(April 28, 2017)<\/p>\n
By: Taylor Clysdale, Peterborough This Week<\/p>\n
The areas in which Peterborough will benefit from the new provincial budget will be foremost in health care, says the city\u2019s member of provincial parliament.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s all about making life more affordable for Ontarians,\u201d says MPP Jeff Leal.
\nSeveral new additions to the 2016-2017 provincial budget, which is balanced for the first time since the 2008 recession, include an average three per cent increase to hospital budgets, and free drug plans for youth and children under 24. Peterborough Regional Health Centre will receive a two per cent budgetary increase.
\nAccording to 2011 census data, Leal says there are 39,000 people in the Peterborough riding who are under 24 and will be affected by the new drug plan, titled OHIP+.<\/p>\n
Leal says for families, the new plan will \u201ctake a lot of financial pressure off of them\u201d and they \u201ccan use those dollars for other needs.\u201d
\nThe budget says 3.9 million people in Ontario currently benefit from drug coverage under the Ontario Drug Benefit program, and OHIP+ will provide care to youth and children regardless of family income, with no deductible or copay.
\nHe adds the budget increase for Peterborough Regional Health Centre will go to making services quicker to access. That includes increasing the number of surgical procedures to shorten waiting lists.
\nHe called the new budget a \u201c$700 million booster shot\u201d to health care in Ontario.
\nAdditionally, Leal says the budget puts more money into mental health care.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re putting more resources into mental health in the province, which is something that is sorely needed,\u201d he says. \u201cNo family in Ontario hasn\u2019t been touched by mental health, and we need to continue to make strategic investments.\u201d<\/p>\n
The budget will allow for more frontline staff to get people treatment faster.
\nLeal also announced new strategies for tackling dementia. This includes $100 million over thee years to support people living with dementia and expand community programs.
\nRoy Brady, chairperson for Peterborough Health Coalition, says the new budget has to be looked at in a greater context.
\n\u201cYou can\u2019t look at this new budget in isolation, because it\u2019s related to failures in the past,\u201d he says.
\nHe says the health-care system has been underfunded for years, and while a three-per-cent increase will help the province, it doesn\u2019t do enough.
\nHe also says the province\u2019s hospitals have been making cuts to try and balance their own budgets. He adds the government tried to relocate some health care services into the community to relieve wait times, but communities were unable to accommodate those services. The result is that while the province saved money, those services suffered.
\nThe budget does take some positive steps, such as with OHIP+, he notes.
\n\u201cI like the fact they\u2019re moving forward with pharmacare,\u201d he says.
\nThe next step Brady wants is for the federal government to get involved and roll out universal drug plans for all Canadians, and OHIP+ is the first step toward that.<\/p>\n