Wynne promises more nurses
Liberal leader blasts Ford, saying his cuts will slash health-care jobs
Kathleen Wynne is hoping front-line health-care providers can nurse her back to political health.
Trailing in every public opinion poll, the Liberal leader said if she is re-elected June 7 her party will be able to deliver on its budgetary promise to hire 3,500 nurses this year.
With Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford vowing to find 4 per cent in “efficiencies” across the board, Wynne said that translates into $6 billion or more in cuts.
“There is no way that you can find between $6 billion and $10 billion in services that are delivered by the government of Ontario without cutting health care,” she told reporters at the Hospital for Sick Children.
“It is impossible because health care is such an impor- tant part of the budget.”
Wynne noted that in Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa’s March budget, which was passed Tuesday before the legislature was dissolved, the Liberals increased hospital funding by 4.6 per cent, or $822 million. As well, the government is hiring 3,500 nurses this year, including 2,500 in hospitals and one additional registered nurse in each of Ontario’s 627 long-term care homes.
“This warms my heart,” said Doris Grinspun, chief executive officer of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, which hosted Wynne at Sick Kids as part of its “take your politician to work” program for National Nursing Week.
While Ford has insisted his cuts would be without job losses, Wynne said “we’ve seen that before” when former PC premier Mike Harris was elected in 1995 and closed hospitals and fired nurses. “Some of you have lived through this,” the Liberal chief told the 25 nurses standing be- hind her during the Sick Kids news conference.
She said Ford’s promise to cut the corporate income tax rate to 10.5 per cent from 11.5 per cent could cost the treasury, which has a $6.7-billion deficit under the Liberals, about $1.3 billion in lost revenue.
“If you break that down, that’s about as much as cutting12,000 nurses from the system. That’s what that would cost: $1.3 billion annually would mean about 12,000 fewer nurses in our system,” Wynne said.
“So you get nurses or you get tax breaks for big businesses.”
Ford, for his part, insisted the health budget would remain intact if he is elected next month.
“We believe we’re going to keep it the same, but we’re going to find efficiencies,” he said at a Mississauga hotel where the PC campaign announced middle-class income tax cuts.
Ford has declined to provide specific details of the 4 per cent of spending he would cut.