Mamakwa: Conservative Health Minister’s blatant neglect and disrespect worsening health care in Northern Ontario

QUEEN’S PARK — MPP Sol Mamakwa, Deputy Leader of the Ontario NDP, demanded answers on the health care crisis in Northern Ontario.

“In Sioux Lookout, 3100 people don’t have access to a family doctor. That’s more than half the population,” said Mamakwa. “People across the North have the worst health outcomes and unacceptable access to healthcare, compared to the rest of Ontario.”

More than 2 million Ontarians do not have a dedicated primary care provider. Recent reporting has revealed that this crisis is particularly acute in the North, where the Ontario Medical Association has compared the competition for physicians to the Hunger Games.

“There is a healthcare crisis in the North,” added Mamakwa. “There is a mental health crisis. There is an addictions crisis. There is a suicide crisis. Will the Minister commit to funding impatient mental health beds in Sioux Lookout, or does this government not care about what happens to the people of Northern Ontario?”