– Deb Matthews: “Joyce’s Health Care Record Speaks for Itself”
Niagara Falls, Ontario – This Monday, February 10th, during a visit at the Niagara Falls Community Health Centre, Ontario Liberal MPP Deb Matthews praised Joyce Morocco’s commitment to local health care, stating that her skills and experience were best suited to represent her community’s best interests, and ensure the new hospital is built in Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls Riding Liberal candidate Joyce Morocco
“I’m going to fight to ensure we get a new, state-of-the-art hospital here in Niagara Falls. As a mother, grandmother, and local city councillor, I know this is what our community needs,” said Morocco. “As Welland politicians are stepping up their efforts to move our hospital, I’m the only candidate who can be counted on to actually get the hospital build right here in Niagara Falls.”
Morocco was referring to comments published yesterday where the Mayor of Welland was quoted as wanting to move the hospital to Welland, stating:
…”He hopes the board ‘goes beyond the handful of statistics and a couple of maps’ that the initial decision to locate a hospital in Niagara Falls was based on.’”
(Welland Tribune, February 9th, 2014)
“I believe the well-researched report by Dr. Kevin Smith, which consulted over 1,000 people, selected the right location – and we need to ensure it gets built in Niagara Falls,” continued Morocco.
“Joyce Morocco is the perfect example of someone who has been fighting for stronger health care services for years, and is the only candidate in this election that has actually delivered,” said MPP Deb Matthews. “Joyce raised $9.2 million for a new ER, and fought hard to receive funding from the provincial government for a brand new, state-of-the-art Community Health Centre here in Niagara Falls. Her record speaks for itself.”
“The NDP voted against a new Niagara hospital just last November at Queen’s Park, and Wayne Gates was in the audience applauding. Make no mistake, the NDP strongly opposes locating a new hospital in Niagara Falls,” said Matthews, referring to recent comments by Welland NDP MPP Cindy Forster who vigorously denounced the notion of locating a new hospital in Niagara Falls, saying unequivocally “Niagara Falls is not the right location … it doesn’t serve south Niagara.” (Welland Tribune, November 13, 2013)
“The NDP even has a petition in the legislature advocating to move the hospital from Niagara Falls to Welland,” said Matthews. (Hansard, May 1, 2013)
“And the PCs? They say they support a new hospital, but where I come from, actions speak louder than words. Bart Maves and Tim Hudak both worked with Mike Harris to close hospitals and fire thousands of nurses, and they want to fire thousands more. I know everyone in this room still remembers that,” stated Matthews.
“I wanted to stand here today at the Community Health Centre to highlight the work we have done as a community. I’m a fighter – I’ve been pushing for better services in Niagara for over 7 years. I’m the best candidate to provide the strongest voice at Queen’s Park, and I’m the only one who can get shovels in the ground for a new hospital in Niagara Falls, not Welland. It’s what Niagara deserves,” concluded
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 
Oh, hold the phone here, folks. It’s one thing for Premier Wynne to support her party’s candidate in the Niagara Falls by-election, but for Health Minister Deb Matthews to get so involved is quite another, IMHO. She should come clean on just how HER government plans on paying for any new hospital in this region, when it cannot even afford to properly support the new St. Catharines hospital. When are those beds going to open, Deb? When is the NHS planning to close and dispose of the five local hospitals, including Niagara Falls’ aging GNGH? What will happen to those services in the meantime? Election promises, as we all should be only too aware, are written on the wind. And the Liberals know that the wind that brought them to power is changing…
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Another P3 rip off the taxpayers hospital?
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Any new hospital should be built in South Welland so that the residents in Welland and other parts of southern Ontario have access to the services they are entitled to. It’s a 15 minute drive from the current hospital in NF to the SC hospital. It is over 30 minutes to get from St. Catharines southern Welland. The ho
Add to that the NF hospital in my opinion is not ready to be retired. Its’ still in good shape. In addition to that the life saving service my good friend received there recently was better than the service he received at St. Catharines fancy schmancy building.
Just think all of this discussion wouldn’t be necessary if we weren’t spending $100M+ for a new NRP building at a time when crime is on the decline and the efforts of the NRP are largely traffic control related. Like we need that, but HEY in a land of money producing trees…….. COULD HAVE HAD TWO HOSPITALS. NOW WOULDN”T THAT BE SOMETHING!
Just sayin.,….
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Quite simply folks , you should get out your shovels for stuff other than snow. This is propaganda shit unlike anything I have ever heard from this distasteful group of Liberals.. If they had not totally destroyed Southern Tier Health Services they wouldn’t have to waste our time patching it back together. As for Smith he could sell oil to Alberta and should go sell some used cars. So tired of him and Matthews driving the manure spreader.
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Greg is right. The new hospital should have been built in the Welland area in the first place. It is WAY more central and more easily accessed with lots of room for parking and Hwy 58, the 406 & Hwy 20 already there. Meanwhile, the Niagara Falls site leaves the Port Colborne & Wainfleet areas SOL. Why couldn’t they just leave well enough alone to begin with? The new hospital has fewer beds than the old ones. The hospitals they closed always operated in the black so they stole from them to supply the new one which is already way more costly than predicted.
Of course Morocco says she’s determined to have it in NF. Would that be because it’s the riding where the byelection is? Nah. Our good politicians would never do that would they?
Sue, I’ve shovelled enough this winter. I have no desire to add shit to the list.
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It’s about more than health care, although that is extremely important. It’s not Joyce Morocco’s fault that Ontario and Niagara in particular has suffered greatly with the ineptitude of this McGuinty-Wynn Liberal government, but voters won’t be swayed into rewarding the same worn-out brand. Political hot potatoes are best served mashed, but when the Liberals pour on the gravy, it’s cold.
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The proposed site for the South Niagara Hospital serves two purposes:
1) it addresses the poor location of the new St. Catharines Hospital to serve the needs of the community;
2) it fulfills the whims of the politicians who can later boast how great they are.
What it does not do is address the needs of the people in South Niagara. Anybody with a brain between his or her ears would realize that a hospital in the north eastern part of the region does not meet the needs of the whole community. Yes, Niagara Falls is a large centre _ perhaps it should be one of the Urgent Care sites.
Build the South Peninsula Hospital where it meets the needs of the people not the whims of short sighted politicians.
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Johnny-Come-Lately!
On this issue, as on so many others, the provincial Liberals are well behind the other parties. Their riding candidate is Joyce-come-lately in this race. Liberal decisions have all but crippled the Region economically. Their record in managing our health system is shameful. Now, with the election, they hear opportunity knocking and in their cynical way, want to appear as the saving party.
The present, LIberal, government of Ontario has shamefully wasted our tax money. They have messed up our health system and have devastated our regional economy. Yet, I remember something about the former leader pledging to not raise taxes and lower the deficit. But, where is that deficit now? And, how has that added to the staggering debt load our provincial leaders have placed on the backs of Ontarians for generations to come?
Joyce, you and your Liberal party bring too little, too late. You all had your chance and blew it. It’s time for a change!
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Greg hold on to your hat “I AGREE WITH YOU” Fiona, Susan, LInda, BIll, Robert and Gary and of course You.. MARK … All seven comments question the intellect, the purpose, and the intent of a rotten corrupt appointed “EMPIRE” that literally disenfranchised the peoples of the Southern Tier by not holding “OPEN” meetings, gaining valuable insight from the stakeholders and initiating this as the bases of their plans. They shut down hospitals that with upgrades would still be valuable assets to the communities they had served so diligently since inception. The meaning I get from the initials N.H.S is NO HOSPITAL SERVICES and have traveled for surgery to Coburg, Hamilton and Toronto. Thanks to Sevenpifer, Souter, Leon, Smith the several Provincial Health (or is it Wealth) Ministers we have been hung out to die for corrupt political gain.
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I sadly note that all of you missed the one BIG point in my message… we could have had two hospitals easily if it weren’t for the EMPIRE BUILDING NRP and their obsession with over policing this otherwise sleepy region. It’s not like we are Fort MAck here, there is very little criminal activity here that requires over a $100M NRP new build and a police chief that makes twice as much as the police chief of NEW FREAKING YORK CITY!!!!!!
I guess the cost of living in New York City has dropped below that of the Niagara Region….. I think I read that somewhere…. maybe MAD MAGAZINE!!!
Sadly just sayin…….
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