Ontario Liberal plan means
better health care
By Dalton McGuinty, MPP
Leader of the Official Opposition
Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party
Only
Ontario Liberals have a plan to deliver real, positive change. Our plan,
released well in advance of the election, is bold, detailed, and
practical.
A
key part of our plan is improving health care in a way that is true to our
values. It is a plan that will make sure we all get the health care we
need. We all know that healthy people enjoy a higher quality of life and
cost our health system less. Yet the Eves government has neglected public
health and disease prevention initiatives.
The
Ontario Liberal plan will help you stay healthy in school, at work, in
your community, and in retirement. We will help people of all ages enjoy
better health beginning with better pre-natal care for expectant mothers.
We
will work to make our elementary school students more active and healthy
by ensuring that each day they get a minimum of 20 minutes of
cardiovascular activity. We will also set a strong example by banning the
sale of junk food in our elementary schools. The bottom line is healthier
schools and healthier kids.
Our
seniors' strategy will focus on keeping seniors active and well. We will
expand seniors' recreation centers to help seniors live healthy,
productive lives at home. Our improvements to home care will help seniors
stay at home longer by choice.
The
Ontario Liberal plan includes passage of a Commitment to Medicare Act,
which will outlaw two-tier health care and make universal, public medicare
the law in Ontario. We will make it illegal to allow people to buy their
way to the front of the line.
The
Ontario Liberal plan also means more family doctors, with a 15-per-cent
expansion of medical school enrollment and improved access for
foreign-trained physicians. We will also make medical school tuition more
affordable with loan forgiveness for doctors who choose to practise family
medicine.
Under
our plan, we will hire 8,000 more nurses, and treat them with more
respect. We'll also hire more nurse practitioners and fund more spaces in
nursing school.
Our
plan will result in a smoke-free Ontario. That means we will make all
public and work places in Ontario 100 per cent smoke free within three
years.
The
Ontario Liberal plan will mean shorter waiting times for care, with
around-the-clock access to family health teams of doctors, nurses and
nurse practitioners, the opening of 1,600 hospital beds, clear standards
for care, and independent, public reports on whether those standards are
met.
Our
plan is fiscally responsible. We submitted our plan to a forensic
accountant and two senior economists, all working independently. These top
financial experts confirmed that our platform and the economic assumptions
underpinning it are prudent and responsible.
In
addition to a better health care, the Ontario Liberal plan will also mean
a stronger economy that achieves our potential, excellence in public
education, strong communities, and a more democratic government.
In
contrast, top financial institutions tell us that the Eves Tories are
hiding a deficit as high as $2 billion, while at the same time offering
$3.2 billion more in tax giveaways to corporations and $500 million for
private schools. The Eves government believes in private, two-tier health
care, with access for those who can afford to pay more.
We
have a different approach. We have a responsible, affordable plan for
better health care for everyone.
Only
the Ontario Liberals have the vision, the plan, and the new perspective
needed to deliver real, positive change.