Andrea Horwath pushing motion for third hospital in Brampton, pledges NDP will provide one if elected next June

Leader of the Official Opposition, the Ontario NDP, Andrea Horwath, was in Brampton to discuss her motion which would implement changes to the transition of Peel Memorial Centre into a full hospital, as well as approve the construction of a third hospital in Brampton.

Currently, the Province is working with the City of Brampton to raise funds for converting the Peel Memorial Centre into a second full hospital in Brampton.

However, some have been critical of the proposal, suggesting it doesn’t go far enough to meet Brampton’s health care needs.

“My sense is and what I’m hearing from many, many places is that the Peel Memorial Centre expansion is not going to meet Brampton’s current needs, let alone its needs as the community continues to grow, when it comes to health care,” Horwath said during the press conference on Wednesday (November 17).

Currently, Brampton has approximately one hospital bed per 1,000 people, which is less than half the provincial average of 2.3 beds per 1,000 people.

“Everyone in Brampton knows how difficult it is to get the appropriate medical services in a timely manner when they are needed,” Horwath said. “People in Brampton deserve the same level of health care services that other Ontarians are able to access.”

Because of this, Horwath has proposed a motion, which will be debated and voted on, on November 24, which would amend the changes to Peel Memorial Centre to include a 24/h ER and increase the number of beds from 250 to 850.

The motion would also include the approval of constructing a third hospital in Brampton.

Additionally, should the motion not pass, Horwath pledged to make these changes a reality if her government is elected in the upcoming provincial election in June.

“It is not good enough to not fulfill the responsibility of providing the health-care services Brampton needs,” she said. “That’s not too much to ask for. It’s something Bramptonians have deserved for a very long time, and something that I guarantee the NDP will do if we get the chance next year.”

When it comes to politics, Brampton leans left—three of the current five MPP ridings are members of the NDP, and all five MP ridings recently went to Liberal candidates in September’s federal election.

However, the two seats in Brampton that don’t belong to the NDP are occupied by members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, which currently makes up the provincial government.

Further, recent polls suggest, while Premier Doug Ford has certainly lost favour in recent months due to his handling of the pandemic, he is still in a good position to be elected for a second term.