Mr. Speaker, some of the best doctors in the world are located right here in Canada.
However, doctors in the province of Ontario are still reeling from three consecutive years of ill-treatment by Bob Rae's NDP government. So far the Rae government has failed to establish meaningful co-operation with stakeholders in the health care system in order to make better decisions about the planning and delivery of health care services. For example, there should be incentives for people to use community clinics instead of hospital emergency wards which are five times more expensive.
Furthermore the Rae government has offered little or no support to the medical profession in its efforts to develop new payment models in order to manage costs. Doctors in Ontario are being squeezed by the Rae government in a way that is compromising their capacity to deliver medical services. Innocent patients are getting caught in the crossfire.
Ontarians are fed up. It is time for new and effective leadership in this province. Ontario needs a provincial government that is committed to quality health care.