Singh says health funding offer troubling news for staffing crisis

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh released the following statement in response to emerging details the federal government’s new Canada Health Transfer offer to provinces:

“After spending the last two and a half years stalling any progress to improve health care, Justin Trudeau has come forward with the bare minimum — a deal that won’t do nearly enough to recruit, retain and respect frontline workers, does not address the conditions in long-term care, and throws open the door for premiers that are pursuing staff-poaching privatize-for-profit schemes.

After almost eight years with Mr. Trudeau as prime minister, the nursing shortage is worse, patients are waiting longer for care and our health care system is in deep crisis. Increasing the Canada Health Transfer is a start – but this is not enough to rebuild our public health care system.

Most concerning is that, according to premiers, Prime Minister Trudeau did not raise a single concern with provincial plans to build more for-profit, private health care. When he had the chance to stand up for Canada’s public health care system, he stood down.

But by putting no real conditions on this funding, the Liberals will make the crisis much worse by allowing premiers to pursue for-profit schemes that will bleed staff from hospitals.

Our parents and grandparents still living in poor conditions in some long-term care homes deserve better. The nurses and other frontline health care workers who are run off their feet and burnt out deserve better. Patients waiting for surgeries and everyone who has waited hours in an ER recently all deserve better.”