Building a movement to save public health care

SUBMITTED BY JOEL HARDEN, MPP FOR OTTAWA CENTRE

Last week we sent a message to Premier Doug Ford: our health care is not for sale.

More than 100 people turned out downtown on Jan. 19 to demand better for health care staff, better for patients, and better for our cherished public health care system. We heard powerful testimonials making this case from people who came with less than 48 hours notice.

We also did an outside tour of two private clinics operating in Centretown that give “fast lane” health care to those who can pay thousands in private fees.

ExecHealth and La Vie Executive Health promise access to crucial medical services in days, while public system lineups can take months or longer given funding cuts.

This will only get worse if we allow public funds to subsidize the Ford government’s privatization plans.

Earlier this week, Premier Ford announced permanent changes to use private, for-profit clinics to clear Ontario’s surgical backlog. Yesterday he said critics of this move “…are the ones that created hallway health care for many years.”

That’s a curious view divorced from reality, but I’ve come to expect that from this premier. He likes to blame others, avoid responsibility, and reward friends seeking to profit from services usually performed by the public sector.

The Herzig Eye Institute is a case in point. Herzig executives are major Tory donors, and stand to benefit handsomely from the 5,000 cataract surgeries in Ottawa they will absorb per year from