Dear Neighbours,
Our Oshawa office is a busy place on any given day. We help people navigate all sorts of issues. We have noticed lately that more of the concerns that we hear deal with health care, long term care, and services for our children.
While each situation is unique, each is part of a province-wide problem. Our public services are struggling to support the needs of families in our community. I hear heartbreaking stories every day as a result of decades of Conservative and Liberal cuts to the care people count on.
The Liberals have cut or frozen hospital budgets for years – shortchanging them by at least $300 million in last year’s budget. The last Conservative government fired 6,000 nurses, closed 28 hospitals and slashed over 7,000 hospital beds.
Cuts are more than just numbers. Cuts impact people. Cuts to housing put our neighbours on the street. Cuts to mental health supports challenge our communities. Cuts to education mean school closures and more limits on learning. Cuts to healthcare means overcrowding and longer wait times. We need care, not cuts.
Our Long Term Care homes must be safe for our seniors to live with dignity. Everyone who visits a doctor should have prescriptions covered by a universal Pharmacare plan, regardless of age. No one should have to pay for medicines they need with a credit card. We need to stop selling our revenue generating assets (like Hydro One) that are the funding streams for our services. We have to responsibly fund our public services, and make sure they meet the needs of our community.
This Government has done too much damage and done too little to help to help Ontarians. We have to decide what we want from the next Premier and what we want to see in our communities. It isn’t enough to oust this 14 year regime. We need to really talk about what our society deserves and what we want next for our province.
Our community deserves strong services to meet our needs and Ontarians deserve a better government. In 2018 we have a chance to decide what comes next.
As always, my office is here for you, and I look forward to continuing to work together.
Jennifer French
MPP Oshawa