About a protest: Emergency meeting to fight back against privatizing our public Hospital confirmation

 Event place: Online (By using Zoom)

Event Organizer: Ontario Health Coalition, protecting public healthcare for all.

Event Date:  January 31, 2023, 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Event Objective: The meeting's main objective is to Fight Back Against the Privatization of our Public Hospitals.

The premier of Ontario, Mr. Ford’s government, has announced their plan to build and expand new for-profit surgical and diagnostic hospitals and clinics when the public hospital’s operating room is closed in the evenings, on weekends, days, and months due to lack of funds and staff shortages. In this worsened crisis of public hospitals, the Ford government gave the solution of privatization. This is an old formula that creates a crisis and benefits private organizations. Canadian public hospitals have been made from donations and hard of communities since the last century. Canadian Health Care isn’t for dismantling and selling off to for-profit corporations. 

The event aims to create a massive campaign and organize a fightback to protect the local public hospitals.

The issues being addressed:

·         The Ford government isn’t doing anything to solve public healthcare.

·         The Ontario government policy is putting public healthcare in a worse position.

·         They are privatizing Ontario public health care.

·         Almost 100 emergency care is closed in Ontario.

·         The Ford government is continuously ignoring and downplaying the staffing crisis.

·         “Create a crisis and privatize” will destroy public health care.

Participation: Host: Natalie Mehra. Participants: Naureen Rizvi (President of Ontario Regional Director), Jon Cartwright (Councillor of Canadians), Ross Sutherland (Chair of Ontario Health Coalition, retired nurse), JP Hornick (President of OPSEU), Michelle Robidoux (Lawyer at Legal Aid), Carolyne Eagan, Marit Stiles (MPP), France Gelinas (Health Critics from NDP), John Fraser (Intern leader of Liberal Party), Michael Hurley (President of the Ontario Council Hospital, Canadian Union of Public employee), Shirley Roebuck (Local Coalition co-chair, Retired emergency department nurse), Angela Preocanin ONA (First Vice President of the Ontario Nurses Association), Fred Huhn (Canadian Union of Public Employees), Ed Cashman (Ottawa Health Coalition Co-Chair), Sara Labelle (President of the hospital professional division), and Patty Coats (President of Ontario Federation of Labour).

Reaction from the Community: The participants ask that if anybody sees any misinformation or disinformation, then that should be challenged immediately. They also compared the health system of the USA to that of Canada. A Nobel prize owner in the US had to sell their medal to bear the health cost. They mentioned that they are fighting for a different system that is not profitable for businesspeople. For example, in Canada, the old home system is private, and we have seen in the pandemic that 5000 body bags have come out from the homes. So, we all have to work together for success in the health system and not let anybody make it private.

Analyze and reflect: I like how many organizations from different sectors joined this protest. Because Health is a universal issue, we can’t ignore it. Canada is well-known worldwide for its universal health system. We can’t see it destroyed like this by a particular business group.

I felt that this coalition should be promoted more through the media because we must inform the general public that they are the ones who will pay the extra money and compromise the health benefits. This way, we can continue providing information to the media, especially news and social media. Then, more people will try to join and take action against the Ford government’s healthcare decision.

People from different races, classes, and genders joined the event and agreed to work together. People are together to fight this oppression.

As health is a universal issue, all community organizations can work together.  

Part 3: From this event, I have learned that different organizations exist for different community problems. But we needed to work together, and they all came together here. We also need to contact other community organizations so they can join us and work together. Community workers here work to make more people aware and work with them. Their focus was on community development. I want to encourage people to spread all messages through the news and social media. Because the government will change their decision only if it finds its vote bank is looking for something else.

Resources:

-          Ontario Health Coalition. Emergency Meeting to Fight Back Against the Ford Government's Privatization of our Public Hospitals. YouTube. https://youtu.be/vWgyL2B6lIc