The Ontario Liberals believe the Canadian military could help combat the current COVID-19 crisis in the province.
On Wednesday, the party called on Premier Doug Ford to immediately request the assistance of the military to support Ontario's hospitals and long-term care homes.
Party Leader Steven Del Duca said in a livestream that despite the best efforts of frontline healthcare workers, Ontario is in a really tough spot right now.
"[The military would] come into Ontario to help deal with the challenges that we have in both nursing homes and hospitals. We saw over the last few days that our next door neighbours in Quebec reached out and asked for military help with the vaccine rollout and they received it."
The party demanded that four other emergency measures be implemented immediately by the province, including expediting the process to get internationally educated nurses credentialed in Ontario. Del Duca said there are around 15,000 international nurses in Ontario who are unable to practice their profession.
"At a time when we have such desperate need for more people to be working in our hospitals, in our nursing homes, it is so important for us to stop just talking about the credentials recognition for internationally educated nurses, and actually make it a reality."
Del Duca added the province needs to recall the legislature to repeal the wage-capping Bill 124.
"We know how critically important that is because we are facing incredible burnout, incredible numbers of nurses who are leaving the profession because they know that their premier, their current premier, doesn't respect the work that they do."
The party's other two demands were to invite registered health professionals beyond nursing and medicine to participate in vaccinations to free up doctors and nurses who are needed in our hospitals, and on an emergency basis, allow staff to be seconded to alternate hospital sites with minimal administrative barriers.
"8,000 to 10,000 surgeries will be delayed because of what's happening in our hospitals, we see hospitals talk about or actually be in what's known as Code Orange," said Del Duca. "And all of these things tell me that there are urgent steps that need to be taken today by Doug Ford."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b-rYw8OIhY
