All Canadians deserve access to world-class health care
Ontario stands ready to work with our federal and provincial partners to secure a new funding pact on health care
The COVID-19 pandemic has tested our health-care system in unprecedented ways. The challenges we now face are critical: a backlog of surgeries, growing hallway health care, the need to build 30,000 long-term-care beds after years of neglect, all while providing high-quality care to a growing number of aging Ontarians.
The global pandemic has exposed many of the underlying cracks in a tired and neglected system. Too few nurses and personal support workers, aging hospitals and a growing waitlist for long-term-care beds are all the result of decades of underinvestment.
Ontario families need access to world-class health care. Doing so requires a renewed partnership between the provinces and the federal government.
When medicare was first established, the federal government agreed to cover 50 per cent of health-care costs. Over time, that funding partnership has eroded, leaving the provinces and territories to cover more than three-quarters of all health-care costs.
The federal contribution to health care is now just 22 per cent across the country. If nothing changes, that number is on track to continue to decline sharply. In fact, if the federal government fails to increase its share of funding, Ontario will face a $40-billion annual funding gap for health care by the year 2040.
That’s why I’ll be joining Canada’s premiers on Thursday at a special first ministers meeting with the prime minister to call on the federal government to increase its funding share from 22 per cent to 35 per cent through the Canada Health Transfer — still well short of the 50 per cent the federal government originally contributed but a strong step in the right direction.
If the federal government were to increase its share by 13 per cent, Ontario would receive an additional $10 billion in health-care funding every year.
Just imagine the possibilities. That’s $10 billion more that could help pay for seven brand new hospitals, 150 new MRI machines and hospital stays for over 72,200 patients. That’s money that could dramatically expand virtual doctor visits or help improve care for Ontario’s most vulnerable in long-term care homes.
We aren’t asking Ottawa to do anything we are not prepared to do ourselves. Ontario has already stepped up with a commitment of $18 billion over 10 years to build and renovate more hospitals. We are improving quality care for seniors by increasing the hours of direct care for each and every long-term care resident to an average of four hours per day by 2024. Ontario has never invested more in mental health and addictions services.
Ontario stands ready to work with our federal and provincial partners to secure a new funding pact on health care to ensure all Canadians have access to world-class care.
It’s time for the federal government to take this request seriously.
via National Post
Senior Project Controller
3 年https://youtu.be/Tq8SXOBy-4w
A patient, health care advocate and volunteer.
3 年You have a tough job Doug...acknowledged. Please listen though. Stop the redundant spending on healthcare beurocracy like 600 Presidents and CEOs and Vicepresidents at 140 hospitals at a cost of $300,000,000 annually. Amamalgamate hospital senior staff and free up money for healthcare. No need to keep asking Ottawa for more,more,more! Tighten it up! Credibility is sliding I feel. And this is just a start. Wealth over Health? Ignore the needy and protect the greedy? Change is needed. God bless our frontline leaders providing quality care as required by all Ontario patients. No words can express our thanks. But what do I know?....I am only a patient.
International Supply Chain Consultant - Retired
3 年Right on! Can you ensure vaccination protocoles, ways and means of getting the vaccine by regions as well as locations are widely made available PDQ. Thank you Sir....
Reflecting on Lessons Learned
3 年30 percent of our existing $73 billion annual investment and you want to simply increase spending in our existing fragmented delivery system. Why? Why do you want Trudeau to borrow billions more, rather than redeploy “wasted” money into leveraged spending? Whoever wrote your Toronto Sun piece must be happy that you have been set up to respond to these same arguements yourself in the next provincial budget. This is wasted money. Invest in housing and food security for vulnerable populations.????????
I HELP OUT WHERE I CAN : IN OUR COMMUNITIES AS A VOLUNTEER
3 年So why are you and Christine Elliott Blackmailing Canadians in to taking any Vaccines and if we don,t there will be repercutions. This is Pregest and BlackMail and against all Human right and Uttering Threats to all Canadians. Witch is Against the Canadian Laws. You all should be locked up , charged for this kind of actions . Shame on you all . Police do your Job and Charge them , for it .