Windsor-Essex New Democrats pledge support for new hospital and improved healthcare in region
A trio of New Democrat candidates in Windsor-Essex reiterated their support for a new acute care hospital plan in the region, while also promising to improve healthcare for local families on Friday.
Windsor West NDP candidate Lisa Gretzky was joined by Essex candidate Ron LeClair and Windsor-Tecumseh candidate Gemma Grey-Hall out front of Windsor Regional Hospital’s Ouellette campus Friday morning for a media conference.
“Families in in Windsor-Essex deserve a health care system that actually meets their needs. They shouldn’t have to face long emergency wait times or contend with hallway medicine because there aren’t enough beds or staff available,” said Gretzky. “An NDP government would bring in universal mental health coverage and undo years of cuts to hospital funding. We would repeal Ford’s low wage policies so that Windsor can keep the nurses we have and attract more, instead of losing them to hospitals across the border.”
Gretzky said the NDP would immediately repeal the PC Party’s Bill 124, which freezes wage increases to one per cent annually, a measure she said has led to many leaving the profession. The party also plans to hire 30,000 additional nurses across the province.
Grey-Hall committed to prioritizing the new regional hospital and make sure it is built on schedule.
“We’re going to make sure the new regional hospital gets built quickly and that we have the right mix of services there for families,” said Grey-Hall. “The new regional hospital is critical to the future of health care here in Windsor, and we’re going do what it takes to make sure it’s built on schedule. We’re going to provide enough nurses and health care workers so that we don’t have long wait times and hallway medicine, like we had under the Liberals and Conservatives.”
Gretzky said the timeline for building the hospital is too long, with a scheduled completion for 2031.
She says the New Democrats can bring it faster, while also ensuring 24-hour emergency services are retained at the Ouellette Campus.
“We worked across all party lines, and then Doug Ford came in who then started politicizing the hospital, which only slows the process down,” said Gretzky. “So we would take that out of the equation and we would ensure that hospital is able to move forward much faster than it is right now.”
The trio also pledged to improve emergency services to shorten wait times, and clear out the surgery backlog that existed prior to the pandemic and only worsened over the past two years.
“We’ll make sure the regional hospital offers the services Essex families need,” said LeClair. “Over the years, we’ve seen cuts to critical services, like advanced gastric and cardiac surgeries, and some cancer treatments.”
“No one here should have to drive to London, Toronto or Detroit to get the health care they need. With an NDP government, communities and families across Essex will able to get the care they need right here at home.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.