People's Actions Force New Brunswick Premier to Retreat
 
Protest against planned Emergency Room closings, Stella-Maris-de-Kent
hospital,
February 17, 2020.
During his press conference on February 16,
announcing
the suspension of his recent anti-social measures to further wreck
health care, Premier Higgs blamed a lack of proper communication for
the massive opposition that erupted among people of all walks of life.
In other words he has not abandoned the wrecking of health care, but
will
engage in anti-social propaganda in an attempt to destroy public
opinion for increased investments in social programs and to stop paying
the rich.
The Premier announced he will visit the
communities targeted for closure of their emergency departments in
April and May. He
committed to a provincial health-care summit in June that will have, in
his words, the "goal of developing a strategy to ensure a sustainable
and reliable public health care system for the future." The findings
from the
consultations and the summit will be released this fall.
The Premier warned the people that the same
irrational
anti-social arguments, which led to the proposed wrecking measures,
would guide the consultations and the summit. Higgs said, "An aging
demographic coupled with a growing labour force shortage is hampering
our ability to provide the right care, in the right place, at the right
time. But
we need people in this province to be part of the solution and that
must start with hearing from the people most impacted."
People Are Having Nothing of the Pathetic
Arguments of the Premier
Immediately following the Premier's announcement
of an anti-social
propaganda tour and summit, people in the six targeted communities
organized mass demonstrations to demand an end to the anti-social
restructuring of health care, not its
postponement. People wore signs reading "Health Care Cuts Kill!" and
chanted "rural lives matter." They spoke of the need for a new
direction for their rural communities where the poverty level is high,
wages and working conditions are deteriorating and local populations
are indeed aging as young people leave in search of a better life. The
communities need comprehensive health care services, including 24/7
emergency care and seniors' care. Improvements must not take away from
acute hospital care, as the premier proposed, but be seen as
wide-ranging
increased investments in social programs and public services to
guarantee the rights and well-being of the people.
The people expressed pride and relief that their
organized actions led to the suspension of the closures of their
emergency services and vowed to continue speaking out for a pro-social
humane solution to the crisis in health care.
This article was published in
Number 7 - February 25, 2020
Article Link:
People's Actions Force New Brunswick Premier to Retreat
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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