(Queen’s Park, Toronto) – While public sector executives at ORNGE and London Health Sciences are making millions of dollars a year in exorbitant salaries, bonuses and golden handshakes, patients and seniors in communities throughout Ontario, like Quinte and Chatham, continue to suffer. A lack of long-term care beds and homecare, cancelled surgeries and longer wait times are the new norm in Dalton McGuinty’s Ontario.

“On the very same day we learned that a hospital executive in London received a $1.4 million bonus, patients in Chatham are having their hip and knee replacement surgeries cancelled until April,” said PC Health Critic, MPP Elizabeth Witmer. “It’s absolutely appalling. This is what happens to patients when a government spends eight years without a plan for providing access to healthcare, without a long-term vision and without consideration of the impact on patients.”

Ontario’s health system is collapsing under gross Liberal mismanagement. Presently, over 1 million people are without a doctor, over 24,000 patients are waiting for a long-term care bed, there is a severe shortage of homecare support and wait times for emergency services and surgeries are increasing.   

“Every time Ontarians learn of a new scandal, more outrageous spending, cancelled surgeries and abuse in nursing homes, the Liberal government says, ‘Oops, we’ll do better.’ That’s not good enough, Ontarians are tired of the excuses and deserve immediate action to address the growing problem of access to quality care,” said Witmer.

“For eight years the Liberals have dithered, refusing to address the many problems our health system is facing. As a result, their mismanagement is hurting patients by lowering the accessibility and quality of Ontario’s health system,” Witmer said.

“It’s time for this government to assume responsibility and take decisive action on the problems facing our system,” added Witmer. “In Quinte, patients are languishing in hospitals waiting for a long-term care bed. In Chatham, patients are waiting an unacceptably long time for hip and knee surgeries. After eight years, the time for excuses is over.”

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(Queen’s Park, Toronto) – Today, an article in the Belleville Intelligencer provided further evidence to what is already known in communities throughout the province: there is a serious and devastating long-term care crisis in Ontario. According to the Intelligencer, hospitals in Quinte – Belleville, Trenton, Prince Edward County and North Hastings – are “bursting at the seams” with Alternative Level of Care (ALC) patients occupying acute care beds.

“The situation in Quinte, unfortunately, is very similar to situations in many other hospitals and communities throughout Ontario,” said PC Health Critic, MPP Elizabeth Witmer. “Due to a severe shortage of long-term care beds and homecare support, ALC patients have no other option but to stay in hospital, thereby occupying desperately needed acute care beds.”

After eight years of Liberal government, what was once a problem is now a crisis. The government’s inability to devise a credible plan has resulted in the tripling of wait times and the doubling of wait lists for long-term care beds. There are currently over 24,000 ALC patients waiting for a long-term care bed in Ontario, an increase of almost 12,000 since 2005. The government’s all but abandoned “Ageing at Home” strategy is widely acknowledged to be a colossal failure.

“The Liberals, by their own admission, have never had even a semblance of a plan to address the long-term care crisis they’ve created,” Witmer said. “The former Health Minister, David Caplan, publicly admitted the beds the Liberals have built were fully funded with money allocated by the former PC government, which built 20,000 brand new beds.”

Hospitals throughout Ontario are operating at over-capacity. Acute care patients requiring immediate attention are waiting for hours, being treated in hallways and forced to share rooms, increasing the likelihood of infection and decreasing the quality of care provided.

“The average wait for a long-term care bed in Ontario is 173 days. Many people wait over two years before finding a bed. This situation is unacceptable,” Witmer said. “It’s time for the government to take immediate and decisive action.”

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The MPPs have sent the letter to board chair Catherine Fife, outlining the many concerns constituents have raised about the board’s plan to completely eliminate third party child care providers such as the YMCA and OWL from the Region’s schools and replace them with a completely board-run service for children aged four to seven.

MPP Witmer expressed her disappointment with the board’s failure to have meaningful consultations with parents before any recommendations were made. “It is very disappointing to see recommendations being made without prior consultation with the parents and families that stand to be affected.”

“Parents and guardians – not the school board – should be the ultimate decision makers when choosing the day care provider most appropriate for their children,” said Michael Harris, MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga. “ The best solution for local families would be for the Waterloo Region District School Board to implement the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s model, which supports existing before-and after-school programs while at the same time establishing new public day care services in schools without a current provider.”

“Before the Legislature rose, I introduced a Private Members’ Bill to protect third-party child care providers in Ontario, especially in Waterloo Region. When the Legislature resumes, we will continue to push the McGuinty government to call this bill for second reading to ensure that the needs of parents, children and stakeholders in Waterloo Region, are not ignored by the school boards,” said Cambridge-North Dumfries MPP Rob Leone.

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 Windsor Regional Hospital Bed Shortage Indicative Of Worsening Problem

(Queen’s Park, Toronto) – “Today we learned that the long-term care problem in Ontario has reached a crisis level,” said PC Health Critic, MPP Elizabeth Witmer. “Hospitals, like Windsor Regional Hospital, are operating at 105% capacity as alternative level of care patients occupy desperately needed acute care beds. This has broader consequences for our entire health system and the Liberal government must be held accountable.”

In 2003, the Liberal government promised a “revolution in long-term care”. Instead, Ontario’s long-term care system is in crisis. Seniors are experiencing hospital and long-term care bed shortages, the cancelling of elective surgeries, a severe lack of homecare services and the abandonment of the government’s own “Ageing At Home Strategy”.

“Ontario has witnessed an alarming deterioration of its long-term care system under this government. They’ve made numerous promises but have refused to take any meaningful action to address the shortage of beds,” Witmer said. “They have failed to consider capacity planning and after eight years are still without any plan or strategy to address this worsening problem.”

In Ontario, there are presently 25,700 seniors waiting for a long-term care bed, an increase of 12,700 patients since 2005.

Moreover, under the McGuinty Liberals, wait lists for long-term care homes have doubled, while wait times have tripled. According to the Ontario Health Quality Council, the median wait time for an alternative level of care patient to access a long-term care bed is 173 days, with many applicants waiting almost two years. Over 35,000 seniors are living in long-term care beds that do not meet provincial standards.

In 1998, the former PC government invested an unprecedented $1.2 billion to improve access to high quality long-term care and homecare services. Its long-term care strategy built 20,000 new beds and upgraded 16,000 existing beds to comply with new design standards.  

“The Ontario PC caucus remains committed to addressing the long-term care crisis created by the McGuinty government,” said Witmer.

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(Queen’s Park, Toronto) – Today in his annual report, the Auditor General confirmed the McGuinty government’s policies are hurting job creation and economic growth by raising hydro bills and increasing the debt and deficit.

The 2011 report found the McGuinty Liberal’s energy policies are primarily creating temporary construction jobs and that for every green energy job created the broader sector economy is expected to lose two to four private sector jobs due to escalating hydro rates.

“The Auditor General has delivered a scathing indictment of the government’s flagship policy. The FIT program is costing Ontario billions of dollars, hurting job creation and has delivered no discernable return on investment,” Witmer said. “The government rushed into this policy without any study of the effects it would have on our economy or workforce.”

The report reveals that Dalton McGuinty ignored repeated warnings from the Ontario Power Authority and his top energy advisors that the FIT program and Samsung Deal would substantially drive up energy rates for the manufacturing and small business sector.

“The report is another confirmation that the debt and jobs crisis we’re experiencing in Ontario is the result of the Liberal government’s policies,” said Witmer.

The report also reveals that Ontarians pay the highest auto insurance premiums in all of Canada and that despite increasing physician salaries by several billion dollars over four years the government is unable to determine if there has been an increase in the quality and accessibility of care.

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(Queen’s Park, Toronto) – Today, Elizabeth Witmer, MPP Kitchener-Waterloo, announced that she will be introducing a comprehensive bullying prevention bill designed to combat bullying in Ontario schools and provide a safe and secure environment for our students.

“This will be Ontario’s only piece of legislation designed with the sole purpose of comprehensively addressing the growing problem of bullying in our schools,” said Witmer. “This bill is the result of research and consultations with parents, students and educators over the past two years.”

A 2010 survey of grade 12 students by the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association found 46% had either been the victim or perpetrator of bullying. According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, one third of students have bullied others, while one third has been bullied.

The Anti Bullying Act, 2011, addresses four critically deficient areas of current provincial law and policy as they pertain to school safety: reporting/investigating, accountability, education/publicity and remedial programs.

“I believe that we must make significant improvements in these four areas in order to tackle this serious problem and the devastating consequences of bullying,” said Witmer. “This bill focuses on prevention, accountability and awareness. It provides for a formalized process, clear responsibilities and resources for victims and perpetrators.”

The bill will require the Ministry of Education to incorporate bullying prevention into the provincial curriculum starting in Kindergarten. The bill also enshrines into law, “Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week,” which Witmer introduced as a resolution in February 2010.

“I believe this bill is a significant step forward in creating an anti-bullying culture throughout our education system,” said Witmer. “This bill will ensure that our students, parents and educators are provided with a strategy to raise awareness and prevent bullying, a process to resolve it and the data to learn from it.”

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For more information contact:

Elizabeth Witmer, MPP

416 325 1306

(Toronto, ON) – Today, PC Health Critic and MPP for Kitchener-Waterloo, Elizabeth Witmer, questioned the Minister of Health about the government’s timelines to investigate serious allegations of abuse and neglect occurring in Ontario nursing homes.

“Thirteen months ago the Liberal government defeated my motion which would have allowed the Social Policy Committee to investigate horrifying cases of abuse and neglect,” Witmer said. “Only now, over a year later and after another Toronto Star report revealing widespread physical, emotional and even sexual abuse, have they conceded that a task force must be struck,” said Witmer.

Health Minister, Deb Matthews, attempted to sidestep the question about the task force’s timelines and refused to reveal when Ontarians can expect the public disclosure of its findings and recommendations.

“Today the Health Minister refused to be held accountable for the egregious abuse occurring under her watch. She’s passing the buck and attempting to sweep it under the rug,” Witmer said. “She has refused to divulge when the task force will report back.”

The PC Caucus believes firmly that significant reforms must be made to Ontario’s long-term care system and that action must be taken immediately to ensure better transparency and provision of care.

“The task force must make its report and recommendations public as soon as possible to ensure high quality, transparent care as well as a safe environment for residents,” said Witmer. “Ontarians, especially seniors and family members of seniors living in homes, deserve to know what is being done to rectify this situation and when they can anticipate the task force’s recommendations for change.”

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For more information contact:

Elizabeth Witmer, MPP

Kitchener-Waterloo

416 325 1306

(Toronto, ON) – Today, Elizabeth Witmer, MPP Kitchener-Waterloo and PC Critic for Health, joined Rob Leone, MPP for Cambridge, in calling on the Legislative Assembly to pass Leone’s resolution requiring the government to table a specific and detailed plan outlining the current status of the 22 hospital expansion projects announced immediately before the recent Ontario election.

“This resolution is about accountability. The government made 22 hospital expansion promises in the five months leading up to the October election, 17 without funding figures or timelines,” Witmer said. “The PC Caucus will hold the government to account and ensure that these communities are informed of the status of their hospitals.”

Witmer pointed out that the expansion of the Cambridge Memorial Hospital was to be completed by 2010 and that she attended a groundbreaking ceremony at the site in October 2007. Four years later work has yet to begin.

“What has occurred in Cambridge is occurring in many communities throughout Ontario,” said Witmer. “This Liberal government is playing politics with health care and with hospitals in an attempt to buy votes.”

The 22 hospital commitments announced by the McGuinty Liberals before the election amount to over $2.2 billion in capital expenditures.

“The PC Caucus believes that hospital expansion announcements must include funding commitments and timelines. Swooping in to make an announcement without providing any details is irresponsible and unfair,” added Witmer. “The McGuinty government owes the people of Cambridge, Brampton, Vaughn and all the other communities where hospital projects have been promised a clear and detailed plan of action.”

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(Toronto, ON) – Today’s Fall Economic Statement is yet another indication of the Liberal government’s fiscal and economic mismanagement. Finance Minister, Dwight Duncan, revealed in the Legislature that Ontario’s economy continues to decline and that government spending will continue to increase for the indefinite future.  

“Today’s update is reflective of Ontario’s deteriorating economic position,” said Kitchener-Waterloo MPP Elizabeth Witmer. “Our economy continues to weaken and this government continues to show a lack of leadership and strategic direction.”

Ontarians learned today that the provincial deficit has climbed back to $16 billion. Interest on the province’s debt costs taxpayers $10 billion a year.  

“This Liberal government spends more on interest payments servicing our debt than it does on the entire post-secondary education system. Their spending is out of control,” said Witmer.

Last month Ontario lost 75,000 full time jobs. Its debt is projected to hit $300 billion in fiscal year 2012.

“Unfortunately, Ontario has a government that is directionless and is without a plan to confront the economic storm clouds on the horizon,” Witmer said. “The Ontario PC Party is the only party with a strategy to confront this jobs crisis. We have put forward a number of constructive suggestions to get Ontario working again, such as our plan to immediately create 200,000 new apprenticeship spaces for skilled tradespeople.”

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(Toronto, ON) – Today, Elizabeth Witmer, MPP Kitchener-Waterloo, expressed her disappointment and concern with the Liberal government’s failure to address Ontario’s economic problems in the Speech from the Throne.

“Today’s Throne Speech signalled  that Ontarians should prepare for more of the same,”said Witmer. “This government has failed to acknowledge the economic instability in Ontario. People are losing their jobs, our youth are graduating without being able to find employment and the government’s spending is out of control.”

In today’s speech the government announced an additional $2.5 billion in new program spending. This is despite Ontario’s $16 billion deficit and projected debt of $300 billion.

“This government has accumulated unprecedented deficits and debt and has presided over the largest job losses in generations,” Witmer said. “The government’s economic policies are failing. Ontario needs a government with a strategy to create new jobs and restore order to the province’s finances.”

Ontario’s unemployment rate has surpassed the national average for 58 consecutive months. Last month Ontario lost over 75,000 full time jobs.

“Our province is facing extremely serious economic problems. We have a youth unemployment rate of 15%, out of control spending and a government that refuses to take these issues seriously,” said Witmer. “This speech is thoroughly disappointing in its failure to offer any new ideas or solutions.”

The Ontario PCs have put forward several constructive suggestions to get Ontario working again, reduce wasteful government spending and make life more affordable for families.