November 26th, 2021

Doug Ford’s Conservatives vote no on Peel Memorial ER, third Brampton hospital

Sarkaria, Sandhu, Anand show up to vote against more funding for Peel health care

BRAMPTON – Doug Ford’s Conservatives have unanimously voted no to an NDP proposal to fund a full emergency department at Peel Memorial, and begin work on another standalone hospital in Brampton.

Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath’s motion on Wednesday would have committed the province to funding these critical health care projects. Prabmeet Sarkaria (Brampton South), Amarjot Sandhu (Brampton West) and Deepak Anand (Mississauga—Malton) showed up at Queen’s Park to vote no, making the final tally a 45-to-23 vote against the motion.

“Everyone in our community knows that the long, painful waits at Brampton Civic can be agonizing. Families —including mine — know what it’s like to see your loved one spend days on a gurney in a crowded ER because there are no hospital rooms available,” said NDP MPP Gurratan Singh (Brampton East). “The Conservative MPPs know Doug Ford won’t build an ER or a new hospital because he doesn’t want to spend the money on Brampton, yet they voted to back him instead of being here for Brampton families.”

“Government after government refuses to give Brampton our fair share,” said NDP Deputy Leader Sara Singh (Brampton Centre). “While the Liberals and Conservatives take turns ignoring Brampton’s health care needs, our families have to line up for hours to get the care we need. We have to watch our loved ones suffer in pain for longer. And we live with the worry that our moms and dads won’t be treated in time if something happens to them. No family should have to live with that kind of fear.”

Horwath has committed to taking Brampton from one hospital to three by putting an ER and hospital wards into Peel Memorial, and building a brand new standalone hospital. That same commitment was in Horwath’s 2018 election platform, as well as in the NDP’s 2021 budget priorities.

“Brampton families have every reason to be devastated that Doug Ford’s Conservatives denied them an ER at Peel Memorial and denied them a third hospital,” said Kevin Yarde (Brampton North). “But Andrea Horwath and the NDP will never, ever give up on Brampton. We’re going to keep fighting for the investments we need to care for the people we love. And with Andrea running for premier, we’ve got hope, and a plan to build three, complete hospitals and deliver the high-quality health care people in Brampton have always deserved.

“Brampton families are counting on us, and we’re committed to being here for them.”

Background

  • Kathleen Wynne and Steven Del Duca had years to build hospitals in Brampton, but refused. From July 2018 to June 2019 Peel Memorial was between 557 per cent and 587 per cent full. Brampton Civic was in Code Gridlock multiple times every week by the time the Liberals left office.
  • Ford’s cuts to health and public health made the situation worse. By Jan. 22, 2020, Brampton council had to declare a health care emergency, even before COVID-19 arrived. By the end of June 2021, Brampton Civic had transferred away more than 567 people, 150 of them in critical condition, because there weren’t enough beds or staff to care for them.
  • Far from being a full-service hospital, Ford will not include in Peel Memorial’s expansion an emergency department nor acute care beds. Ford has only committed to building 250 beds over the next seven years, despite Brampton City Council’s urgent request for 850 new beds.

The text of Horwath’s motion reads as follows:

Whereas Brampton is one of the fastest growing and most diverse cities in the country, yet remains one of the most underserved cities in Canada in terms of healthcare services and investments; and

Whereas the previous Liberal government ignored the growing health services crisis in Brampton by refusing to build a new hospital; and

Whereas despite the challenges of the pandemic, the Ford government has broken its promise to upgrade Peel Memorial to a full hospital, walking away from the Premier’s commitment to build the second emergency room and acute care beds required to address long waits and a lack of capacity in the City’s one existing hospital; and

Whereas consecutive Liberal and Conservative governments have repeatedly failed to deliver on promises to improve healthcare in Brampton, despite the need for a minimum of 850 new beds and the construction of a third full-service hospital to address overcrowding and hallway medicine in Canada’s ninth-largest city;

Therefore, the Legislative Assembly calls on the Ford government to immediately provide the funding necessary to address the 850 beds needed in Brampton, build a new emergency room and beds at Peel Memorial, and build a third hospital to appropriately address the city’s healthcare needs.