Sattler confronts Premier on physician recruitment crisis in Question Period today

LONDON – Ontario NDP MPP Peggy Sattler (London West) confronted the Premier in Question Period today to take responsibility for Ontario’s worsening primary care crisis and stop forcing municipalities to pay out of pocket to recruit physicians.

“The Auditor General confirmed last week that 2 million Ontarians do not have access to primary care,” Sattler began with. “This is not only bad for those patients, but it’s also a problem for municipalities, because access to primary care is critical to attract new business, create jobs, and grow the economy. That’s why more and more municipalities feel pressured into using property tax revenues to recruit physicians with $100,000 signing bonuses and other cash incentives, at a cost of $6.3 million dollars per year. Speaker, why is this Premier downloading healthcare, which is a provincial responsibility, onto municipal tax payers?”

Sattler emphasized that municipalities should not be left to compete with each other for doctors.

“Speaker, forcing municipalities to enter into bidding wars to recruit new physicians is not strategic and it’s not equitable. It creates a hunger games … a race to the bottom … it means that access to primary care is determined by how much a municipality is able and willing to pay, not by which communities have the greatest need,” said Sattler. “Will this government immediately adopt the recommendations of the Auditor General, and take responsibility to implement a coordinated provincial approach to recruiting and retaining primary care providers?”

Sattler is calling on the government to act on the Auditor General’s recommendations without further delay.