2003-07-19

I congratulate Mary Anne Chambers for hosting the town hall meetings but I also must caution people that the opinions and ideas expressed by the panelists are not necessarily Liberal policy. To discover the position of each party on a particular issue, you can visit the party's web site, call the party's office, or talk to the candidate. You can also contact the Ontario Federation of Labour for a copy of a booklet they have produced, which summarizes the parties' positions on a number of issues.

According the Centre for Social Justice (www.socialjustice.org), "your health depends more on a decent income and safe housing than on MRI machines." Moreover, while acute care will always remain a major concern, many more people die each year from the poor quality of our air than from e-coli and SARS combined. Yet, the forum apparently was silent on these issues.

To address the shortage of health care professionals in Ontario, we need to look beyond the immediate needs. The NDP's publicpower platform calls for a permanent "Office of the Advisory Council on Health Human Resources" to ensure that there will always be an adequate supply of health care professionals. Moreover, we would give those professionals "whistle blower" protection, as part of our Patients' Bill of Rights, so they can speak up without fear when they uncover problems. There would be an independent and powerful Health Care Standards Commissioner to monitor and enforce the principles of the Patients' Bill of Rights.

The NDP would make it easier for internationally trained professionals to gain accreditation. In addition, we would lower tuition fees in Colleges and Universities to allow more students access to professional education.

We will roll back the increases in long term care, and we will bring children's mental health and community mental health care out of cold. For too long mental health has been relegated to the sidelines of health services.

I encourage every voter to investigate the issues and the party's platforms fully. When they do, they will discover that only the NDP offers the practical solutions Ontario needs.

Gary Dale, Provincial NDP Candidate
Scarborough East