Flaherty was in North Bay Thursday at the request of Nipissing-Timiskaming Conservative Party candidate Al McDonald, and spoke to local media on the grounds of the new hospital.
Letting down people
Premier Dalton McGuinty recently announced new hospitals in Thunder Bay and Sudbury would receive 80 per cent government financing instead of the current 70 per cent.
By doing so, Flaherty told reporters, the Liberals are “letting down” people in North Bay and Mattawa, which is also building a new hospital.
“As former Finance Minister and deputy premier I can tell you that the intention always was that the funding of regional hospitals in the North be equal and it’s shocking, quite frankly, that the Liberal government has now moved to unequal funding that there’s a preference being given to the regional hospital in Sudbury and the regional hospital in Thunder Bay over the regional hospital here in North Bay,” Flaherty said.
McGuinty had said Sudbury and Thunder Bay were receiving 10 per cent more because their hospitals will be regional facilities, and because of fundraising efforts in those communities.
Breach of trust
Flaherty said North Bay’s new hospital will also be regional in its scope, and that local people had helped raise $18 million for the centre.
“So this is a slap in the face and a put-down to the people of North Bay and in Nipissing,” Flaherty said.
“It’s not right, and it’s a breach of trust, for the people here.”
Broken promises
Flaherty, whom McDonald called “a friend of the North” and a strong voice for Northern Ontario, levelled a few more shots at the Liberals.
We’ve seen a series of broken promises from the Liberal government, from Mr. McGuinty and his ministers,” Flaherty said.
“Ms. Smith, I understand, said she’d stand up for the hospital and fight for the hospital, but I guess maybe Mr. Bartolucci is doing a better job, maybe getting a better hearing,” Flaherty said.
While in power during their two consecutive terms, the Tories, Flaherty said, always dealt with health care in Northern Ontario fairly “across the board.”
“We would make sure there was equal treatment, and that no one would be treated like a second-class citizen in the North,” Flaherty said, “and that’s what it amounts to when you say all our provincial tax money is pooled together and we’re going to prefer one part of the North to another, which is not right.”
Flaherty said the Liberals have increased provincial spending by $10 billion in one year.
“Their spending is staggering, so they don’t have a problem spending money on what they want to spend money on all around Ontario. But if they’re going to spend money around the province they shouldn’t give preference to one part or another particular in health care,” Flaherty said.
Political whims
Health care, he added, remains a “fundamental” human need.
“Our publicly funded system calls for equal treatment for people across province, and certainly cross the North,” Flaherty said.
“They’ve got the money they’re sending it in different places according to their own political whims I guess, but they shouldn’t play politics with health care.”
There has to be equality when it comes to health care funding in the North, Flaherty said.
“Otherwise I don’t know how you justify to people that they pay their provincial taxes in North Bay and Mattawa but yet they should get back less from the provincial government than the people in Thunder Bay and Sudbury.”
Flaherty also commented on the Hwy 11 issue, saying the Tory schedule had been to finish four-laning the roadway in 2008.
A motion goes before North Bay council Monday night, calling for the province to provide 80% funding of the new North Bay Hospital.