NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh makes campaign stop in Edmonton, takes shots at Jason Kenney over health care
Publishing date: Aug 19, 2021 •
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh took shots at Premier Jason Kenney’s “attacks” on health care workers Thursday and promised to create a $250 million Critical Shortages Fund to address the shortage of nurses and health care workers across Canada if he becomes prime minister.
Singh, the first federal leader to visit Alberta this election campaign, was in the Conservative-held riding of Edmonton Griesbach. His party is promising to ensure that provinces also commit funding specifically for health care workers and says the federal fund would help train and hire 2,000 nurses.
“Alberta families are getting it from all sides — Jason Kenney attacks nurses and health care workers and the Justin Trudeau government is carrying on with Conservative health care funding cuts,” Singh said in a statement.
“Conservatives always cut health care, and while Justin Trudeau promised he would reverse the cut he has not. He has kept delivering less. New Democrats will restore funding for health care and make sure it’s used to improve health care services by hiring nurses.”
Kenney and the UCP government have been fighting with health-care workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, both struggling to sign a new contract with doctors and in contentious negotiations with the nurses union which has included a proposal that nurses take pay cuts.
The Alberta government has also faced significant criticism over hospital bed closures across the province due to staffing shortages.
When asked whether his plan this election was to try and capitalize on Kenney’s lack of popularity to get votes for federal NDP candidates, Singh said conservatives can’t be trusted with health care.
“Absolutely, we’re going to point to Jason Kenney and his bad decisions that hurt people. We’re going to point to conservatives that can’t be trusted with health care and we’re going to point to Justin Trudeau, who continues to do the exact same thing, leaving health-care workers, and most importantly people, behind,” he said.
This afternoon at 1:50 p.m., Singh is expected to hold a whistlestop where he will be joined by local NDP candidates.
In the 2019, the NDP won one of Alberta’s 34 federal ridings: Edmonton Strathcona.
Canadians go to the polls for the federal vote on Sept. 20.
Singh vows to increase to health-care spending, train and hire 2,000 nurses
Aug 19, 2021
CTV News
Jagmeet Singh: 'We're committed to expanding it, we believe in defending our public health care, so that people have the care they need.'
Singh goes after Kenney's health-care
record at Alberta campaign stop
Singh goes after Kenney
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh campaigned in Alberta on Thursday, with double-barrelled attacks on Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and Premier Jason Kenney.
Singh stood near the East Edmonton Health Centre to speak about health care while trying to capitalize on Premier Jason Kenney's declining popularity amid the pandemic.
The 42-year-old NDP leader also addressed the multiple violent attacks against Black Muslim women in the province all while attempting to paint Kenney and Trudeau with the same brush.
"We're seeing cut after cut that is driving health care workers out of the province," Singh told reporters as cars honked at him while he stood next to a busy Edmonton road.
"These cuts at the provincial level are only made worse because for years and years federal governments have been cutting health care as well. The Conservatives cut health care, and then Trudeau kept in those same cuts."
Throughout the pandemic, Kenney has been grappling with a public outcry over temporary bed closures and reports of dozens of nurses and doctors leaving the province due to wage cuts and other rollbacks.
Singh said unlike his counterparts, he wants to actively work with any province or territory that wants to invest in health care.
Singh also addressed the rising rate of hate crimes across the country.
Over the last eight months, several Muslim and Black women who wear a hijab in Alberta have been targeted, violently assaulted, threatened and harassed while walking down the street or waiting for a light rail train.
Singh took a shot at Trudeau again, saying the root cause of the attacks is online radicalization, which the prime minister has talked a lot about but hasn't done much to make any changes.
"Tackling online hate is a way to get at some of the root causes. A lot of misinformation and some of the conspiracy theories comes from social media posts that radicalized people with misinformation," Singh said.
"The other piece is making sure we use hate laws appropriately. Absolutely there's problems around making sure when a crime is identified as a hate crime, that it's prosecuted that way … that's something that absolutely needs to happen."
During the announcement, Singh stood next to Heather McPherson, the MP for the only NDP riding in Alberta, Edmonton Strathcona, while he insisted his relationship was solid with former New Democrat premier Rachel Notley.
She looms large in the federal NDP's quest to retain its Alberta seat and perhaps expand into other ridings.
The two hold opposing views on the Trans Mountain pipeline and Notley has been vocal about their disagreement on it, but Singh says the two chat regularly and have far more in common.
No comments:
Post a Comment