100 signatures reached
To: Arden Krystal, CEO, Southlake Regional Health Centre
Tell Southlake Hospital to reject Ford's privatization plan
We all know that nurses and hospital staff are overworked, under compensated, and underappreciated -- and it shows. Many are very passionate about their careers, but have been forced to leave the field or to seek work at for-profit clinics just to make ends meet. Bill 124 suppresses the wages of nurses, health care professionals, and other public sector workers.
As the cost of living rises and the housing crisis continues, Ford continues to neglect the health care staff who held the backbone of this province together since the first wave of COVID-19 hit in 2020. Not only this, but he has cut funding that help hospitals to meet the needs of their communities. Doug Ford has chosen to let hospitals fall apart at the seams, through his own neglect and then blamed it on public health.
What has Doug Ford done instead? He framed this collapse of hospitals as the inevitable result of public healthcare and pushed his private healthcare agenda at every opportunity, acting as if there is no other viable option. But Canadians know better and we know that private health care is not the answer. One of the many wonderful things about living in Canada is our public healthcare system, and Doug Ford doesn't care about how it will result in fewer people having access to care, families going bankrupt while trying to save the life of a loved one, or the massive medical neglect that is inherent when citizens have to choose between providing for their families or getting a bump looked at.
Why is this important?
We as Canadians, who are fortunate to have public healthcare, will defend this element that makes our country great. The consequences of our healthcare becoming privatized are far reaching and will have a negative impact on not just low-income and marginalized people, but nearly everyone.
In March, 2023, Doug Ford proposed Bill 60, on the first day of the current legislative season, after changing the rules of Legislature so that bills could pass by even faster, without the need for democratic discussion in parliament. Under Bill 60, private clinics can be established by any third party/corporation without being subject to the conflict of interest and ethics regulations of public servants and without public notice. Bill 60 essentially hands over the roles of Minister and the Cabinet to any third party/corporation that wishes to open a private clinic, overturning the long history of the Independent Health Facilities Act, which was introduced in 1990 in order to prevent privatized health care in Canada.
Tell Arden Krystal, the CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre, to push back against Ford and say a clear "NO" to private health care in Newmarket, Ontario. It is not the way forward, it is not a solution, and it is not an improvement on our current health care system.