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BLOG: The Power of a People’s Referendum

(June 1, 2023) By Natalie Mehra, Executive Director We know that the overwhelming majority of Ontarians do not want our public hospitals privatized to for-profit hospitals and clinics. We know this because we hear it in our families, in our communities. The polls reveal that the opposition to the privatization of our hospital services is […]

RELEASE: More than 400,000 Ontarians vote to stop the privatization of Ontario’s public hospitals: Health Coalition announces results of Huge People’s Referendum

(May 31, 2023) The Ontario Health Coalition announced the results of a mass community-run referendum, where Ontarians were given the opportunity to have their say on if they would like their public hospital services to be privatized to for-profit hospitals and clinics. A massive pile of ballots were delivered to the government this morning, as […]

EVENT: HUGE people’s referendum to stop hospital privatization Friday & Sat: maps & list of all vote counts/announcements

(May 25, 2023) Almost a thousand voting stations will be staffed by thousands of volunteers in a massive effort to force the Ford government to respect democratic process and input on their hospital privatization plans Vote counting & results announcement information listed here A map listing all voting stations across the province is available online […]

EVENT: Ontario referendum to stop Ford government’s privatization of our hospitals announced

(April 18, 2023) Ontario Health Coalition Province-Wide Community Referendum to Stop Ford Government’s Privatization of Our Public Hospitals Health Coalitions across Ontario launched a major fightback to stop the privatization of our public hospitals today. The Coalition is mounting a community-run referendum. Health Coalitions are organizing voting stations outside grocery stores, local corner stores, coffee shops, […]

RELEASE: More than 94,000 Ontarians Join in Grassroots Referendum to Stop Devastating Hospital Cuts

(May 31, 2016) Massive Piles of Votes delivered to Opposition Party Leaders Outside Ontario Legislature Toronto – From across Ontario representatives from dozens of communities facing devastating cuts to their community hospitals carted thousands of ballots to the Ontario Legislature. The votes – 93,840 of them as of last night – were cast in a […]

UPDATE: Due to overwhelming demand, you can now vote in the Ontario-wide Referendum by e-mail!

(May 27, 2016) Please distribute as widely as possible.   Due to overwhelming demand and accessibility issues, we are providing an email- in ballot for the cross-province referendum to stop the hospital cuts. We will not be doing an online vote as they are too easy to corrupt and we want to maintain the integrity […]

RELEASE: Volunteer-Led Referendum Launched Across Ontario to Save Local Hospitals: Ontarians to Vote Saturday May 28

(April 25, 2016) Volunteer-Led Referendum Launched Across Ontario to Save Local Hospitals: Ontarians to Vote Saturday May 28                                                                       (Toronto, ON) […]

RELEASE: Ontario-wide Referendum Launch to Save Local Hospital Services

(April 25, 2016) JOIN THE ONTARIO-WIDE REFERENDUM Vote Saturday May 28 To save our local hospital services & stop the cuts to our community hospitals All across Ontario hospital beds, emergency departments, birthing and surgical units, palliative care and even entire hospitals are being closed down. Hundreds of nurses have been cut, along with the thousands […]

ADVISORY CORRECTION: Volunteers in Communities Across Ontario are Mounting Referendum to Save Local Hospitals

(April 22, 2016) *PLEASE NOTE: The Sudbury media launch has been postponed until further notice.    Ontario is currently in the ninth consecutive year of real-dollar cuts to global hospital budgets, the longest stretch in Ontario’s history. These cuts mean that hospitals across the province, cannot keep up even with basic inflation. Hospitals have been […]

RELEASE: More than 56,000 Ontarians vote to stop the dismantling of community hospitals in volunteer-led referendum: Health Coalition

(April 7, 2014) Over the last two and a half weeks, hundreds of volunteers with the Ontario Health Coalition have opened public voting stations to collect opinions about the government’s plan to cut services from local community hospitals and contract them out to high-volume private clinics. Balloting at over 100 voting stations and over 200 […]

UPDATE: Bill 60, the Ford government’s hospital privatization bill passed final vote yesterday: Health Coalition statement & update on the fightback

(May 9, 2023) When the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) warned last spring leading into the election that the Ford government was planning to privatize surgeries and diagnostic services , Ford repeatedly denied that was his plan. Those claims are shown to be totally false with Bill 60 , the Ford government’s hospital privatization legislation passed into law yesterday. With […]

ACTION PLAN: Campaign to Stop Doug Ford’s Privatization of our Hospitals and Vital Health Care Services

(October 20, 2022) Advocates for public health care face a truly unprecedented all-out effort to privatize health care across the spectrum: home care, long-term care, hospitals, virtual care, primary care, public health, EMS and more. Our analysis of the Ford government’s intent is that they are very serious. The Ford government has spent several years […]

RELEASE: Ontario Health Coalition Announces Our Highest Awards for 2022: This year’s recipients have shown extraordinary commitment to safeguarding public health care and advocacy for long-term care residents and their families

(October 21, 2022) Toronto – They contributed in unique ways, but each demonstrated extraordinary commitment to the public interest, the Ontario Health Coalition reported as it announced the winners of its highest awards. The awards celebrate the contributions of Ontarians who have made a remarkable contribution in public health care. “This year we have faced […]

EVENTS & ACTIONS: Become a Public Medicare Defender Today

(March 13, 2023) We are calling on all Ontarians to help fight against the privatization. Become a Public Medicare Defender today to force Doug Ford to fix the crisis in our public hospital system and stop privatization. To sign up to become a Public Medicare Defender, fill in the form found below the slideshow on […]

EVENT: Emergency Summit on Health Care Privatization

(November 11, 2021) To view the recorded livestream of the health care privatization summit, click here. IT STOPS NOW! EMERGENCY SUMMIT ON HEALTH CARE PRIVATIZATION. Urgent Call for Ontarians who want to safeguard & improve our public health care for people not for profit. When: Wednesday November 17 at 7 p.m How to Join: Virtual […]

RELEASE: Thousands of Patients Lining Hospital Hallways in Brampton “Code Gridlock” Just the Tip of the Iceberg

(October 31, 2017) Coalition Calls for Long-Term Plan to Reinvest & Rebuild Hospital Bed Capacity Toronto – A memo obtained by the NDP, released in the media today, reveals that more than 4,300 patients stayed on stretchers in hospital corridors and the like for significant lengths of time, often waiting 40 – 70 hours for […]

RELEASE: Throne Speech: Wynne’s Opportunity to Chart Improved Course for Health Care

(September 12, 2016) With today’s Throne Speech, the Wynne government is trying for a fresh start. If this is to succeed, some long-simmering health care issues must be addressed to realign her government’s health policies with the values and priorities of Ontarians. “More than eight years of austerity budgets in Ontario’s public community hospitals has […]

A serious note on saving our hospitals

(May 27, 2016) By: Natalie Mehra, Executive Director, OHC Ontario’s hospital cuts are the deepest in the country, and despite claims by government, the services that are being dismantled in local public hospitals are not replaced in community care. In fact, many communities are losing vital services and across the province whole categories of services […]

RELEASE: More than 80,000 Ontarians Vote to Stop Wynne Government Plan to Cut Local Community Hospitals and Contract Out Care to Private Clinics: Health Care Advocates Call On the Premier and New Health Minister to Stop the Privatization Plan

(July 8, 2014) One of the first major controversial issues faced by Ontario’s new Health Minister is the government’s plan to cut clinical services from local public hospitals and contract them out to regional private clinics. Today at the Ontario Legislature, hundreds of health care advocates representing every region of Ontario gathered to deliver more […]

RELEASE: Coalition Slams “Bullying” Tactics by Premier and Health Minister to Force Through P3 Hospital Privatization Without Public Accountability: Kingston Hospital Latest in More than $4 Billion in Hospital P3 Privatization Under Ontario’s Liberal Government

(May 29, 2013) A bus load of volunteers from Kingston Ontario travelled to Toronto today to deliver 10,000 ballots from a community referendum they held recently to stop the P3 privatization of their community’s new hospital. Almost 10,000 residents voted with 96 per cent opposing the P3 privatization scheme. Kingston’s new hospital is the latest […]