QUEEN’S PARK — Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says a new independent report reveals new details of deep health-care cuts buried in Ford’s budget.
Premier Doug Ford claims that health-care spending is on the rise, but a report tabled by the independent Financial Accountability Office (FAO) yesterday shows otherwise. The FAO examined Ministry of Health funding and found that Ford’s 2019 budget will see $2.7 billion slashed from health-care spending over the next two years. The FAO also said it was unable to provide a detailed breakdown of the massive cut because “the Province has deemed this information to be a Cabinet record.”
“Ontario families have a right to know what health services Ford plans to cut in order to find $2.7 billion, and families have a right to be worried about why the Ford government would try to keep that information secret,” said Horwath. “Is it because they won’t like the answer?
“People across Ontario just finished fighting tooth and nail to delay Ford’s painful cuts to public health. Now, we’re learning that Ford is again attempting to drag Ontario backwards with new cuts that will put families and their loved ones at risk.”
The FAO report also revealed that the Ford Conservatives are slashing funding for children and youth mental health services by $69 million compared to last year.
“Ontario families deserve better than a government that repeatedly attacks the frontline services they count on,” said Horwath. “I am urging this government to do the right thing and reverse these health-care cuts.”