Doug Ford’s joke about sending excess patients to the vet arouses anger

Ontario’s opposition parties are criticizing Premier Doug Ford for joking that he would send “surplus” human patients to a new veterinary hospital.

Speaking Tuesday at the opening of a major new veterinary facility north of Toronto, an event attended by several other cabinet ministers, Ford said: “As it stands, we now know where to send the excess patients for MRIs, CAT scans and everything else.”

A spokesman for the prime minister said this was a joke, referring to the size of the four-storey hospital, with its 5,570 square metres of floor space, and to the fact that the government has made record investments in the public health system, including dozens of new MRI machines and CT scanners in hospitals.

However, opposition parties say the state of Ontario’s health care system is not particularly pleasant, with patients facing long wait times for diagnostic tests and emergency care.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles says Ford thinks the “chaos and crisis” he has created is ridiculous.

Liberal Party leader Bonnie Crombie says the joke is not funny but “disgusting”.

Ford’s ‘let them eat cake’ moment, says Liberal MP

Adil Shamji, Ontario Liberal Party health critic, held a news conference Wednesday to respond to Ford’s comments. He said the premier must apologize for the joke, calling it “cruel” and “heartless” at a time when so many Ontarians are on waiting lists for MRI and CT scans.

As the Canadian Press reported in June, the average wait time for CT scans in Ontario is currently 81 days. For MRIs, it is 90 days.

Shamji said Ford’s government needs to spend more on health care to reduce wait times.

“This is a man who can spend a billion dollars to get alcohol into supermarkets a year earlier, but who, in the face of a health crisis, can only advise people to go to the vet,” Shamji told reporters.

“This is Doug Ford’s ‘let them eat cake’ moment,” he said.

To reduce wait times for scans, the province announced in June that it would double the number of publicly funded MRIs and CT scans offered at private clinics in Ontario. Health Minister Sylvia Jones said at the time that this would allow for 100,000 additional scans each year.