TORONTO, June 24, 2022 – The Ontario Medical Association congratulates Sylvia Jones on becoming the province’s new deputy premier and minister of health today and looks forward to meeting her soon to begin the critical work of rebuilding the health-care system.
“Ontario’s doctors are ready to start work right away, building on our strong relationship with the government to clear the backlog of care created by the pandemic and fix the structural issues that existed before,” said OMA President Dr. Rose Zacharias.
“We have a roadmap for how to do this over the next five years, the Prescription for Ontario: Doctors’ 5-Point Plan for Better Health Care. It includes solutions for five key areas – wait times, home and long-term care, mental health and addictions, public health and ensuring every Ontarian has a family doctor.”
Dr. Zacharias said it was also important for all health-care partners to focus on the well-being of health-care workers, many of whom are suffering burnout after more than two years on the front lines of the pandemic. We can’t have a strong health-care system unless providers are healthy.
“I want to congratulate Sylvia Jones on her appointment. We look forward to working with her to strengthen Ontario’s health-care system.” said OMA CEO Allan O’Dette. “However, Ontario cannot do it alone. Meaningful change requires the federal government to take action to increase the Canada Health Transfer to 35 per cent of provincial health-care expenditures. The OMA joins Canada’s premiers, including Premier Doug Ford, in asking the federal government to act now.”
The Ontario Medical Association represents Ontario’s 43,000-plus physicians, medical students and retired physicians, advocating for and supporting doctors while strengthening the leadership role of doctors in caring for patients. Our vision is to be the trusted voice in transforming Ontario’s health-care system.
For more information, please contact:
Emily English, OMA Sr. Advisor, Media Relations
media@oma.org or 416-340-2912