
Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew speaks to media following the delivery of Manitoba’s 2019 budget, at the Legislative Building in Winnipeg, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski )
WINNIPEG — NDP leader Wab Kinew on Monday vowed to reopen two Winnipeg emergency rooms that were closed recently by the Pallister government.
Speaking with supporters in front of Concordia Hospital, Kinew says his government would reverse the closures to both Concordia and Seven Oaks Hospital ERs, which were closed this summer.
“I have been hearing from people across Manitoba how worried they are about the damage Brian Pallister has done to health care,” Kinew said.
“That is the main issue in this election. Pallister’s rushed and reckless ER closures are a symbol of the bad choices he has made — choices that reveal how out of touch he is with the priorities of everyday families.”
Kinew didn’t include Victoria General Hospital on his priority list, which also saw its ER closed recently. Victoria is the nearest hospital to the bustling south end of the city, including the ever-growing Waverley West suburb.
The NDP says under Pallister, ER wait times have increased 37 percent since the closure of some city ERs.