Government documents show the PCs continue to cut health care spending. The government's own dashboard shows that Premier Stefanson is capping health spending for 2023 below the rate of inflation, leaving critical staffing vacancies unfilled and resulting in less care at the bedside.  

“Even as wait times at ERs soar, Premier Stefanson keeps repeating Pallister’s bad choices, choosing to put her own bottom line ahead of patient care,” said Uzoma Asagwara, NDP Critic for Health Care. “This is a calculated move that will result in worse health outcomes for Manitobans and force even more overwhelmed frontline staff to leave their positions. Not only that, it’s short-sighted because investing in health care saves the province money in the long run. Our NDP team has a better approach, one that keeps families healthy, reduces the stress on health care workers and makes our province stronger.”  

The provincial health system dashboard shows the PCs cut health funding in-year for 2022, underspending province-wide, and patient care suffered as a result. ER wait times are “Off Track” for 5 of the 6 health regions in Manitoba. Similarly, 5 of 6 health regions report their inpatient experience is “Off Track” in 5 regions and continuing to decline in 4 of those regions. Despite their own evidence that shows Manitoba’s health care system is failing patients, the PC’s “Health Spending Goal” for 2022/23 is to maintain health expenditures within 1.6% over 2021/22, well below the rate of inflation at 8.4%.  

“All it takes is a trip to the grocery store to know that the PCs health care spending for the next year is a straight cut,” said NDP Leader Wab Kinew. “Premier Stefanson had the chance to change course and invest in better care at the bedside but she refused. And now the impacts of hallway and highway medicine are taking their toll on patients and health care staff. It will take years to fix the damage the PCs caused in our health care system but our NDP team is up for the job and ready to lead so we can make life better for families.”  

You can view the dashboard here.