news release
Simcoe County Health Coalition
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The Simcoe County Health Coalition is preparing for a powerful demonstration to demand the Ontario government address the health care crisis.
On Thursday, May 30, 2024, members of the coalition plan to ride the GO Train to join concerned citizens in a large protest at Queen's Park in Toronto.
Why we protest: Ontario is suffering:
There are serious staffing shortages at every level of our health care system, and the Ford government's privatization of health services has made the situation worse. Across Ontario, emergency rooms are closing or reducing hours at unprecedented levels. Entire hospitals are closing in rural areas. In many communities, people must travel for hours to receive emergency care. Hallway care is now the norm, not the exception. Emergency room wait times are at their longest on record, and this is costing lives. Millions of Ontarians cannot find a family doctor. Lack of access to primary care is resulting in a decline in the health of our province and increased visits to hospitals and acute care facilities. Seniors are being forced to travel to long-term care homes, far from their communities and supports. More people are using credit cards instead of OHIP cards to get the medical care they need. Waiting lists are getting longer for medically necessary procedures and specialty care.
Meanwhile, the Ontario government
In the midst of the worst medical emergency we’ve seen in generations (a global pandemic), we’ve made it worse by illegally capping nurses’ and hospital staff’s salaries with laws like the unconstitutional Bill 124, and spending thousands of dollars on lawsuits that ultimately lost. We’ve heavily funded for-profit long-term facilities with a deadly track record. Some of these heavily funded long-term facilities had some of the highest death rates during the pandemic. We have the lowest funding rates for hospitals in Canada, and we’ve gradually privatized hospital services like surgery and diagnostics. We’ve refused to fund operating rooms to extend public hospital hours while paying 2-4 times taxpayer dollars for surgical procedures in private clinics. We’ve siphoned funding and staff from public hospitals, forcing them to close services. Rather than adequately addressing the nursing shortage with a comprehensive attraction and retention plan, we’ve allowed predatory for-profit entities to charge public hospitals up to 10 times the rate for nursing services in hospitals. We allow private clinics to charge fees for medically necessary procedures that are illegal under the Canada Health Act. Legislation like Bill 60 allows private clinics to proliferate, overcharge and sell overpriced services to Ontarians desperate for health care services.
The time to act is now: join us in the fight to protect our public health care system.
We invite all concerned residents, medical professionals and advocates to join us for a journey to Queen's Park on May 30th to make your voice heard and help protect our public health.
If you are interested in attending, please fill out this form to register and we will contact you with more information. [email protected] Or call 647-835-7870 to reserve a seat on the GO Train.
Event details
Date: Thursday, May 30, 2024
Time: Meet at 8:30am
Location: Barrie South GO Train Station
Destination: Queen's Park, Toronto
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