Toronto — Academic leaders, democracy advocates, patient advocates, front-line care workers and doctors are alt speaking with one voice when it comes to the leaked health care omnibus bill that has secretly been planned by the Ford government for months: if passed, it would cause health care chaos that will last for years. Speaking at a Queen’s Park press conference this morning, representatives called on the Ford government to rethink their plans; to rebuild capacity in our public health care to meet population need and consult with Ontarians in a proper and meaningful democratic consultation process about the future of our health care system, rather than engaging in massive restructuring and privatization.
Ford government won’t hear from more than 1,500 on sweeping health restructuring bill
Toronto: The Ontario Health Coalition will appear before the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Social
Policy this morning in the public hearings into Bill 74. The Ford government’s new health restructuring law, the Coalition reports, gives the Minister of Health and the government’s appointees in the new Super Agency sweeping new powers to order, direct, coerce through funding powers, and otherwise force health service restructuring and privatization. The Coalition is concerned that local health care services will be put in jeopardy, that any remaining local control over health services is being taken away, that the legislation enables the government and the Super Agency to force the privatization of a massive array of health care services, and that the legislation has been stripped of all democratic protections. Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra issued the following statement this morning in response to the government’s refusal to date to hold public hearings across Ontario and to consult with the people of the province who fund our health care system.
Canadian Office & Professional Employees’ Union
On February 26, 2019, the Ontario Government introduced the People’s Health Care Act, 2019 (Bill 74). This Act proposes the establishment of a single Health Agency— Ontario Health (the Super Agency) and the establishment of local Ontario Health Teams that will connect health care providers and services around patients and families.
Power of Many – Ford Tracker – Ontario Federation of Labour
Power of Many – Ford Tracker
Actions to date
Will YOU step up to protect Ontario’s Healthcare?
Want to stop the new Health “Super Agency”? Attend a Health Coalition Town Hall Rally
The Ford government is proposing massive restructuring to hospitals, long-term care, home care, community care, mental health, etc.
The new legislation, which has been forged with no public consultation whatsoever, will take away local control of health care services.
Protect our local health care services from mega-mergers and privatization.
Protect and improve our public health care! NO to cuts & privatization!
April30 Rally Poster3
Town hall poster updated
Get on the bus list
Thunder Bay Health Coalition presents –
Protect our local health care services from mega-mergers and privatization
Town Hall Meeting
Thursday April 4th at 6:30 pm
Thunder Bay 55+ Centre
700 River Street
Thanks Terry!
A huge shout out to one of the TBRHSC retirees Terry Blatchford. Terry was the 50/50 winner at the annual COPE Local 96 Christmas dinner and donated a large amount of her winnings to the Paediatrics Department at the Regional Hospital.
This year COPE Local 96 decided to donate half the money raised from the 50/50 to a local charity/organization in our community. The Paediatrics Department holds a Christmas party every year for the children who are in the hospital at Christmas time. Santa comes to visit the children in the hospital even when they can’t make it home for the holidays. All the money raised helped buy Christmas gifts for the children. COPE Local 96 hopes to make a yearly donation to such worthwhile causes. Tyler Biloski from “The Magic and Illusion of Tyler Biloski” will be there as well to put on a show for the children.
We hope everyone had a good time at the Christmas dinner.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from your COPE Local 96 Executive.
Annual Christmas Social
COPE Local 96
Annual Christmas Social
Tuesday, December 11th, 2018
The Columbus Centre, 301 May Street South
Symposium 6:00
Dinner 6:30
Tickets available from your executive – $10.00 each
Continue reading “Annual Christmas Social”
After 129 days, a strike by workers at a Thunder Bay, Ont., clinic has come to an end.
The strike at the Port Arthur Health Clinic began on April 9. Unifor Local 229, which represents the employees, and clinic management restarted talks on Tuesday.
That produced a tentative agreement, which was ratified by union members on Tuesday evening, and then by the clinic’s board on Wednesday. The two sides then spent most of Wednesday negotiating a back-to-work protocol, which governs how and when the employees will return to the job.
Unifor national president Jerry Dias said the protocol will be signed Thursday, and he expects the employees will be back at work by early next week, at the latest.
“It was a long time coming,” Dias told CBC Thunder Bay’s Superior Morning on Thursday. “This is the best thing for our members, it’s the best thing for the clinic, and it’s by far the best thing for the community, so I’m quite pleased this morning.”
Dias said the new agreement includes wage increases and benefit improvements for the employees (there is some discrepancy in terms of the number of employees who were involved in the strike — the clinic says the agreement affects 57 people, while the union maintains the number is 65, with Dias saying no employees left their jobs during the strike, to the best of his knowledge).
“The bottom line is, I think what was attained is a willingness on both sides to get back to work and to repair this incredibly-fractured relationship,” Dias said. “That has to be the starting point.”
The strike got heated, particularly last week, when the union advised the public and clinic management of its intention to shut the clinic down to pressure the clinic to resume negotiations.
Pickets and supporters surrounded the clinic on Aug. 8, and a temporary fence was set up, preventing people from accessing the clinic. The move effectively shut the clinic down for three days, as management attempted to get a court injunction to stop picketers from preventing anyone from accessing the clinic, and limit their ability to picket on clinic property.
A temporary injunction was granted, with the injunction scheduled to be argued in court on Aug. 10. However, when the two sides returned to court, they instead met behind closed doors to discuss the strike, which led to Tuesday’s formal negotiations.
Thunder Bay police also became involved after a man leaving the clinic with his daughter was allegedly struck in the face by male picketer on Aug. 7.
Police also responded to an alarm at the clinic just before 6 a.m. on Aug. 10. There, officers found an electrical box on the outside of the building which had allegedly been tampered with, causing a loss of power to the clinic.
Dias said the union and clinic management will now have regular meetings “so that this type of animosity doesn’t build over time.”
He said those meetings were written into the newly-signed collective agreement: the two sides will hold at least four “major” meetings each year, Dias said.