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Candidates slam Conservative approach to health and long-term care

Three of five candidates in the Thunder Bay-Superior North race attended Tuesday night's forum, put on by the Thunder Bay and District Injured Workers Group.
Thunder Bay Superior North Forum
The Green Party's Tracey MacKinnon, moderator Steve Mantis, Liberal candidate Shelby Ch'ng and NDP hopeful Lise Vaugeois on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 take part in a candidate's forum put on by the Thunder Bay and District Injured Workers Group at the Moose Hall. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY – Health care, long-term care and housing were all under the microscope on Tuesday night at a Thunder Bay-Superior North candidate’s forum attended by three of the five ballot hopefuls and put on by the Thunder Bay and District Injured Workers Group. 

Liberal Shelby Ch’ng, NDP Lise Vaugeois and the Green Party’s Tracey MacKinnon fielded a variety of questions on a wide range of subject matter, using the opportunity to try to dunk on the ruling Conservative Party’s record over the past four years.

Peng You, who is carrying the Conservative banner into the June 2 election, chose not to attend, joining New Blue candidate Kathy Suutari on the sidelines.

MacKinnon, who ran federally for the Greens in 2021, said there is already a backlog waiting for health-care services, noting the Green Party would revamp the system to make it work for everyone.

“Ontario Greens will rebalance the health-care funding formula and invest in innovative primary care models so rural and northern communities can get the care they need, close to home, MacKinnon said, adding there will be dedicated funding for rural communities.

Vaugeois, who finished a close second to former Liberal MPP Michael Gravelle, said it’s clear health care in Ontario is in crisis and funding cut by the Conservatives not only needs to be restored, it needs to be increased.

More doctors, nurses and personal support workers are needed immediately to help fill the care gap, and Bill 124, which when passed in 2019 limited pay raises for many in the health-care sector to one per cent over three years, must be scrapped, Vaugeois said.

“And we need to know privatization is stopping,” she said. “The Ford government announced about six weeks ago that they are giving public money to private hospitals. That is an outrage and must be stopped.”

Ch’ng took it one step further, calling Bill 124 “garbage.”

The first-time provincial candidate, who jumped in the race at the last minute when Gravelle stepped aside for health reasons, said she was in Beardmore on Monday and met with the only nurse practitioner in the area.

“She is completely overwhelmed,” Ch’ng said.

Too many communities along the north shore are in the same boat, facing health-care professional shortages that are affecting lives of those who live there.

“This is completely unacceptable ... and for-profit health care is out of the question,” she said.

As for long-term care, all three candidates said it needs to be taken out of the hands of the private sector and placed back in control of the public sector, which is less concerned about profit and more concerned about ensuring Ontario’s seniors get the care they need.

All three said the Conservatives are taking long-term care in the opposite direction.

“There are ways to do that, as each licence comes up and they’re not renewed. Of course the Ford government is trying to fast track those renewed licenses, which is going to make the challenge bigger, but we will not be supporting private long-term care. There is no place in health care for profits. It needs to be publicly run, publicly managed, for the public good,” Vaugeois said.

On that, Ch’ng wholeheartedly agreed.

“Institutionalizing seniors in the for-profit health and long-term care has been the biggest mistake of the 21st century. What we know, before COVID, was that in for-profit homes you had a 10 per cent change dying more than in universal long-term care and 25 per cent more chance of being hospitalized,” Ch’ng said.

“COVID has exposed the reality. Doug For threw his hands up and had to have the military come in and care for people.”

McKinnon said the Greens would increase the number of nurse practitioners in Ontario by 50 per cent by 2030.

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