Toronto rapper John River says the Ontario government's cuts to health care, education and social services are racist and accused Premier Doug Ford of not caring about black people on Thursday.

River was part of a press conference held by the NDP to call on the Ontario government to collect race-based data in health care Thursday morning.

But he says recent cuts made by the Progressive Conservatives hurt the most vulnerable, including Ontario's black residents.

"Actions speak louder than words," River said. "When I looked at the budget … in my personal and humble opinion, when you cut healthcare, the most racialized and poorest people suffer the most, which to me is the black and brown people and Indigenous people."

When you cut education, River said "white people are still going to be able to afford tutors. Not all of them, but more so than black children."

"He doesn't care about black people," River said.

CBC News has reached out to the premier's office for a response to River's comments but has not yet received a response.

Anti-racism action plan shelved?

The NDP wants the Progressive Conservatives to start collecting race-based data in health care, to identify and prevent discrimination.

Laura Mae Lindo, MPP for Kitchener Centre and the NDP's Black Caucus chair and anti-racism critic, said the previous Liberal government had an anti-racism action plan, but the current government appears to have shelved it.

"When we send our loved ones to a doctor or into hospital, we're at one of our most vulnerable states. We're looking to improve their health, not make it worse. But for far too many black, racialized and Indigenous people across Ontario, what they experience when they must access our health care system does not make them feel better," Lindo said.

River told of his experience going to a hospital with shortness of breath and trouble breathing.

River said he was told he had anxiety, that he didn't know enough about the condition and was asked if he'd been to Africa.

When he said he had not travelled to Africa, River said he was asked, "Are you sure?"

Laura Mae Lindo is the NDP MPP for Kitchener Centre and also chairs the party's black caucus. (Kate Bueckert/CBC)

'Completely dismissed'

France Gelinas, the NDP's health critic, says race-based data needs to be collected to create a baseline of information.

"When we're not collecting the data, we never know when it gets better," she said.

"John is not alone. There has been so many reports, so many stories of black, Indigenous, racialized patients not getting the care they needed or simply having their healthcare needs, concerns, completely dismissed often with catastrophic outcomes," Gelinas said.

Data already collected

The NDP say the government is already collecting race-based data in education and the justice system. They want the province to start collecting the same data in healthcare by the end of 2020.

A statement from Health Minister Christine Elliott's spokesperson Hayley Chazan said the provincial government is committed to providing everyone with "a health care system that is focused on them."

"In April 2019, we confirmed this commitment by legislation through The People's Health Care Act 2019. The Act states that the health care system should be centred around people, patients, their families, and should be guided by a commitment to equity and to the promotion of equitable health outcomes," the statement said.

"The ministry does not systematically collect data on a patient's race that can be used to measure access to treatment. The Anti-Racism Act enables the government to mandate the collection of race-based data through regulation in order to measure and address systemic racism. However, health care organizations are not included in the act due to Personal Health Information Protection Act considerations."