‘Only better care for those that can afford it’: Health Coalition holds rally to protest healthcare privatization
The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) fears the province is headed for an American-style, two-tier healthcare system.
"We can’t staff hospitals as it is right now,” said Peter Bergmanis, co-chair of the London chapter of the OHC. “If you’ve got another tier of care, where the lifestyle is going to be much more preferred than having your wages capped, I have a feeling you're going to see an exodus of people right into the for-profit system."
The Doug Ford government is expected to pass a bill titled ‘Your Health Act’ (YHA). The legislation includes procedures like cataract surgeries, MRIs, and CT scans being moved to private clinics.
The Province said it is investing nearly $80 billion this year into the publicly funded healthcare system.
“Premier [Doug] Ford, and Minister [Sylvia] Jones have been clear, Ontarians will access our healthcare system with their OHIP card and not their credit card,” said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health. “Our government knows wait times for surgeries and diagnostic tests have been increasing year after year. We are not okay with the status quo and know more work needs to be done.”
Mary Ann Hodge, Teresa Bell, and Lynn Brown attended the London Health Coalition rally at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ont. on April 18, 2023. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)
They said YHA includes a plan to eliminate the surgical backlog and reduce wait times.
“Privatizing these systems hasn't worked in any jurisdiction really to provide better care on mass,” said Jacob Shelley, an Associate Professor jointly appointed to the Faculty of Law and School of Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, at Western University. “It just provides better care for those that can afford it”.
Shelley believes those that can't afford privatized care will be put into a worse situation.
“While that might not seem to have an impact on any of us, the pandemic has shown how inextricably linked we are as a society. As the health of the lower socio-economic kind of strata of society are impacted that's going to have a impact on the rest of society,” said Shelley.
The OHC argued the bill will pass without any public consultation.
“They claimed they weren't even going to do it when they got elected,” said Bergmanis. “Yet two months after election, suddenly they're giving our money to for-profit clinics to do what we could do in our public hospitals."
Londoners voted in a London Health Coalition referendum with hopes to prevent the privatization of healthcare on April 18, 2023. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)
The OHC gathered in cities across the province today to launch a citizen-run referendum.
They are asking anyone over the age of 16 to vote either online or with a physical ballot with the hope of stopping the privatization of health care.
The coalition said they'll continue this fight for the next couple of months. They plan on taking all the ballots to Queens Park before the legislature breaks for summer.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
14-year-old crashes parents' car, leaves it in flames in a ditch on Hwy. 401 in Mississauga, Ont.: OPP
Ontario Provincial Police say charges are pending after a 14-year-old crashed their parents' car on Highway 401 in Mississauga and left the car in flames in a ditch.
Canada's global reputation suffering under Trudeau, Garneau asserts in autobiography
Former foreign affairs minister Marc Garneau says Canada has lost its standing in the world under the tenure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he criticizes as an ill-prepared leader who prioritizes politics and makes big pronouncements without any follow-through.
'I got no remorse': Greg Fertuck, convicted of murdering missing spouse, sentenced to life in prison
Greg Fertuck will spend life behind bars with no chance of parole until he is 90 years old, a judge ruled on Thursday at Saskatoon's Court of King's Bench.
Son asks court to sell B.C. home he co-owns with his mother, despite her objections
A B.C. judge has ordered the sale of a Surrey home despite the objections of the woman who lives there, who owns it jointly with her son.
BREAKING Canada’s unemployment rate rose to 6.4 per cent in June as jobs market stalls
The Canadian economy lost 1,400 jobs in June as the unemployment rate climbed to its highest level in more than two years, Statistics Canada said Friday.
How does Canada's lowest hourly minimum wage stack up to the rest of the country?
Hourly minimum wages increased in several Canadian provinces this spring with more on the horizon, which economists say will likely impact workers and businesses differently.
NEW Hurricane Beryl makes landfall near Tulum, Mexico as a Category 2 storm
Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Mexico's coast near the resort of Tulum as a Category 2 storm early Friday, whipping trees and knocking out power as it came ashore after leaving a trail of destruction across the eastern Caribbean.
'Ford's dry summer begins': All LCBO stores closed as workers go on strike
All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
Possible shark sighting temporarily closes popular Maritime beach
A suspected shark sighting caused a popular Nova Scotia beach to close temporarily Thursday.