For Immediate Release
17 January, 2023
NDP Leader, James Dinn, MHA for St. John’s Centre released the following statement and letter to Premier Andrew Furey in response to Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford’s, healthcare announcement to fund private, for-profit clinics and surgeries:
“If our province announces a plan like we saw announced in Ontario yesterday, we could potentially drive more healthcare workers from our public system. We are asking Premier Furey to not go this route,” said Dinn.
“We must protect our publicly funded publicly delivered healthcare system. We want to live in a province where everyone has access to same level of health care. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador should feel supported by a system that works for them, not against them.”
A transcript of the letter submitted to the Premier’s Office follows.
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For further information, contact Eddy St. Coeur, Director of Communications, NDP Caucus at 729-2137 (o), or eddystcoeur@gov.nl.ca
Andrew Furey, Premier
Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
P.O. Box 8700
Confederation Building
St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6
January 17, 2023
Dear Premier,
I am writing today on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador with grave concern for our publicly funded, publicly delivered health care system.
What we saw announced yesterday in Ontario as “solutions” to the healthcare crisis is in opposition to the principles of public universal healthcare and potentially a violation of the Canada Health Act.
If your government allows surgeries to be done by for-profit clinics, people will end up waiting longer as the health care crisis gets worse. Privatization will cannibalize emergency rooms, ORs and other urgent care. The staffing crisis, and wait times, will get worse. We are already seeing this around the province with travel nurses and locums in Labrador and other places.
As well, these businesses will find a way to bill patients — like upselling to brands they prefer, charging for consultations, or billing patients for a bed.
We have seen the kind of care people get when profits are the priority. The situation in Ontario’s for-profit long-term care homes during the pandemic was inhumane.
The people of the province need a commitment from you and your government that you will not take our province down the path of privatization that as is being done by Premier Ford in Ontario.
Respectfully,
James Dinn
Leader, New Democratic Party
M.H.A., St. John’s Centre