Local MPP Mike Mantha's pushing for changes to Ontario's Northern Health Travel Grant.
The Algoma-Manitoulin MPP's re-introduced a bill which would establish an advisory committee bringing together Northern health care providers to make recommendations to the Minister of Health on improving access to health care in the region through reimbursement of travel costs.
Pointing to high gas prices for the North, Mantha says "people in the North are not getting the same access to health care because of the high cost of travel" and not raising the rates "is putting a massive burden on Northern Ontarians who are already struggling with inflation and price gouging".
This comes after Mushkegowuk-James Bay New Democrat Guy Bourgouin called on the government to update the grant to keep up with the rising cost of gas and accommodation, warning that - given the rate of inflation - the grant isn't covering the cost of gas, let alone the cost of a hotel room.