TORONTO - Premier Dalton McGuinty says he won't try to rush a report examining problems at Niagara-area hospitals to get answers before the Oct. 6 Ontario election.
The Liberal government announced Monday it would appoint a supervisor to take control of the Niagara Health System after at least 31 deaths from C. difficile at its hospitals since the end of May.
The Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats say the Liberals should have acted sooner, and should get a report back on the situation at the hospitals before election day.
They say the Liberals held off appointing a supervisor until just before the campaign started in order to protect their own interests in the election, not the interests of Niagara residents.
However, McGuinty says the government has done the responsible thing, and he doesn't think it should rush the supervisor into producing a report because of what he termed "some electoral deadline."
The government says Niagara residents have lost confidence in their hospital system, especially since a controversial restructuring plan closed emergency rooms in Fort Erie and Port Colborne.
