December 1, 2022
The King Government ended the fall legislative session today by continuing to avoid accountability instead of executing a plan to address the urgent issues Islanders face, says Third Party Leader Sonny Gallant.
“From badly failing Islanders devastated by Hurricane Fiona, to overseeing the continued deterioration of our health care system, the Premier and his cabinet spent the last month in the Legislature showing they have no plan for governing,” said Gallant.
Gallant pointed to several instances of this government’s mismanagement, including not adequately preparing for the scale of Fiona that left Islanders without power for as long as three weeks after the storm, continued emergency department closures at hospitals, failing to reduce the number of residents without family doctor and unable to deliver vital housing units as promised.
“Islanders are experiencing serious problems and challenges, but the best that this gift card government can come up with is shelling out Denny Dollars as band-aid solutions while sitting on a $83.8-million surplus,” said Gallant.
In the last month, Gallant and his colleagues raised several issues in the Legislature, including:
Proposed changes by the government to how doctors are paid that would leave residents in rural communities with less access to primary care. Attention to these changes forced the government to withdraw its bill.
Divisions created among health care workers by providing recruitment and retention bonuses to some and nothing for others. Respiratory therapists, for example, were excluded from the program even though they take care of COVID patients.
The government’s failure to deliver on its 2021 commitment to create 100 affordable housing units on PEI. Only about half that number has been created with some of them through purchasing existing units, which doesn’t increase the Island’s housing supply.
“This government continues to lack leadership and hopes no one notices before the Premier calls an election,” said Gallant. “But Islanders are smarter and we will continue to hold this government to account even after the Legislature adjourns for the year.”
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Media Contact:
James Ip, Director of Communications
(647) 297-7759