“(Ontario Conservative Leader Doug) Ford came to Niagara Falls four years ago and promised a shovel in the ground. He lied. Ford did nothing as Niagara faced a health care staffing crisis that led to urgent care and other health care services getting shut down.” – Niagara Falls Riding NDP MPP Wayne Gates
A News Release from the Re-election Campaign for Niagara Falls Riding NDP MPP Wayne: Gates
Posted May 20th, 2022 on Niagara At Large
Niagara Falls Ontario NDP incumbent candidate Wayne Gates
NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario – NDP incumbent candidate for Niagara Falls Wayne Gates says that an NDP government would prioritize the new hospital for Niagara Falls, and that Doug Ford is recycling a broken promise he made four years ago as he visits Friday. Gates released the following statement:
“Niagara families deserve to have health care services that meet their needs, and we’ve been fighting to make sure we get a new hospital in Niagara for years. No one should face long wait times or be treated in a hallway when they urgently need care, but unfortunately that’s the reality when you have a government that cuts rather than invests in care.
Ford came to Niagara Falls four years ago and promised a shovel in the ground. He lied. Ford did nothing as Niagara faced a health care staffing crisis that led to urgent care and other health care services getting shut down. Given his record, why should Niagara residents believe him this time?
We need to move beyond opportunistic photo ops and publicity stunts. We need to actually get shovels in the ground. Our community has been waiting far too long. I will continue to work with all levels of government to deliver the hospital this community needs and deserves.
We need a strong local voice that will keep the provincial government’s feet to the fire on healthcare, not an MPP who just sits at Queen’s Park and does whatever the Premier tells them to do.”
This billboard or one of its worn out predecessors has been sitting on a greenfield site where a new “South Niagara” hospiital might go through years of Ontario Liberal and Ford Conservative government. Interesting how npow, days before a provincial election vote that Doug Ford is back again, promising the hospital will get done.
Background
The PC record on healthcare in Niagara is abysmal:
* Ford allowed Douglas Memorial to be closed (https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/local-fort-erie/news/2022/01/05/town-wasn-t-consulted-about-temporary-closure-of-fort-erie-ucc-redekop.html) at the height of the pandemic, leaving thousands in Fort Erie without urgent care services.
* Ford diverted life-saving vaccines (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/oosterhoff-1.5923107) from Niagara despite the community’s urgent need.
* Overloaded emergency rooms (https://twitter.com/niagarahealth/status/1527677313621663744?s=20&t=wzaFLoTtWuosRtGXCxQ9rg) and surgery backlogs.
* Record EMS wait times (https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2022/05/19/niagara-paramedics-spent-more-than-1000-hours-last-week-waiting-to-deliver-patients-to-emergency-departments.html) .
* Failure to address deadly outbreaks (https://www.ontariondp.ca/news/gates-demands-justice-niagara-long-term-care-families) in long-term care facilities.
* Capping the wages of nurses (https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/we-are-hemorrhaging-nurses-ontarios-wage-restraint-law-blamed-for-hospital-staff-shortages) , driving them away from the profession.
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