CORNWALL, Ontario – SDSG MPP Jim McDonell wasted no time firing shots at the new chair of the Champlain Local Health Integration Network, Jean-Pierre Boisclair, on Wednesday.
McDonell grilled Boisclair as he appeared before the Government Agencies Committee at Queen’s Park.
“Mr. Boisclair must be aware that healthcare is a great concern in SDSG because too many residents fall through the cracks,” said McDonell.
“Many of our residents wait six months or more for a family doctor, yet the province won’t fund new physicians in the area because they say we are over-supplied. Despite the known retirements of 12 doctors over the next two years, a number of local graduates who want to return home to practice are being forced out of the province by this government’s policies. Our constituents experience the longest wait times in the province for a long-term care bed, yet the LHIN reports the region is over-supplied – it doesn’t add up.”
According to a media statement issued by McDonell, Boisclair told the committee his focus would be on providing primary care, helping the health system transition to meet new challenges, and help its transformation to deliver efficiency and value.
Boisclair told McDonell his comments “provided food for thought” and “added to what keeps [him] awake at night.”
“As someone new to the Champlain LHIN board, Boisclair takes on a great challenge and I wish him the best of luck” – MPP McDonell said.
“I sympathize with him as he tries to manage this complex health network while handcuffed to this government’s short-sighted and destructive policies. I want to ensure local concerns are brought directly to the LHIN’s highest levels, as local feedback can often get lost within the bureaucracy. I look forward to working with Mr. Boisclair to resolve both current and future healthcare issues in our region and I will offer him any and all assistance in order to deliver more and better health care to SDSG residents.”
