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Ford says Ring of Fire his top priority

'There is nowhere I love visiting more than the North'
doug ford jr 2017
Doug Ford. File.

Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford answered questions from northern Ontario reporters on a conference call this morning saying that the Ring of Fire will be a priority for his government and he will restore health care service.

“There is nowhere I love visiting more than the North. But under Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals, the North has been ignored,” said Ford.

On health care, Ford suggested the answer to the northern health care crisis is something called "Digital Hospitals" using Humber River Hospital in northwest Toronto as an example.

There, robots sort medication and automated guided vehicles deliver lunch trays while other machines deliver the pneumatic tubes that carry blood samples from patient floors to the lab.

"Doctors have been under full attack from the Liberals going after the best doctors and nurses in the world. We're going to use the same format as Humber River. It has the shortest wait times in Canada and they drive efficiencies through technology and best practices, and every single doctor that I talked to says there's hundreds of millions of dollars in savings."

Ford did not address northern health issues specifically.

The new PC leader also was shy on details on the Ring of Fire, which he called "a broken promise for years."

"I'm tired of talk," he told reporters. "We're going to start building roads. There's billions of dollars of chromite up there that needs to be mined, we just have to get there. If I have to hop on that bulldozer myself and I'll put Vic (Fedeli) on the other one and we're going to start building the roads to get mining. It's over 60 billion dollars up there and it will benefit local people but it also going to benefit everyone in Ontario.

"The difference between us and the Liberals, we're not talker we're doers. This is comparable to the oil sands in Alberta.

 “I have always stood up for the little guy, and today, I want the little guy to know there’s hope,” said Ford. “The Ontario PC Party is strong and united, with one goal in mind – sending the Wynne Liberals packing.”


Jeff Turl

About the Author: Jeff Turl

Jeff is a veteran of the news biz. He's spent a lengthy career in TV, radio, print and online, covering both news and sports. He enjoys free time riding motorcycles and spoiling grandchildren.
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