Voters who want to truly understand the Liberal plans for our health care will have to really read between the lines in Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn's recent cheerleading  guest column in the Oakville Beaver, May 10.
This is nothing new. I chuckled when I first read Kevin's November 2007 election brochure claiming, "Oakville got land and funding for a new hospital."  Before the November election vote neither Flynn nor our Mayor, who publicly endorsed Flynn and the Liberals, mentioned that local property tax payers would be on the hook for $100 million of the cost of that hospital, by way of a brand new property tax levy. Surprise. That is on top of the $100 million that has been taken out of
Halton to Queen's Park by way of a broken promise - the Liberal $2-billion health tax on families, another surprise.

 Flynn now says his government has made significant strides in increasing the number of doctors in Ontario. Yet , according to the Ontario Medical Association for the last two years, Ontario has suffered a net loss of doctors to other jurisdictions, and there are still close to a million
Ontarians without a family doctor.
But watch out:  Flynn says the Liberals are "ironing out a plan to help Ontarians currently without a
health care provider."
Did you see the word doctor in that statement? No. Because the Liberal spinsters have reframed the issue: access to a doctor is now 'access to a care provider'.
What is that? Their true plan is to save money by replacing doctor care with nurse practitioners and others, and serve fragile seniors in their homes whether they like it or not.  How long will it be before you have to get a referral from a nurse in Ontario before you can even see a doctor?  

Flynn says they must eliminate 'blockages' of hospital beds by seniors waiting for a long term care bed. But since 2003, the per patient funding gap between 416 and 905/GTA hospitals has grown from $156 to $187 per patient according to Growth Communities Alliance.
Simply put, Halton is under funded, and it's gotten worse, not better. Yet, total government spending has increased by $ 23 billion! Thankfully, we have 529 new Long Term Care beds right here in Oakville in three beautiful facilities - North
Ridge, The Waterford and Post Inn Village that were planned and financed by the Harris/Eves government and reduced wait times. But not one new long term care bed has been added to the system any where in Ontario by Flynn's government. That's why beds are now being blocked.
While acting as a cash cow for the McGuinty government Oakville has been increasingly under  funded and under  serviced. Instead of cheerleading this dismal record, Flynn should be speaking up for his constituents.

Peter Turkington
President, Oakville Ontario PC Association