As Liberals and Conservatives abandon families with sick kids, New Democrats call on the PM to show up and act

OTTAWA – On Wednesday, the Leader of Canada’s NDP Jagmeet Singh once again called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to show leadership and show up to fix the kids health care crisis in Canda by immediately calling an emergency First Ministers meeting to work out a deal as pediatric ICUs and emergency rooms are flooded with children needing care.

“In Ontario, hospitals are so overwhelmed with the number of sick children that CHEO is calling in the Red Cross, while children's hospitals across the country are forced to delay surgeries to deal with the increase of sick kids. Meanwhile in Alberta, children's hospice staff are being redeployed to emergency rooms and outside the Alberta’s Children’s Hospital, they are setting up a makeshift emergency waiting room as patients come in droves,” said Singh. “There is nothing scarier for a parent than having a child who is sick. And now, they don’t know if the care will be there when they need it. Our children deserve better than this.”

Conservative premiers across the country are fuelling the urgency of the crisis by discussing plans to gut and privatize the public health-care system that Canadians across the country rely on. While Conservatives threaten to make access to crucial health services even more restricted, New Democrats are pressing the federal government to ensure the Canada Health Act is upheld equally for all Canadians and to provide the funding needed to save our hospitals.

“The number one priority for parents is the health of their children. Why isn't it Justin Trudeau's?” asked Singh. “Kids are struggling to breath and to be seen by health care professionals everywhere in this country and the Prime Minister and his Liberal government are nowhere to be seen. If I was prime minister, I wouldn’t rest until we had a deal with the provinces, so families don't have to worry about their kid getting the care they need when they're sick.”