A bid to expand Belleville’s Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, and boost internet access in area libraries, was made before a provincial government committee sitting in the city on Wednesday.
The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs held a day-long pre-budget consultation session at Alhambra Hall.
There were 18 presentations during the afternoon session from a wide range of delegates, including one from the clinic.
They laid out what they would like to see in the 2020 provincial budget for their particular agency or area of interest.
Chief Nurse Practitioner and Clinic Director Karen Clayton-Babb put it right up front to the committee.
She was asking for two things.
First of all, Clayton-Babb said, the clinic needs $342,000 to add two more nurse practitioners.
This would allow the clinic which already serves patients, to add another 1,600 to the list.
Secondly, Clayton-Babb was also seeking $1.6 million to finance a second similar clinic in the Quinte-Hastings area.
Belleville Public Library CEO Trevor Pross, January 22, 2020 (Photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
Belleville Library CEO Trevor Pross also appeared before the committee,
Pross called for more internet access and and urged the committee to consider increasing high speed internet in rural areas so that people could have more access at the local libraries.
Pross spoke with Quinte News, “If the government wants to improve access to technology and the internet, the libraries are right there. We’re in every town, every community, ready to go. We already have computers and internet. We could really benefit having them (the provincial government) investing in band-width, high-speed internet and digital product and digital … People are moving to digital, like ebooks and resources, online courses and we offer all that.”
He suggested it would save thousands of dollars if libraries and schools bought all the technology products together.
The issue of the need for more Long Term Care beds in the Hastings-Quinte area was also raised during the afternoon session.
During a break, Ian Arthur, the NDP MPP for Kingston and the Islands, tells Quinte News there hasn’t been a single new bed opened in five years.
Arthur, a member of the committee, says the government pulled $34 million out of Long Term Care.
He says there needs to be a “dramatic increase” in the amount of funding for long term care in this year’s budget.
President of Ontario Autism Coalition Laura Kirby-McIntosh and Vice-President Angela Brandt brought forward the ongoing concerns about funding for autistic children.
Brandt said, “There’s nothing to be calm about. It’s still in a crisis.”
President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Fred Hahn outlined concerns about public employees, from hospitals to schools, and said it’s all reaching a “tipping point.”
Hahn noted that when it comes to Long Term Care, Belleville has almost twice the provincial wait times.
The province sets its 2020 budget in March.
