RMH to get nearly $3.8 million in Ontario funding to improve operations, wait times
The Ontario government is investing nearly $3.8 million to support improved operations and reduced wait times at the Ross Memorial Hospital. This funding is part of a $1.1 billion investment into the hospital sector as part of Budget 2026, A Plan to Protect Ontario, which represents a four per cent increase in annual support for the fourth year in a row.
“This $3.76 million investment will directly support the growing operational demands of healthcare provided by the Ross Memorial Hospital,” said Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock. “Our government remains committed to ensuring that the people in Haliburton – Kawartha Lakes – Brock and surrounding communities will have access to quality health care and hospital services.”
This investment will support the operations of the Ross Memorial Hospital’s core clinical services so they can better meet patient needs. This includes funding to help keep their emergency department open, support inflationary or other wage pressures, and reduce wait times for diagnostic imaging and surgical procedures, including MRI, CT, stroke, orthopedics and cataracts, so that people can connect to care faster.
“We are grateful to the Government of Ontario for this investment in Ross Memorial Hospital and the patients we serve,” said Veronica Nelson, president and CEO of Ross Memorial Hospital. “As demand for hospital services continues to grow, this funding provides critical support for our operations, helping us maintain capacity, improve patient flow, reduce wait times, and deliver high-quality care close to home. It is an important investment in the health and wellbeing of our community.”
Through Your Health: A Plan For Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is expanding access to key services to provide people with the right care, in the right place, close to come.
With Premier Ford’s approval plunging to 24%, thousands of Ontario autoworkers sitting on layoff (30% of UNIFOR members at GM on layoff, for example), and an August trade tariff deadline staring the province in the face, it’s painfully obvious why Queen’s Park is eager to manufacture “good news” stories.This $3.8 million isn’t a “new investment” or a gift—it’s baseline operational funding to cover inflation, wage pressures, and basic ER capacity. Standard budget maintenance is literally the fundamental duty of the Ministry of Health.Parading routine bill-paying as a headline event—and expecting a hospital CEO to issue a groveling thank-you statement just so the province fulfills its basic responsibility—is pure distraction politics.While national outlets cover trade negotiations and autoworker layoffs, local MPPs roll out routine operational checks to community hospitals like Ross Memorial. It guarantees a friendly headline in rural weeklies that reads as “Government Delivers Local Support,” burying the broader economic panic for a news cycle.When this kind of PR gets pushed out, it’s time to lift up the rug and see what’s being swept out of sight:The $30M Private Jet scandal, where the government wasted nearly $200,000 in taxpayer dollars on maintenance and legal fees for an executive jet purchase before being forced into an embarrassing backtracking maneuver.The Billy Bishop Waterfront Airport takeover, where the province pushed legislation (Bill 110) to expropriate city land at Little Norway Park, sideline local municipal governance, and push for a multi-billion-dollar jet expansion over Toronto’s central waterfront.The MPP Hotel Expense scandal, where taxpayers are footing the bill for GTA politicians to stay in downtown Toronto hotels while rural community infrastructure scrambles for crumbs.The FOI Transparency Crackdown, where the government quietly slipped changes into the budget bill to exempt the Premier, ministers, and political staff from freedom of information requests, blocking public scrutiny of internal records.The wage pressures at local hospitals, which are the direct fallout from the government’s own failed Bill 124—unconstitutionally capping healthcare workers’ wages and leaving hospitals to absorb massive retroactive backpay.The broader Your Health privatization push, which starves public community hospitals of basic operating funds while diverting taxpayer dollars toward private, for-profit clinics.The Greenbelt & developer fallout, where ongoing investigations continue to haunt the government’s brand despite past policy reversals.The Ontario Place & Science Centre backlash, pushing expensive private spa developments and abrupt facility closures over public community priorities.With the Ontario Legislature on an extended 21-week recess until late October, Ford and his team will drip-feed us with dozens of small-scale local funding announcements while memories fade of the items swept under the rug. Taxpayers pay for functioning healthcare delivery, not a government PR buffer.