Ontario budget: No new hospital for Brampton

Ontario budget: No new hospital for Brampton

MPP Kevin Yarde

Nov. 18, 2020

Conservatives allocate zero dollars to desperately needed projects in 2020-21 budget

BRAMPTON–As Brampton struggles with a COVID-19 crisis and the pandemic strains Brampton’s health care system, Doug Ford is putting Peel residents at risk by refusing to fund a new hospital or the expansion of Peel Memorial, warn NDP MPPs Kevin Yarde (Brampton North), Gurratan Singh (Brampton East) and Sara Singh (Brampton Centre).

Ford’s budget has zero dollars for the badly needed infrastructure projects, and zero dollars dedicated to helping Brampton fight COVID-19. There are now more people flowing through the doors of Brampton Civic than the hospital has the capacity to help, with as much as 19 per cent of COVID-19 tests in some parts of the community coming back positive.

MPP Gurratan Singh

“By telling Brampton: you’re on your own, Doug Ford has crushed the hopes of families who were thinking that, maybe, just maybe, health care help was coming, this time,” said Sara Singh. “No new money for a hospital and no dedicated resources to fight COVID-19 will leave families waiting longer for care and prolong the pain of the pandemic. It has now been almost 10 months since Brampton City Council declared a health care emergency, and our community has yet to see the investments it needs.”

“People are getting turned away from the hospital as Brampton struggles with a COVID-19 crisis. This shouldn’t be a surprise to Doug Ford when we are a community of essential workers. If Doug Ford isn’t going to help Brampton in its time of greatest need, then we can’t trust that he will ever give our community the new hospital it needs,” added Gurratan Singh. “The budget shows that Doug Ford was never serious about funding a new hospital for Brampton or expanding Peel Memorial. If he was, there would be money set aside for it. Instead, Doug Ford is giving Brampton zero dollars, continuing the Conservative and Liberal tradition of shortchanging our community’s health care system and the families that rely on it.”

MPP Sara Singh

Each time the NDP has forced a vote on it, Ford’s Conservatives have said no to funding a new hospital for Brampton and the expansion of Peel Memorial.

Now Ford is refusing to follow through on a successful NDP motion put forward by Yarde calling for provincial assistance to help Peel fight COVID-19.

“Peel Public Health has been doing its best to fight COVID-19 with limited resources, and it’s long past time that the provincial government stepped in with dedicated support,” said Yarde. “Enough with Mr. Ford’s empty promises: Brampton needs funding to shore up its health care system now, to help put the pandemic behind us, and immediate commitments to long-term investments in expanding its capacity permanently.

“An NDP government would get to work right away on building a new hospital for Brampton and expanding Peel Memorial by providing the money to finally get these projects off the ground.”

(PRESS RELEASE)