Dear editor,
Earlier this year, on May 26th and 27th, over 400,000 Ontario citizens, including over 940 Fort Frances and Rainy River District citizens, voted in a citizen led referendum on the privatization of our public hospitals. Over 98% of those voting voted NO to premier Doug Fords plans to have private for-profit hospitals and clinics take on medical procedures currently performed in our public hospitals.
Doug Ford’s plan will see public hospital procedures taken over by private for-profit hospitals and clinics that will charge patients for services currently received at no cost. These private for profit hospitals and clinics will result in the closure of small and rural hospital emergency departments and urgent care services and even in the closure of public hospitals completely as has been done in Minden. The plan will pull doctors and nursing staff out of the system creating an even worse situation in our public hospitals.
The Ontario Legislature will begin its fall session on September 25th and Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones need to be reminded of the results of the referendum.
To ensure that they do not forget, the Ontario Health Coalition and local Health Coalitions including the Thunder Bay Health Coalition will be holding protests on Monday September 25th. Besides the protests in Toronto and Thunder Bay there will be protests in Dryden and Sault Ste. Marie. The protest here Dryden will be on Monday September 25th at 11:30 am at MPP Greg Rickford’s office at 439 Government Rd. The public is invited and indeed encouraged to join in the protest to send the government a clear message that we do not want our public hospital services given to private for-profit hospitals and clinics.
Jules Tupker
Co-chair
Thunder Bay Health Coalition
