Health care is our number one issue in this province, and it is in crisis. I have heard these growing worries about health care from every candidate. I have heard concerns and fears about health care.
 
At every door.
On every phone call.
And in every email, text and message I have received.
 
I think there is a deeper understanding across Prince Edward Island about the size of the task that is before us. Fixing health care will be difficult, and it must be done.
 
And I am very proud of the fact that the Liberal Party chose to focus on health care above everything else. Because I believe we have done our part to ensure that health care will remain front and centre and that public demands for real solutions will not go away.
 
Here’s why: 
If access to health care is difficult.
If wait times are long and painful.
If you are not sure that your child or your parent can get in to see a doctor.
If nurses and doctors and technicians and LPNs and RCWs are all overworked and exhausted.

Well, if all that is true – and today, all of that is true – then everything else is secondary.

We understand that everyone has issues that matter to them – taxes, retirement, buying a house or renting an apartment. But so much of everything we depend on flows from a healthcare system that works. And if we have problems in health care that continue to get worse, well, every part of our economy – every part of our society – everything we hold dear about Prince Edward Island – everything will suffer.

If your primary concern is Point Desroches – well, you should probably vote for a Green candidate.
 
If you believe that you really are better off than you were four years ago – then I suppose a vote for a Conservative makes sense.
 
I am not sure that too many Islanders are better off now than they were four years ago. And I am completely certain that we need to focus our efforts more on health care than some monstrously ugly property in Point Desroches.

I don’t have the polish of a Peter Bevan-Baker or the storytelling skills of a Dennis King. I’m new to all this – and it’s tough work. But I stood up because I was worried. Here is what I do bring to the table:

• I don’t mind saying what must be said, even if it’s hard to say.
• As a teacher, I care deeply for our young people and making sure that they have the same opportunities that we all have had.
• As a daughter, I believe that we owe our seniors a safe, happy and secure life in thanks for what they have given us. 
• And I am really worried about health care … because I know deep, deep in my heart that if we don’t get this right and get it right soon, we may risk an awful lot about what we love in our province.

There have been a few days during this campaign, after hearing some stories and trying hard to come up with solutions for healthcare, that I have felt completely overwhelmed, and I told myself this:
 
“We all need to work on these issues – we owe it to our kids, our parents … the people who worked so hard to make Prince Edward Island a great place … and all those who follow.”
 
And then I’d pull up my bootstraps and get back to work. And I would talk with an Islander – and they would tell me a story about troubles in health care, and that fuelled me to work even harder
 
If health care really matters to you, then please consider voting Liberal.
 
Health care matters. Health care should take precedence over everything else that government does. The Liberal Party will continue to push hard … every day … relentlessly … until urgent action is taken on healthcare.

And I certainly hope … that during this election, all parties have heard the message that:

JOB ONE is to FIX HEALTH CARE.
JOB TWO is to FIX HEALTH CARE
AND JOB THREE is to DO JOB ONE AND TWO AS FAST AS POSSIBLE

Our party has done everything we can to push your worries and concerns to the forefront. We believe we have done our part, and we will continue to do our part to fight for healthcare for the next three days and into the years that come.
 
If we win, we will dedicate everything to fixing our broken healthcare system.
 
If we don’t, Liberals will hold the government accountable. We will work with them to find solutions. We won’t let them take the summer off. We will approach any role that Islanders give us with pride and with purpose.
 
If you want health care to be a priority to Government – no matter who forms it – your best vote is a Liberal vote.
 
Finally, I would like to thank Islanders for this experience. Truly, this has been the time of my life.
 
I have met lifelong Liberals, and I have met people that disagree with me. we have had some hearty debates, but I know that when I left each door, I felt like I understood a little more, and for that, I would like to thank you all – Islanders from tip-to-tip and, especially, the residents of District 17, New Haven-Rocky Point!
 
I look forward to Monday – best of luck to all who put their names forward, thank you to the media and thank you all.
 
– Sharon Cameron, Leader of the Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island