FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2026
Statement from Matt MacFarlane: Premier Lantz must take accountability for healthcare crisis and loss of family doctors
Charlottetown, PE – Premier Lantz and his PC caucus are so out of touch with everyday Islanders that their decisions and actions are actively making healthcare worse on PEI and driving family doctors away.
Today I was given a copy of a letter signed by 93 family doctors across PEI calling for drastic changes to our province’s healthcare leadership. This comes on the heels of resignations from three family doctors in the last month. Later today, the PC government announced that Health PEI CEO Melanie Fraser has left her role.
While this is the outcome many were calling for, I am concerned that a change in Health PEI leadership will not result in the critical improvements that we immediately need in our healthcare system. The now former CEO made it clear that it is government that sets the direction of healthcare in our province – not her or Health PEI.
How did our health system become so unstable? Back in 2023 our province signed a new contract with Island doctors, the Physicians Service Agreement (PSA), that was the envy of the country. There was hope that this new agreement would make doctors see PEI as a great place to come and set up practice.
If Premier Lantz had done nothing after that, we would be in a better position than we are today. Instead, he decided that our struggling healthcare system and overworked family doctors needed to be treated with blatant disrespect. They decided to implement strict performance metrics that only add to doctors’ administrative load and harm Islanders’ access to quality care.
Doctors were clear from the start that this treatment and these requirements would lead to worse access to healthcare for Islanders. They sent letters to the Premier and Health PEI CEO that were ignored.
Since he became Premier over a year ago, Premier Lantz should have been implementing solutions, not creating new problems for our system. These solutions include:
- Adding funding for additional frontline administrative positions, helping our doctors with administrative tasks that take their time away from patients.
- Completely removing the need for sick notes, freeing up precious ER and family doctor / nurse practitioner time.
- Collaborating with our neighboring provinces to negotiate formal contracts for specialist referrals and access.
- Holding Health PEI Executives accountable for improving bureaucratic efficiencies.
It’s time for an apology. Premier Lantz spent the past year allowing our healthcare access to decrease and he must take responsibility. The first step toward repairing the relationship with doctors is simple: he must issue a formal apology to Island doctors for how they have been treated.
Second, government must immediately suspend this heavy-handed approach of mandating unrealistic requirements on family doctors. Doctors must be supported in caring for patients, not tied up in bad-faith negotiations that are driving them out of the system.
With real leadership and collaboration, we can get back on track and ensure Islanders have the healthcare they deserve. If Premier Lantz is not ready to do the necessary work, I suggest he call an election and allow someone to lead who is.
Matt MacFarlane
Leader of the Green Party of PEI
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Katie Rankin
Chief of Staff
Office of the Third Party
Tel: (902) 213-6378
Email: kerankin@assembly.pe.ca