Suggesting By-Election Influence on Hospital Funding Levels in the North

The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions is doing its own campaigning ahead of the Sault by-election and points out the Sault area Hospital is being provided a 3.8% increase in funding from the province while the majority of northern Ontario hospitals will have to work with about a 2% increase.
Association President Michael Hurley asks would hospital funding be better for such centres as Sudbury, North Bay, Timmins and Thunder Bay if they had a by-election?
Following years of zero based funding increases, front line staff of the association say hospitals need a minimum of about a 5% increase in funding simply to maintain existing services.
The April provincial budget provided a province-wide funding increase of 3.1%.
Ontario’s NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will be back in the Sault for another visit ahead of a by-election which is just a week away.
Horwath along with candidate Joe Krmpotich will be discussing health care on the corner of Lukenda Drive and the Sault Area Hospital parking lot today at noon.