Brampton Civic’s overcrowding has been a big topic of conversation over the past few months following the news that hundreds of emergency room patients were serviced in hallways in 2016. Here’s how the province’s three major parties plan to deal with health care if elected during the Ontario provincial election.
Liberal Party of Ontario
- Invest $822 million in hospital care and infrastructure — the largest boost in more than a decade
- Spend $300 million over three years for registered nurses (RNs) in every long-term care facility in Ontario
- Increase the number of hours RNs spend with patients by 2022
- Introduce a drug and dental program to cover 80 per cent of specific drugs and dental costs
- Expand OHIP+ program to cover drug costs to seniors 65 and over, a projected $575 million investment
- Spend $2.1 billion on Ontario’s mental health system
Ontario New Democratic Party
The NDP are promising significant investments in the province’s health care to make up for what they say is years of negligence from the Liberals.
- Invest $19 billion over 10 years in hospitals, adding 2,000 new hospital beds and 15,000 long-term care beds by 2023
- Ensure shorter wait times and fix issues resulting from under-staffing by funding more hospital staff
- Introduce a $475-million pharmacare plan covering 125 commonly prescribed drugs including a number of take-home cancer medications and drugs used for those transitioning genders
- Expand full dental coverage to all contract, full and part-time workers, as well as low-income children and retired seniors living without a pension
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
Doug Ford has yet to release a comprehensive platform after the departure of former leader Patrick Brown
- Cut wait times as well as add 15,000 new long-term care beds over the next five years and 30,000 new beds over the next 10 years
- Spend $1.9 billion over the next decade on mental health and addiction support
- Encourage more doctors move to northern Ontario towns by cutting their provincial taxes to as low as zero per cent
Sources: Ontario Liberals, Ontario NDP, Ontario PC, Global News, Toronto Star, McLean’s