Health Care Is a Right!
Ontarians Converge at Legislature on Opening Day to Say No! to Privatization of Hospitals!
On
September 25, more than 5,000 people from communities across
Ontario
stood together on the opening day of the fall sitting of the
legislature to demand that the Ford government stop destroying
the
health care system through privatization, and uphold health care
as a
right. The
rally demanded that the Doug Ford Conservatives stop the
destructive
privatization of health care. It expressed unconditional support
for
the just demands of the frontline health care workers and
appreciation
for their hard work and dedication which has kept the public
health
care system functioning
despite the enormous challenges faced due to the anti-social
offensive.
The event was organized by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) and the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (CUPE) supported by many unions such as Unifor, CUPE, PSAC, OPSEU, SEIU and by the Ontario Federation of Labour.
One of the first to speak was Chief Chris Moonias, of the Neskantaga First Nation near James Bay who pointed out that Indigenous People living in fly-in isolated communities in northern Ontario like his do not have even basic health care. He pointed out that almost all communities have no doctor or ability to get help in a medical emergency which results in many preventable deaths. He said that the Ford government has not been responsive to the calls to improve medical services in the north and called for Ford's resignation.
The executive director of the OHC, Natalie Mehra, denounced the Ford government's ongoing campaign to underfund and weaken the public health care system in order to justify further privatization. She said that all Ontarians deserved to have a publicly funded and publicly operated health care system that meets their needs. She denounced the privatization of health care in the senior care system where she pointed out that close to 5,000 people died during the COVID-19 pandemic, three-quarters of them in for-profit institutions. Rather than hold those responsible to account, the Ford government has handed the owners of these seniors' homes a 30-year extension of their contracts.
Mehra
noted that the OHC has heard a great many complaints from people
about
the private clinics set up by the Ford government through Bill
60 to
perform minor surgeries and conduct medical tests allegedly to
improve
the "efficiency" of the health care system. Many people have
reported
being
illegally charged for services that are covered under the
Ontario
Health Insurance Plan. Mehra said that the OHC will be making a
legal
complaint to the federal government to investigate these illegal
charges.
Dr. Raghu Venugopal, an emergency physician in Toronto hospitals, denounced the Ford government for shutting down hundreds of emergency rooms, including nearly 500 closures already this year, some of them permanent. He said that because the overall social conditions in Ontario have worsened and as a result of the health care cuts, more and more people are seeking care in hospital emergency rooms, stressing an already overwhelmed hospital system. Dr. Venugopal said that the $1 billion diverted to filling the pockets of the private health care operators last year alone, could have been used to hire more staff and open up the emergency rooms. "It is time to put the health care of the many over the profits of a few," he said.
He also pointed out that thousands of people have died waiting for tests and surgeries, deaths that could have been prevented in a properly staffed publicly-funded system. Dr. Venugopal paid tribute to the tens of thousands of nurses and other health care staff whose work and dedication has held the line. He said that he was very encouraged by the united actions of Ontarians in defence of the public health care system and that this resistance must be stepped up to stop and reverse the destruction taking place.
A
representative from the SEIU put forward the demands of
frontline
health care workers. She called for increased funding for health
care,
a stop to further spending cuts and an increase in the wages and
improvement in working conditions of health care staff. She
pointed out
that increasing
investments in health care spending will ensure that hospitals
and
other health care facilities are able to do their work to
protect the
health of Ontarians, which is their aim. She expressed gratitude
to the
people of Ontario for standing behind the health care workers
during
the pandemic and after
and that it is this unity that will be decisive for victory in
the
struggle.
The rally also heard from several other unions as well as from families of some who died in seniors' homes during the pandemic, patients who have been exploited by private clinics in Ontario, and politicians from the NDP, Liberal and Green Party.
The determination of the people gathered to see the fight through to the end was expressed by the chant, "We Won't Back Down! We Won't Back Down!" which could be heard inside the legislature as well as for blocks around.
(Photos: WF, CUPE)
This article was published in
Number 55
- September 29, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10551.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca