Health care spending makes up half of the provincial budget. If the current trend continues, 80% of Ontario’s budget will go to pay for health care by 2030. We need to improve the value for money spent to sustain our publicly-funded health care system.

Ontario is squandering precious health care dollars by mismanaging important initiatives such as eHealth. Too many dollars are spent on administration instead of front-line services and staff.

Ontario Greens will make better and more efficient use of health care dollars. We will invest in more family health clinics staffed by a variety of providers. We will ensure home care services are available for those who need them.

We will focus on preventing illness in the first place, by creating healthier communities, promoting healthier lifestyles and ensuring a healthy environment. The rising rates of asthma and respiratory illness, for example, place an unreasonable burden on our well being, our families and our health care system.

Together, we can provide all Ontarians with access to quality care when and where they need it.

Your Green MPPs will:

1. Make health promotion and illness prevention a top priority

   1. Support the development of healthy, liveable, recreation-friendly communities
   2. Ensure clean air, water and food by reducing pollution, improving water quality and sewage treatment, and by paying landowners for producing healthy environmental goods and services
   3. Provide incentives for people to pursue healthy lifestyles and support school-based nutrition, outdoor education and athletic programs

2. Reform health care delivery to ensure all Ontarians have access to quality community health services

   1. Re-prioritize funding to support doctors, nurse practitioners and other health professionals for family/community care clinics that are integrated with public health
   2. Put communities back in charge of local health care decisions
   3. Finally deliver on electronic health records by using best practises from other places

3. Honour our seniors by improving the care available to Ontario’s aging population

   1. Ensure that seniors receive the continuum of care they need where they want it by improving home care, transitional care, assisted living and long-term care
   2. Create case managers at the family clinic level to proactively coordinate the care seniors need
   3. Support all long-term care facilities to provide services in compliance with provincial standards

The Green Party has a detailed health plan for Ontario.