Mulcair to help five million Canadians access family doctors

NDP plan will help build 200 clinics, hire thousands more doctors, nurses and health care professionals

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair focused on Canadians’ access to family doctors and community health services as he gave further details of his comprehensive plan to move health care forward and reverse the damage done by years of Liberal and Conservative neglect.

“There’s nothing more important than your family’s health, but Stephen Harper’s lost decade did nothing to reverse the Liberals’ deep cuts or improve access to family doctors for millions of Canadians,” said Mulcair. “Our plan will usher in a new era of quality public health care, where you need it, when you need it, by adding doctors and providing health services that are more convenient, accessible and closer to home.”

An NDP government will provide long-term, stable funding and work with provinces and territories to ensure more Canadians can access a family doctor and primary care teams. We will:

• Invest $300 million to help build 200clinics across Canada;
• Help provinces hire over 7,000 doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and other health care professionals; and
• Maximize access to health services by targeting communities and neighbourhoods that are facing doctor shortages.

“Problems with wait times and access to health services started under the Liberals and Stephen Harper has done no better,” said Mulcair. “Our priority is to make needed investments in health care and balance the budget, by asking Canada’s biggest corporations to pay a fair share. Justin Trudeau won’t do that.”

Over the coming days Mulcair will outline more planks in his bold vision for quality public health care for all Canadians when and where they need it. The NDP will also release a full costing prior to Thursday’s debate and calls on Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau to do the same.