Liberal MPPs continue to ignore their local Hospitals, said Rob Leone, MPP for Cambridge. Their failure to ask the Premier, the Health Minister, and the Minister of Infrastructure to table the documents regarding hospital expansion promises requested by the Legislature proves that they do not care to know when the Government plans to follow through on their promises.

On November 24^th, 2011, the PC Caucus and NDP Caucus voted in favour of Leone’s Private Member’s Resolution that required Dalton McGuinty and the Liberal Government to table to the Legislature a detailed plan regarding the numerous hospital expansion projects that were announced in the months leading up to the recent Ontario election. The deadline for tabling these documents was March 1^st, 2012. Liberal MPPs voted against providing clarity to their constituents about local hospital projects.

“The Government’s failure to produce these documents is an example of Liberal MPPs failing to stand up for their constituents who seek clarity in the hospital expansion projects that the Liberals used to win their seats,” said Leone. “Now that the election is over and the McGuinty Government won their seats, they refuse to provide any details or timelines for the projects.”

“Liberal MPPs need to push the government to table to the Legislature a specific and detailed plan that outlines the costs, a timeline for completion, and how the government plans to pay for the construction and operation of all the hospital expansion projects promised before and during the 2011 Ontario General Election,” said Leone. “If they continue to stand idle on this issue, they should step aside and allow a different representative who can better represent their community’s interest”

“The communities and front line staff are waiting on these expansion and redevelopment projects to proceed. They have the right to know when the dollars will be in place to move them forward,” said PC Health Critic and MPP for Kitchener-Waterloo, Elizabeth Witmer. “The Minister has a duty to provide all the details so hospitals can better proceed with the appropriate long-range planning to meet patient needs.”

“With Ontario continuing down its current path toward a $30 billion deficit, never has there been a greater need for the Liberal Government to provide the Legislature a plan that details the costs, timeline for completion and how the government will afford the construction and operation of hospitals across Ontario,” said Leone.

 “We are not asking for any further spending, but rather we are seeking a detailed plan of how the McGuinty Government will afford the hospital expansion projects that they promised leading up to the previous election,” said Leone.