Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca is asking his fellow party leaders and health-care stakeholders to join him at a virtual summit on Monday to discuss the staffing crisis in Ontario hospitals.

The rapidly spreading Omicron variant has placed considerable pressure on the health-care system. Hospitals say the variant has had a "major impact" on their facilities and has resulted in staff having to isolate and reduced care in some areas. The province has also directed hospitals to stop all non-emergent and non-urgent surgeries and procedures, a measure that went into effect earlier this week.

"The crisis in our hospitals requires an all-hands-on-deck approach," Del Duca said in a statement on Friday. “Hospitals have never been as full and staff have never been stretched as thin. We need to listen to Ontario’s best and brightest doctors and nurses, and those with health-care expertise, who understand what’s happening on the front lines."

He said he hopes all party leaders will attend so they can hear from those working on the front lines in hospitals. The Liberal leader previously hosted a similar summit in August on vaccine mandates and a certificate program.

Asked if Premier Doug Ford would attend, spokesperson Ivana Yelich didn't say, but turned to criticizing the Liberal leader instead.

"Mr. Del Duca and the Liberals' record on health care in this province speaks for itself," Yelich said, accusing the former Liberal government of slashing registered nursing positions and cutting hospital funding, "putting Ontario at the lowest funding level in the country."

"In fact, Kathleen Wynne recently admitted that her government was 'holding health-care costs down' in Ontario," she said. "We won’t take cues from someone who was part of a government that left a legacy of hallway health care in Ontario and pushed our system to the brink of collapse."

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said she just heard about the summit that morning, but didn't get a call directly from Del Duca.

"Having said that, we're certainly going to have a look at it and see whether we'll be able to participate," she said. "Certainly we will try to have somebody there on this short notice ... for Monday."

Both Horwath and Del Duca called for the help of the Canadian military in hospitals and long-term care homes earlier this week.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said after a press conference on Friday morning that he hadn't received the invitation yet, but that he's "always ready to work across party lines to deliver solutions that benefit the people of Ontario.

Schreiner said he's been meeting with nurses and health-care leadership this week about how to address the staffing crisis in the sector. He also spoke of consultations he did last year that led to a plan he released to the premier with recommendations on how to tackle the issue.

"It's just frustrating that those recommendations haven't been acted on and now we're in a true crisis ... and I think we need an all hands on deck, all parties working together, putting forward solutions to address it," he said.

Other stakeholders invited to the summit include representatives from the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, Ontario Medical Association, Ontario Hospital Association, Ontario Nurses' Association, various unions and organizations in the post-secondary sector.

-With files from Jack Hauen

Ontario Liberals invite party leaders, stakeholders to summit to discuss staffing crisis in health sector

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