Tory leader urges voters to punish Liberals for scandals

The province is ignoring the health-care needs of Sudburians, says interim Progressive Conservative Leader Jim Wilson, who was in the city Thursday campaigning with Tory candidate Paula Peroni.

“Wait times in the ER at Health Sciences North average 18.5 hours, compared to provincial average of 10.1 hours,” Wilson said. “If you need cataract surgery here, people here have to wait 235 days – 72 days more than people in the rest of Ontario.”

The wait for hip replacement surgery, an important issue among the city's aging population, is 256 days in Sudbury, compared to the provincial average of 191 days.

“It's not because the health-care workers – doctors, nurses and support staff – don't work very, very hard on behalf of the people of Sudbury,” he said. “It's because the government isn't funding them properly and making health care a priority here in Sudbury.”

He called on the Liberals to bring a PET scanner to the city, saying the northeast is the only area in the province without one.

“Here is a government that thinks nothing of spending $1.1 billion on a political decision to cancel gas plants for votes, but they won't commit to bringing a PET scanner to Sudbury – even after your community raised more than half a million dollars to help pay for one.”

He also pointed to reports that 34 nursing jobs could be cut at the hospital, and the fact a strike is looming in the health-care sector because the Liberals haven't taken negotiations seriously.

“All because this government has mismanaged the province's finances, and has no idea how to balance the budget, except by hurting health-care providers and services,” he said.

“This won't change unless Sudbury residents send them a message that you've had enough. The Ontario PC caucus has been exposing the government's wasteful and scandalous spending that is taking away from frontline services you deserve.

“The government won't be able to continue ignoring Sudbury if you show them you won't be taken for granted any longer.”

Peroni said Ontario already has one of the worst nurse/patient ratios in Canada, yet more could be lost because of flat hospital funding from the Liberals.

“We deserve to have more nurses, more folks who are hands-on and are treating patients,” Peroni said. “We need more, not less, front-line workers in this community … We have far too many people who are behind the scenes that are actually not treating patients. That needs to change.

“As a member of the Loyal Opposition in the Legislature, I get to hold the Liberals' feet to the fire. It's time that Sudbury has a very loud voice, an effective voice, and I think I'm that person.”

Wilson said the Liberal legacy will be billions wasted in scandals like Ornge, smart meters and eHealth, while cities like Sudbury are denied things such as PET scanners.

“The government should be embarrassed,” he said. “Please, people of Sudbury, don't reward bad behaviour. It's been 11 years of Liberal government and you don't have a PET scanner?

“It's only fair to the people of Sudbury. You've been paying your health tax for 10 years under the Liberals, and your the world-class health centre for the northeast. People here deserve it and Paula is going to fight for it – and you're going to get it, if Paula is there.”