Over the next week and a half, CambridgeToday will continue its series of articles in which candidates in the Kitchener South-Hespeler and Cambridge ridings will address key issues in the upcoming election.
We have asked each candidate to provide answers to 10 questions which will then be shared with our readers, one at a time, in the days leading up to the election.
In Cambridge there are five candidates, including incumbent Belinda Karahalios.
In Kitchener South-Hespeler, which does not have an incumbent in the running, there are six candidates.
Candidates whose answers do not appear below did not respond to our request.
Here is our fifth question of candidates:
Ontario is experiencing a labour shortage in health care. What would you do, if elected?
Joanne Weston - NDP - Kitchener South-Hespeler
The pandemic exposed just how badly broken things are in our hospital system — especially when it comes to understaffing. Nurses, doctors and other health professionals are run off their feet, unable to give every patient the time and attention they’d like to.
The current government’s low-wage policy, Bill 124, is freezing the wages of health care workers behind inflation, and disrespected, burnt out health care workers like nurses are leaving in droves. Ontario now has 22,000 fewer nurses per capita than what we need.
The Conservatives made cuts to critical services before the pandemic, they didn’t want to spend the money to shore up hospitals and health care in the middle of a crisis, and their new budget once again ignores our healthcare workers.
We owe it to our healthcare professional to fix our broken health care system. The NDP will end hallway medicine inside Ontario’s hospitals. We will place a moratorium on any further layoffs of nurses and health care workers – and we’ll bring health care partners together to complete a comprehensive review of staffing needs.
We will immediately take action to hire at least 10,000 PSWs and 30,000 nurses across the health sector and develop and implement a strategy to address violence against health care professionals. We’ll also scrap Bill 124 which prevents nurses and other healthcare workers from negotiating a fair wage.
David Weber - Green - Kitchener South-Hespeler
We have a shortage of 16,000 nurses according to the Ontario Nurses Association. We also have a shortage of PSWs, RPNs and doctors.
My priority is to hire 20,000 nurses, which would cost the $1.1 Billion that Doug Ford just threw out of the budget revenue by returning licence plate sticker fees.
We should be hiring nurses instead. We must have post-secondary education tuition free for all university, college and the trades, so education is accessible for those who would be aligned with a particular skill but hindered by lack of financial resources.
Marjorie Knight - NDP - Cambridge
The pandemic exposed just how badly broken things are in our hospital system — especially when it comes to understaffing. Nurses, doctors and other health professionals are run off their feet, unable to give every patient the time and attention they needed. Right now Ontario now has 22,000 fewer nurses per capita than what we need.
For years big cuts and bad choices have been breaking our health care system, and has left many workers in the sector underpaid and overworked.
I believe that health care workers must be given the support and respect they need to deliver quality care and avoid burnout. The Ontario NDP will repeal Bill 124, Ford’s legislation capping health care workers’ wages. Immediately after taking office we will take action to hire at least 10,000 PSWs and 30,000 nurses across the health sector. We will make sure PSWs can earn a decent wage of at least $5 above pre-pandemic levels and that they are able to secure full-time jobs. The Ontario NDP will expedite recognition of nursing credentials of 15,000 internationally trained nurses so they can get to work in their field faster.
This work will be done hand in hand with health care professionals to improve patient care, ensure fair wages, decent work conditions and safety on the job.
Carla Johnson - Green - Cambridge
One of the key reasons I am honoured to represent the Green Party of Ontario is because the GPO is guided by the vision to create a more caring province. The GPO wants to support strong hospitals and invest in healthcare workers.
Our GPO platforms states the following:
• Establish a nurse-led task force to make recommendations on matters related to the recruitment, retention and safety of nurses.
• Immediately repeal Bill 124 and the problematic sections of Bill 106 and allow all healthcare workers to bargain collectively for fair wages. Until then, provide a minimum hourly wage of $35 to registered practical nurses and $25 to personal support workers.
• Increase nursing program enrollments by 10% every year for 7 years and the number of trained nurse practitioners by 50% by 2030 to enable us to meet our target of at least 30,000 additional nurses.
• Support certification upgrades for healthcare workers through expanded bridging programs at publicly funded post-secondary institutions.
• Fast-track credential approvals for 15,000 international healthcare workers, including nurses and personal support workers.
• Guarantee access to the most appropriate safety equipment in all healthcare facilities, and use the precautionary principle when protecting workers.
• Provide support for Black and Indigenous healthcare workers through greater mentorship opportunities, partnerships with allies, and equitable human resources processes.
Surekha Shenoy - Liberal - Cambridge
Our Liberal team includes doctors, nurses and hospital leadership.
Working with this group, we will end the Ford Conservatives’ fight against health care heroes by raising the Personal Support Worker base pay to at least $25 per hour.
Similarly, we will repeal Bill 124 and ensure that mental health services are available for all health care professionals.
We’ll train and hire 100,000 nurses, doctors and other health care workers over the next six years as we replace retiring workers and expand our system.
Belinda Karahalios - New Blue - Cambridge
We must re-hire those nurses who lost their jobs over the last two years during the Ford PC government’s mandates and repeat lockdowns.
It is hypocritical to watch the PCs, Liberals, and NDP claim they will fix the problem in healthcare, a problem they all created while they governed Ontario.
We need a healthcare system that is focussed on outcomes and accountable to the patient. And we need to get back to strong economic growth in Ontario because slow economic growth at 1 per cent, as we have seen under the PCs and Liberals, will mean the provincial government will have less to spend on healthcare as healthcare costs continue to grow.
Brian Riddell - PC - Cambridge
Continue the PC Government’s work to retain, train, and hire more nurses, also work with Conestoga College to increase the numbers of PSWs.
