In Brief — Ontario deficit less than predicted, spending increases in health care on docs and drugs

Ontario’s budget deficit is smaller than initially forecast. On the eve of the provincial budget, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan revealed today that the deficit will be $21.3 billion, 14 per cent less than earlier forecasts of $24.7 billion. The NDP told the media that the government had overstated the original deficit forecast. … But the hospital cuts continue – West Haldimand General Hospital (WHGH) in Hagersville is permanently closing its 10 long term care beds in order to balance its budget. The hospital had been facing a $256,853 deficit. … Meanwhile our colleagues at CUPE are challenging the government’s numbers spent on health care. In a release sent out today, CUPE says hospital funding increased by only 23.8 per cent since 2004. The real culprits for rising health care costs are physicians (an increase of 57.6 per cent) and drugs (an increase of 33.7 per cent). The government has repeatedly said health care costs have risen by 42 per cent since 2004. Community Care Access Centre funding also increased by 39.8 per cent during this period.