Conservatives and Liberals block NDP motion, protect for-profit health care

Gord Johns, NDP critic for Mental Health and Harm Reduction, released the following statement after Conservatives and Liberal MPs worked together to block the NDP from calling for-profit health care CEOs to testify in Ottawa:

“The CEOs are cheering. Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives protected their for-profit health care buddies yet again today! Joined by the Bloc and Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski, Conservatives shut down an NDP motion that would call Loblaw’s CEO and others to come explain to Canadians how they’re stripping us of our free, universal health care, and billing patients for doctor’s appointments and surgeries.

Across the country, Conservatives are helping for-profit companies turn the health care Canadians need into a money-making operation. And while the nurses, doctors and money are in private clinics, people wait in pain even longer for care at hospitals and clinics across the country.

We’re not surprised the Conservatives blocked this motion – Pierre Poilievre’s chief advisor is a lobbyist for Loblaws, which desperately wants to fix the price on health care.

New Democrats won’t let them get away with it. We’ll keep health care public, and we’ll stop executives like Galen Weston from helping the Conservatives deny you the care you need.”