Dennis King says he kept 95 per cent of his 2019 platform promises. Our analysis found he kept just over half
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CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — At greatest, it’s a grade of D minus.
Throughout his profitable election marketing campaign in 2019, PC Chief Dennis King made a complete of 123 guarantees to Island voters.
An evaluation accomplished by SaltWire Community discovered that Dennis King’s PC authorities totally carried out 54 – or 44 per cent – of these 2019 guarantees.
One other 13 – or 11 per cent – had been partially however not totally accomplished.
Which means, on the finish of his four-year tenure, King has partially or fully stored 54 per cent of his 2019 guarantees.
The remaining 46 per cent of guarantees had been both not accomplished in any respect, weren’t accomplished in time or there was no proof to substantiate their completion.
On March 6, 2023, the evening of his election name, King claimed the overwhelming majority of his guarantees had been accomplished.
“We’re proud to have been an excellent authorities within the face of inauspicious crises. However we have accomplished over 95 per cent of these guarantees,” King advised a pleasant crowd.
SaltWire Community requested King about his March 6 declare on March 13, noting that an evaluation of his platform yield outcomes far under the 95 per cent completion degree.
King stood by his earlier declare. However he mentioned this quantity represented guarantees accomplished or in progress.
“We’re assured in that quantity,” King mentioned of the 95 per cent determine.
“I believe it is an essential quantity once you (are) contemplating all the problems that we confronted alongside the way in which, whether or not they’re pandemics or whether or not they’re hurricanes and potato wart.”
When requested if voters may belief the guarantees he has made within the present marketing campaign on points like little one care and well being, King mentioned his personal report of implementing guarantees “stands on the high” of previous administrations.
“I believe we have had a really private relationship with Islanders. I believe they know that they’ll belief us,” King mentioned.
At the start of the workday on March 13, SaltWire Community had requested for an in depth accounting of accomplished guarantees from the PC’s marketing campaign workers. SaltWire Community additionally requested King for the finished listing on the morning of March 13. The tally was not acquired by deadline.
Higher than 2021
SaltWire Community performed an identical search of King’s 2019 guarantees in June of 2021, at across the half-way level of his mandate.
That tally discovered his authorities had totally carried out 28 per cent of its guarantees, whereas one other 22 per cent had been in progress. Forty-nine per cent of guarantees at the moment had been discovered to haven’t been accomplished as of 2021.
Whereas extra guarantees have moved from in-progress to finish, this implies King’s tally of guarantees that weren’t stored has remained at roughly the identical degree during the last two years.
SaltWire Community performed searches on every 2019 promise utilizing price range paperwork, price range speeches, authorities information releases, media tales, tabled legislative paperwork and HANSARD archives.
Guarantees made within the PC 2019 platform had been deemed to haven’t been accomplished in the event that they weren’t completed within the timeline set out within the platform. Different guarantees through which proof of their progress couldn’t be discovered had been additionally deemed to haven’t been accomplished. Guarantees that contained a number of commitments, through which some had been carried out and others weren’t, had been deemed to have been partially accomplished.
Fewer than half
Of the 23 health-related guarantees from King’s 2019 platform, SaltWire Community discovered eight had been accomplished whereas one other two had been partially accomplished.
The remaining 13 well being guarantees weren’t accomplished.
King had memorably pledged to “instantly” change the Hillsborough Hospital throughout the 2019 marketing campaign. 4 years later, structured housing and day programming amenities have been accomplished as a part of a psychological well being campus. However the primary acute care facility meant to exchange the getting old Hillsborough Hospital has not been.
King did implement a pledge to contain the Medical Society of P.E.I. in physician recruitment efforts and to launch cell psychological well being items. Dwelling care companies have been expanded during the last 4 years and a promised ladies’s well being technique was launched final June.
Nonetheless, guarantees to broaden most cancers care to Western Hospital and Kings County Memorial Hospital didn’t happen. A plan to “deal with gaps” in emergency care in these rural hospitals has not been produced. The hours for psychological well being walk-in clinics have additionally been lowered since 2019, opposite to King’s platform guarantees.
The variety of long-term care beds has barely dropped from its 2018 degree, from 1,247 to 1,244. King had pledged to extend the variety of beds and to cut back wait occasions.
On housing, King’s authorities carried out two of 5 guarantees and partially carried out one other two. His authorities’s housing coverage has relied closely on rising the variety of rental dietary supplements for low-income Islanders. However a promise to permit post-secondary college students to entry these dietary supplements stays excellent.
On training, King’s authorities carried out simply over half of his 11 guarantees. His authorities did rent tons of of latest workers as promised and did launch a school lunch program. However a pledge to cut back the frequency of standardized testing was not completed, nor was a pledge to place in place a learn-to-swim program for Grade 3 college students.
King’s report on following by means of on guarantees was strongest within the space of range and inclusion. All of his guarantees on this space had been both partially or totally accomplished.
This included rising funding to the P.E.I. Human Rights Fee, altering the Employment Requirements Act to permit leave for people who’ve handled sexual violence and attaining gender parity amongst deputy ministers.
P.E.I. voters go to the polls on April 3.
