The Ontario NDP party is announcing plans to expand Peel region’s healthcare network if elected to office in the upcoming provincial election.

Party leader Andrea Horwath said the party plans to create two new full hospitals, which will include transforming Peel Memorial into a full hospital and creating a new one.

Horwath said it was time for the western greater Toronto area to stop being “ripped off” by Premier Doug Ford and the Conservative party.

As it stands today, Brampton has one hospital, the Brampton Civic Hospital. The announcements were part of Horwath’s campaign stops in Burlington and Brampton on May 6, and were reiterated during this week’s celebration of International Nurses week.

Brampton East MPP Gurraton Singh said that Peel region, especially Brampton, continues to see insignificant funding from the Ontario government for healthcare. He points out that the one Brampton full hospital is not enough for more than 800,000 Brampton residents.

Along with the hospital announcements, Horwath announced additional healthcare changes she says her party promises to achieve.

This includes more accessible dental care and repealing Bill 124, which introduce wage freezes for healthcare workers, especially nurses, throughout the pandemic.

The Liberals announced on May 11 that the party plans to invest more than $1 billion dollars in the next two years to help relieve the backlog of surgeries and medical procedures caused by the pandemic.

Premier Doug Ford announced on May 13 that a re-elected PC government will build a new hospital for the Windsor-Essex community with about $10 million in initial investments for a new facility with a greater number of beds.

Green Party Mike Schreiner writes on the party website this week that his party is dedicated towards increasing the Ontario Disability Support Program’s monthly benefit from $1,169 to about $2,000.

More details to come.

Ontario's provincial election is set for June 2.

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