promised in the throne speech an additional $225 million in direct payments to parents “to help their children catch up.”
Bethlenfalvy said the details of those payments, including whether or not all families will be given the same amount, are not yet being reported.
Speaking to reporters after the reworking of the budget, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy deflected concerns about the increase in Disability Support Pay, instead outlining a range of tax credits for vulnerable people in the province
Asked if she could live on $169 a month, the amount given to Ontarians living with disabilities, Bethlenfalvy said the Disability Support Wage hike is just a “step in the right direction “.
LOOK | He asks the finance minister if he could live on $1,169 a month
The budget drew criticism from opposition leaders, who say it should have been adjusted since it was first presented in April to match current inflation rates.
“The government had an opportunity to come up with a new budget to deal with these crises and Doug Ford chose not to,” said NDP interim leader Peter Tabuns.
“This budget did nothing to provide relief from the punishing cost of inflation or to rebuild and improve our health care system.”
Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner agrees, calling the throne speech and budget a “tired mix of care fixes and grand schemes” that fail to address affordability and the climate change.
Prepare for the short-term slowdown: speech
The remarks from the throne speech opened by acknowledging a global “growing sense of uncertainty” amid COVID-19, high inflation and the war in Ukraine, particularly its impacts on supply chains.
“Unprecedented spending during the pandemic has created new fiscal challenges here in Ontario and across Canada that will require prudent economic management in the coming months and years,” the speech said.
“As a whole, these looming fiscal and economic challenges cannot be underestimated or ignored. They must be met head-on. And there are no easy solutions.”
Ford pledged through the speech to chart a path forward based on economic growth, “not painful tax hikes or spending cuts.”
The speech heavily touted key parts of Ford’s agenda, including building highways and other infrastructure, attracting investment in electric vehicle manufacturing and a skilled trade strategy aimed at addressing shortages of labor
Prime Minister Doug Ford visited the Dyna-Mig auto parts factory in Stratford, Ont. ahead of an announcement of $5 million to train 500 auto workers to fill industry vacancies on August 3. (Carmen Groleau/CBC)
The speech also pointed to rising interest rates in response to high inflation and warned that Ontario, like the rest of the country, must be prepared for the possibility of a short-term economic slowdown.
Ford has also indicated that a so-called “strong mayor” bill is coming to give more power to leaders in Toronto and Ottawa. The speech suggested these powers will help build homes faster.
“For urban populations, these new powers will be especially relevant as the province works with its municipal partners to expand the footprint of transit-oriented communities so more people can live, work and play close to the convenience of transportation audience,” said the speech.