News + Events

Sources say the provincial Liberals are pulling the plug on yearly inspections at more than 500 homes, just three years after they were found violating their own inspection law

(June 28, 2016) By: Jonathan Sher, The London Free Press Three years after it vowed to do more to protect nursing home residents, Ontario’s Liberal government is quietly pulling the plug on yearly inspections at more than 500 homes, Postmedia has learned. Starting next week, 84% of Ontario’s 630 long-term care homes will get a full inspection […]

Giant Rocking Chair Tour

(June 25, 2016) By: Chris Abbott, Postmedia Network Ontario Health Coalition’s giant 10-foot rocking chair arrived in Tillsonburg Tuesday afternoon. “The chair is a symbol of care,” said Ontario Health Coalition volunteer Peter Boyle, from Jones Falls (north of Kingston), in front of Maple Manor Nursing Home, “and the Giant Rocking Chair Tour is about […]

Ontario Health coalition visits St. Thomas with warning about the state of nursing homes in the province

(June 22, 2016) By: Jennifer Bieman, St. Thomas Times-Journal The Ontario Health Coalition made a stop in St. Thomas Tuesday, bringing a big chair and a big message. Elgin Mall played host to a three-metre tall rocking chair, the symbol of the health care advocacy group’s third annual campaign to improve long-term care. The Railway […]

EVENT: 9th Annual Organic Garlic Fundraiser Kicks-Off!

(June 21, 2016) The Ontario Health Coalition works to improve the public health system: to save local health care services, stop cuts and privatization and keep our community hospitals vibrant. We believe compassion should come before profit and all should have equal access to care based on need, not wealth. We work to ensure that […]

EVENT: Giant Rocking Chair Tour 2016: Rock-in for Improved Care!

(June 21, 2016) Rocking Chair Tour Update The Ontario Health Coalition’s giant 10-foot tall rocking chair with its message of the urgent need to bring in a 4-hour per day minimum care standard and improve access to long-term care has visited 17 communities (only 2 more to go!) including Prescott, Plantagenet, Orleans, Carleton Place, Almonte, Barry’s […]

Health Coalition raises Ontario’s long-term care issues in Orangeville

(June 21, 2016) By: James Matthews, Orangeville Banner There’s a glaring need for minimum care standards at long-term care facilities, according to the Ontario Health Coalition. The coalition situated a 10-foot tall wooden rocking chair on Orangeville’s Broadway near Blind Line on Saturday (June 18). It was part of a 19-town tour designed to increase […]

Giant rocking chair arrives in Essex County as part of tour focusing on lack of care for seniors

(June 21, 2016) By: Trevor Wilhelm, Windsor Star Health care advocates pushing the government to improve access and standards at long-term care homes stopped in Essex County Monday, and they brought a giant rocking chair to drive home their point. Volunteers criss-crossing Ontario with the 10-foot chair said it’s a symbol of the care that […]

Rocking chair brings awareness to long term care facilities

(June 21, 2016) By: Kelly Snider, Orléans Star GOVERNMENT. Members of the Ontario Health Coalition brought a 10-foot tall wooden rocking chair to Orléans on June 14, to help bring awareness to the issues surrounding the care standards at long-term care facilities. “Our goal is to [bring attention] to the issues of the inadequate care […]

Ontario Health Coalition and the Oxford Coalition for Social Justice are demanding increased staffing and access to care at long-term care facilities, as well as a reduction in wait times

(June 21, 2016) By: Heather Rivers, Woodstock Sentinel-Review WOODSTOCK — Rocking chairs are supposed to be considered a symbol of comfort and safety, as well as a reassurance that someone is taking care of us. But on Tuesday afternoon, a giant rocking chair in Woodstock was used to symbolize what the Ontario Health Coalition considers […]

Rocking chair health campaign rocks into Norwood

(June 21, 2016) By: Bill Freeman, Trent Hills Independent Norwood – The provincial government needs to make sure long-term care residents get a minimum of at least four hours of hands-on care a day, says the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC). The Coalition’s “It’s Time to Care” Rocking Chair campaign stopped in Norwood, July 16 to […]

Giant rocking chair stops in Alliston

(June 17, 2016) By: Maija Hoggett, Alliston Herald The Ontario Health Coalition brought their campaign to improve the province’s long-term care homes to Alliston today. Volunteers with the coalition set up a giant rocking chair on Victoria Street East near Sir Frederick Banting Road to raise awareness for its campaign. The goals are to have […]

Giant Rocking Chair Tour Visits Barry’s Bay

(June 16, 2016) By: 96.1 Renfrew A rocking chair symbolizes comfort and safety – and that’s why a giant 10 foot rocking chair was in Barry’s Bay yesterday morning. The Ontario Health Coalition is touring 19 towns across Ontario with the big wooden chair to raise awareness about improving the care standards at long term […]

Giant rocking chair tour to reach Orangeville Saturday

(June 16, 2016) By: Orangeville Citizen A giant 10-foot-tall wooden rocking chair is touring 19 towns across Ontario, including Orangeville this Saturday. The Orangeville stop is scheduled for 10 a.m., at the northwest corner Broadway and Blind Line, a few steps from the Avalon Retirement Centre. A news release from a coalition of health care […]

Giant rocking chair comes to Orléans to highlight long-term care facility issues

(June 16, 2016) By: Brier Dodge, Orleans News A giant rocking chair just over three-metres high was set up in front of the Saint-Louis Residence in Orléans on June 14 by a group that says not enough is being done for people living in long-term care homes. Members of the Ontario Health Coalition are calling […]

Giant Rocking Chair To Raise Awareness In Bancroft

(June 15, 2016) By: Andreas Pandikiu, My Bancroft Now Barry’s Bay and Bancroft residents will get to see a 10-foot tall wooden rocking chair today. The chair will make an appearance to raise awareness to the need for improved care for long-term care facilities in Ontario. The Ontario Health Coalition says it will be collecting […]

A 10-foot tall rocking chair stops in Plantagenet

(June 15, 2016) By: Cristina Sanza PLANTAGENET – A 10-foot tall rocking chair made a pit stop on the front lawn of the Pinecrest Nursing Home on June 13, as part of a tour organized by The Ontario Health Coalition to raise awareness about the lack of long-term care standards in Ontario. The tour […]

Giant rocking chair brought to Orleans to raise awareness about long term care

(June 14, 2016) By: Alison Sandor, 580 CFRA An odd sight Tuesday morning in Orleans, as a giant rocking chair was set up on the grass near the Bruyere long term care facility on Hiawartha Park. The Ontario Health Coalition is touring the province with the rocker to raise awareness about care standards at long […]

Referendum underway on future of health care

(May 28, 2016) By: CTV Windsor It’s voting day across Ontario on the future of health care. An unofficial provincewide referendum is underway. Activists are asking people to vote in the Stop Hospital Cuts Now Referendum. The Ontario Health Coalition, supported locally by Making Waves Windsor Essex, are at workplaces and high-profile locations such as […]

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 […]

Death by 1,000 Cuts

(May 30, 2016) By: Christine Blizzard, The Toronto Sun The prognosis is dire. Deep cuts to the province’s hospitals have left them on life support. Sydennham District Hospital in Wallaceburg is symptomatic of the squeeze that’s strangling small-town hospitals across the province. The community was asked to pitch in and raise cash for a new […]

Liberals strangling small-town hospitals

(May 29, 2016) TORONTO – The prognosis is dire. Deep cuts to the province’s hospitals have left them on life support. Sydenham District Hospital in Wallaceburg is symptomatic of the squeeze that’s strangling small-town hospitals across the province. The community was asked to pitch in and raise cash for a new palliative-care unit. Residents rose to the […]

Wynne’s health-care plan is perpetual crisis

(May 28, 2016) When the Ontario Health Coalition tells you Mike Harris did a better job of running the health-care system than Kathleen Wynne, it says something. The coalition advocates for publicly funded medicare, representing more than 400 unions, medical professionals, non-profits, student, ethnic, cultural, women’s, seniors’ and anti-poverty groups. Politically, it leans firmly to […]

When it comes to hospitals it’s ‘Hacksaw Kathleen’: Ontario Health Coalition

Kathleen Wynne and her Liberal government are hacking and slashing hospital budgets in a way that’s more chaotic than Mike Harris ever was, says a coalition fighting to save hospital beds. “Chainsaw Mike,” as Harris was dubbed, was “more honest and more transparent,” than Wynne, said Natalie Mehra of the Ontario Health Coalition. If Harris […]

Thousands vote locally in hospital referendum

(May 28, 2016) By: Gord Young, The Nugget A province-wide referendum aimed at stopping service cuts at Ontario hospitals wrapped up Saturday after garnering thousands of votes from local residents. Mike Bisaillon, an organizer in North Bay, said local voting results will be announced during a news conference Monday, while the province-wide tally will be […]

Unofficial referendum underway to protest hospital cuts

(May 28, 2016) By: Colleen MacDonald, CTV London An unofficial province-wide referendum is underway as a novel way to oppose budget cuts to hospitals. The Ontario Health Coalition organized the volunteer-led Stop Hospital Cuts Now Referendum asking Ontario residents to vote yes or no to the statement, “Ontario’s government must stop the cuts to our […]

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 […]

A serious note on saving our hospitals

posted May 27, 2016

(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 […]

Every vote counts as Ontario Health Coalition looks to put pressure on province

(May 22, 2016) By: Patrick Bales, The Orillia Packet & Times Orillians had a chance to voice their thoughts on cuts to the Ontario health-care system Saturday at the ODAS Park Farmers’ Market. Volunteers from the Ontario Health Coalition had their makeshift polling station open, collecting signatures and votes, hoping to gather enough momentum to […]

Health-care referendum planned

(May 18, 2016) By: Jim Blake, Chatham Voice Ontarians who are upset about the level of health-care funding are being urged to participate in a province-wide referendum on health care cuts from now through May 28. Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, said the referendum will ask residents to vote yes or […]

SAH head applauds coalition efforts to see health-care dollars boosted, but says Ontario’s economy must be considered

(May 18, 2016) By: Jeffrey Ougler, Sault Star SAULT STE. MARIE – While Sault Area Hospital president and chief executive officer Ron Gagnon may agree with Ontario Health Coalition contentions hospital coffers could use more cash, he argues the current state of Ontario’s economy must be considered when gauging health-care financing. “Funding to hospitals has not […]

Symbolism won’t save health care

(May 18, 2016) By: Dave Dawson, Orillia Packet & Times Ontario’s health-care system is on life support. It’s a little like a person who smoked and ate poorly his whole life and, upon learning he has cancer and a myriad of potentially fatal health problems, decides to begin pursuing a healthy lifestyle. Likely — sadly […]

Coalition hopes ‘referendum’ persuades province to stop cuts to health care

(May 18, 2016) By: Mehreen Shahid, Orillia Packet & Times A group that is taking its “grassroots referendum” movement across the province to protest health-care cuts is inviting local residents to give their two cents’ worth. The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), a volunteer-based organization, will set up stations in 20 communities, including Orillia, this month. […]

Orillia Health Coalition promotes referendum

(May 18, 2016) By: Frank Matys, Orillia Today Do you oppose continued hospital cuts? That’s the question residents will be asked during a referendum aimed at safeguarding hospitals from chronic underfunding. Organizers of the upcoming vote acknowledge the answer may be painfully obvious to patients and staff affected by budget shortfalls, but they argue the […]

Coalition Holds Referendum on Cuts

(May 17, 2016) By: Ken Hashizume, Bayshore Broadcasting News Centre OHC will be holding votes in 20 locations to protest funding cuts to hospitals. Orillia is joining the Ontario Health Coalition’s initiative to hold a referendum on the cuts to the funding of hospitals in Ontario. A rally organized by the Orillia Health Coalition was […]

Ontario’s major hospitals operating over capacity, documents reveal

(May 16, 2016) By: Jane Taber, The Globe and Mail Ontario’s major hospitals are overcrowded, operating with 100 per cent of their acute care beds occupied, sometimes trying to squeeze in even more, creating potential hazards for patients and leading to inadequate care, according to documents obtained by the New Democratic Party. The Thunder Bay […]

Ontario Health Coalition Referendum Advance Poll at Mill Market

(May 13, 2016) By: Lynne Brown On Saturday, May 14th, 2016, Mill Market will be the first, and official launch location in The Sault for the Ontario Health Coalition’s (OHC) Referendum on restorative funding to Ontario hospitals. From 9:45 to 3:00 pm, members of The Sault & Area Health Coalition will be set up in […]

Health coalition gathering votes for hospital cuts referendum

(May 12, 2016) Author: Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles, The Nugget Hundreds of North Bay and Area residents were stopped Thursday outside of Shoppers Drug Mart and No Frills on Lakeshore Drive as part of a province-wide referendum. The vote is to stop service cuts at Ontario hospitals. Organizers hope to collect 100,000 signatures across the province, including […]

‘It’s been nine years in a row of heath cuts and it has to stop’

(May 12, 2016) Author: Gord Young, The Nugget Voting is underway in North Bay as part of a province-wide referendum aimed at stopping service cuts at Ontario hospitals. A couple of advanced polling stations have been set up and Ontario Health Coalition volunteers will be fanning out to various high-traffic locations within the community to […]

Anger rising over Ontario health cuts

(May 12, 2016) Author: Sherri Sherbo, Windsor Star When we talk about the disturbing trend in Ontario health care, some members of the public seem hesitant to believe it affects them. Nothing could be further from the truth. The negative impact on our Ontario communities is far-reaching. Program closures, decreases in front-line staff, pay cuts […]

Critically ill patients sent to Sarnia due to ICU overload

(May 12, 2016) Author: Brian Cross, Windsor Star A surge in the number of critically ill patients that “far exceeded” the capacity of Windsor Regional Hospital’s intensive care units on Friday prompted three of them to be rushed by ambulance to Sarnia’s ICU. The situation is being cited by the Windsor Essex and Essex County health […]

Calling Code Red! Town Hall Meeting on Healthcare

(May 12, 2016) Author: Island Clippings, St. Joseph’s Islands LAST FRIDAY NIGHT’S TOWN HALL MEETING brought out several residents who all shared concern and outright anger about the continuous threats to our local hospital as well as the state of Ontario’s health care in general. Ontario is currently in the ninth consecutive year of real-dollar […]

Oxford Health Coalition is running advance polls for a community referendum started by a provincial coalition that wants to see more health care spending in Ontario

(May 12, 2016) Author: Megan Stacey, Woodstock Sentinel-Review The Oxford Health Coalition is making the rounds at municipal council meetings, asking for support from Oxford politicians as they fight for increased funding to health care services and hospitals locally and across the province. The group is a local branch of the Ontario Health Coalition, a […]

Ballots to be cast in ‘unofficial referendum’ on Midland hospital cuts

(May 11, 2016) Author: Travis Mealing, Midland Mirror MIDLAND – A group determined to fight proposed service cuts at Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) has at least one more trick up its sleeve. Citizens of North Simcoe Concerned for Fair LHIN Funding has organized a local vote in an “unofficial referendum” spearheaded by the Ontario […]

Liberals should be ashamed of treatment of Scarborough and its hospitals

(May 9, 2016) Author: Scarborough Mirror Andrea Horwath says Ontario’s Liberal government “should be ashamed” about treating Scarborough and its hospitals with such disrespect. The government moved last month to support recommendations for some expensive hospital projects in Scarborough and West Durham, including planning for new hospitals to serve each region. But Horwath, Ontario’s New Democratic […]

Durham Health Coalition joins the Ontario-wide vote to protest provincial health-care cuts

(May 9, 2016) Author: Tabitha Reddekop, Metroland Media OSHAWA — The Durham Health Coalition wants local residents to vote in a May 28 referendum to stop cuts to local public health-care. The local group joined a province-wide referendum started by the Ontario Health Coalition on April 25, along with 19 other communities, to protest cuts through […]

Community members angry at CKHA plans for Sydenham Campus

(May 9, 2016) Author: Louis Pin, The Daily News It’s been a rough week for Natalie Mehra. As the executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, Mehra was in North Bay a day before coming to Wallaceburg, a more-than 600-kilometre drive. At each stop she’s faced with cuts, disgruntled communities and difficult situations. And yet […]

Chronic underfunding hits Orillia’s hospital

(May 8, 2016) Author: Frank Matys, Orillia Today Chronic underfunding is taking a toll on Orillia’s hospital. The question is: what will be the impact on staff and patients if the local facility continues to face multi-million dollar shortfalls? In the eyes of the Ontario Health Coalition – a group dedicated to protecting public health […]

Horwath Says Sarnia Hospital Cuts Must End

(May 6, 2016) Author: Briana Carnegie, BlackburnNews.com Sarnia’s healthcare representatives spoke out against Liberal healthcare cuts during a meeting with Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath Friday. Horwath says hospital funding should be stable, predictable, and at minimum, keep pace with inflation and population growth. She says concerns raised during the Sarnia meeting are being echoed […]

Town hall meeting hears horror stories of funding, service cuts; Ontario Health Coalition to send results of unofficial referendum Wynne’s way

(May 6, 2016) Author: Jeffrey Ougler, Sault Star Natalie Mehra, Ontario Health Coalition executive director, decries what she describes as the profound lack of funding being divvied out to Ontario hospitals during a town hall meeting Thursday evening, hosted by the Sault and Area Health Coalition at Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 25. JEFFREY OUGLER/SAULT STAR […]

Andrea Horwath held a community roundtable in Sarnia Friday

(May 6, 2016) Author: Tyler Kula, Sarnia Observer Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath was in Sarnia Friday, hammering home her party’s call for new provincial minimums for hospital funding. Just two days earlier in Toronto she’d called for stable, predictable annual budget increases tied to inflation and population growth. “At this point our point is […]

Town Hall Meeting & Referendum. Ontario Health Coalition Urges Action on Hospital Funding Cuts.

(May 6, 2016) Author: Lynne Brown, SaultOnline Folgo DellaVedova, Past President of the Sault & Area Health Coalition opened a Town Hall Meeting at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 25 on May 5th, 2016. “We are here to raise awareness and speak out about systematic hospital and health care concerns in our community.” said Della […]

Horwath Says Sarnia Hospital Cuts Must End

Orillia hospital cuts worry residents

(May 5, 2016) Author: Frank Matys, Orillia Today As residents voice concern over budget-driven cuts at Orillia’s hospital, more details are emerging regarding other measures that are expected to bring savings to the bottom line. These include fewer hours at the hospital’s cafeteria and a reduction in operating days at the cancer clinic. The details […]

NDP supports health coalition’s planned referendum on hospital cuts

(May 5, 2016) Author: Gord Young, The Nugget Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas is calling for improved health care funding in order to stem the cuts to jobs, beds and patient care at hospitals in Northern Ontario. “Health care in the North is the silent crisis of this Liberal government. Patients know it. And families […]

Health care in North a ‘silent crisis’

(May 5, 2016) Author: Gord Young, The Nugget Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas is calling for improved health care funding to stem the cuts to jobs, beds and patient care at hospitals in Northern Ontario. “Health care in the North is the silent crisis of this Liberal government. Patients know it. And families feel it. […]

Provincial News: NDP’s Horwath commits to Health Care You Can Count On

(May 5, 2016) Author: Northumberland View Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says it’s time for the Liberal government to stop cutting hospital care and ensure that Ontario families can count on their health care system to be there when they need it. Horwath says hospital funding should be stable, predictable and, at a minimum, must […]

Ontario Health Coalition hosts town-hall-style about health-care cutbacks

(May 4, 2016) Author: Mehreen Shahid, Orillia Packet & Times The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) is hoping for strength in numbers as it fights back against health-care cuts. Natalie Mehra, executive director of the OHC, spoke to a crowd of about 70 during a town-hall-style meeting Tuesday night at Orillia’s Best Western Mariposa Inn. The […]

‘I’m basically losing my job’: Dozens attend hospital meeting in Orillia

(May 4, 2016) Author: CTV Barrie It was standing room only on Tuesday night at a public forum to discuss cuts at Orillia’s Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital. Nurses, residents and councillors from around the region crammed into the Best Western Mariposa Inn to hear about what these cuts will mean for their local hospital and the […]

Report details cuts to Wallaceburg hospital

(May 4, 2016) Author: Wallaceburg Courier Press When it comes to cuts to hospital nursing care and hospital beds in Canada, Ontario leads the way. That was the conclusion of an Ontario Health Coalition report that was released last month. The report, ‘Beyond Limits: Ontario’s Deepening Hospital Cuts Crisis’, says cuts to community hospital care […]

Rallying to save our hospitals and patients’ lives

(May 4, 2016) Author: Robin MacLennan, Barrie Today Ontario’s Health Coalition is rallying volunteers in communities across the province to fight back against hospital cuts with a referendum on May 28 Elizabeth VanHoutte’s father died on a stretcher in the Emergency Department at OrilliaSoldiers’ Memorial Hospital. There were no beds available. “He spent 72 hours […]

Public forum to be held in Orillia to discuss recently announced hospital cuts

(May 3, 2016) Author: CTV Barrie Labour groups and health activists will be discussing recently announced cuts at an Orillia hospital during a forum on Tuesday night. The Ontario Health Coalition is hosting the event at the Best Western Mariposa Inn at 7 p.m. They want to get more people involved in fighting the cuts […]

Signatures still being collected for petition

(May 3, 2016) Author: Valerie MacDonald, Northumberland Today COBOURG – Now that the Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) support rally is behind her, Judy Sherwin says she is not planning anymore action at this time. But she has signed a petition initiated by the Northumberland Chapter of the Ontario Health Coalition and says there are more available to […]

Response to Orillia Hospital Cuts

(May 3, 2016) Author: Ian MacLennan, Bayshore Broadcasting Recent bed closures and jobs cuts at Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital in Orillia has caught the attention of the Ontario Health Coalition. The OHC, along with the Simcoe Muskoka District Labour Council, is hosting a town hall meeting on Tuesday night to hear feedback from the public about […]

Orillia hospital cuts focus of town hall

(May 3, 2016) Author: Frank Matys, Orillia Today Cuts to beds and jobs at Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital are the focus of a town hall meeting tonight (May 3). Jointly hosted by the Ontario Health Coalition and the North Simcoe Muskoka District Labour Council, the meeting takes place at Best Western Mariposa Inn and Conference Centre. […]

HSN employee elected to Ontario Council of Hospital Unions board

(May 3, 2016) Author: Sudbury.com Staff Sudbury’s Sharon Richer was elected as secretary-treasurer of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions/CUPE on April 28. Richer works at Health Sciences North and was until her election, vice-president of CUPE Local 1623. “This is the first time that a worker from the north has been elected to a […]

Meeting Tuesday regarding OSMH cutbacks

(April 29, 2016) By: Mehreen Shahid, Orillia Packet & Times After Wednesday’s announcement of job and bed losses at Orillia’s hospital, members of the public are being encouraged to attend a town-hall-style meeting next week. “You’re facing a very significant closure of chronic-care beds,” Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), said […]

Ontario Health Coalition Town Hall Meeting & Referendum

(April 27, 2016) By: Lynne Brown, Sault Online Members of the local chapter of the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), Sault Ste. Marie & Area Health Coalition, took their message outdoors, joining in a provincial campaign to elevate the conversation around health care cuts to hospitals. Not every city where local chapters of OHC were rallying […]

Guelph: Here’s your chance to vote on ‘bone-slicing cuts’

(April 27, 2016) By: GuelphToday Staff The Guelph Wellington Health Coalition is holding a ‘referendum’ Yesterday, Members of the Guelph Wellington Health Coalition met outside of the Guelph General to launch a volunteer led Referendum across Ontario in conjunction with 30 other cities for May 28. This referendum concerns the drastic bone slicing cuts to […]

Stop the cuts! – referendum launched

(April 27, 2016) By: Ryan Veldhuis, North Bay Now Some people have decided enough is enough with hospital cuts in Ontario are are taking provincial-wide action to make their voices heard. Ontario Health Coalition Organizer, Mike Bisaillon said locally the cuts have been too deep and something needs to change. “We’re having a referendum on […]

Kawartha Health Coalition urges residents to share their voice

(April 26, 2016) By: Catherine Whitnall, Kawartha Lakes This Week Ontario-wide referendum vote on provincial funding and restoration of community hospital services set for May 28 About two dozen people turned out to join City of Kawartha Lakes Health Coalition Chairperson Marlene Beaman-McQuay and Charlene Avon, of the Ontario Health Coalition, kick off the local […]

Ontario group plans citizen referendum on May 28

(April 26, 2016) By: Steve Rice, Stratford Beacon Herald Education is one of the main goals of a citizens group that took to the street Monday to announce an Ontario-wide referendum about “a crisis” in healthcare. “We’re entering the ninth consecutive year of a freeze in health care funding,” said Haldie Wicke, a nurse and […]

Questioning son’s care

(April 26, 2016) By: CHCH A Hamilton mother is grieving the death of her son who died at a Hamilton hospital last week. Kyle Thibodeau lived with a debilitating disease and his family says he should have never been released from the hospital. The 28 year old lived with granulomatous an illness that weakens the […]

Healthcare funding referendum launched

(April 26, 2016) By: Richard Coffin, 100.5 KiSS Across the province Ontario residents have a chance to vote in a health care referendum. OPSEU and the Ontario Health Coalition have launched their survey on public health care yesterday (Monday), including here in North Bay. Executive Board Member Mike Bisaillon says this is an important issue […]

Rallies Planned in London and Province-Wide to Protest Cuts to Health Care

(April 25, 2016) By: AM 980 People in London and across the province will be rallying Monday afternoon in an effort to stop cuts to Ontario’s health care system. Billing it as a ‘cross-Ontario referendum,’ the Ontario Health Coalition says demonstrators will gather in communities around the province to protest 196 million dollars in lost […]

Niagara Health Coalition to announce next step in save Welland Hospital campaign

(April 25, 2016) By: 610 CKTB News Members of the Niagara Health Coalition will be in front of Welland General hospital this morning at 10:30 to announce the next step in the fight to save the hospital. The group will be joined by the Mayors of Welland and Wainfleet to give details about a volunteer […]

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) […]

Health Coalition wants residents to go to the polls

(April 25, 2016) By: Chris Dawson, Baytoday.ca “I think there is also an issue with health services in the North and that we have to bring attention to it and our campaign is one way of doing that.” It may not be election time but the North Bay chapter of the Ontario Health Coalition is […]

Sault and Area Health Coalition protests for increase health-care funding

(April 25, 2016) By: Jeffrey Ougler, Sault Star SAULT STE. MARIE – The Ontario Health Coalition seeks residents’ two cents regarding the health of health care. Lack of funding is a key culprit as care continues to erode, members suggest. The coalition — including branches such as the Sault and Area Health Coalition — bank on the […]

Province-wide Ontario Health Coalition referendum kicked off Monday

(April 25, 2016) By: J.T. Lewis, Erie Media Volunteers with the Ontario Health Coalition have initiated a province-wide referendum Monday to put an end to cuts to the community hospitals and restore services, funding and staff to meet the community’s needs for care. In Welland, the referendum was kicked off in front of the Welland […]

Ontario Health Coalition holding unofficial referendum on healthcare funding

(April 25, 2016) By: Andrew Foote, CBC News Group aims to spread and fill their ballot boxes across province to pressure government Healthcare workers and community activists are hoping an Ontario-wide unofficial referendum will raise awareness of the concerns they have about provincial funding. The Ontario Health Coalition, a group of activists working to improve […]

Peterborough Health Coalition protests cuts to hospital funding

(April 25, 2016) By: Lance Anderson, Peterborough This Week Event begins campaign held until a ‘referendum’ on May 28 PETERBOROUGH — Volunteers hit the sidewalk at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre on Monday to protest cuts to hospital budgets. Members of the Peterborough Health Coalition, led by Roy Brady, says the cuts being seen across […]

Windsor Health Coalition kicks off referendum campaign

(April 25, 2016) By: Julie Kotsis, Windsor Star The Windsor Health Coalition launched its referendum campaign Monday aimed at pressuring the Ontario government to stop cuts to health care, including the loss of 169 registered nurses at local hospitals. Coalition chairman Ken Lewenza Jr. said the group is committed to a provincewide, volunteer-led vote next […]

Health Funding Referendum Launched

(April 25, 2016) By: Stephanie Chaves, BlackburnNews.com The Sarnia-Lambton Health Coalition and others across Ontario have launched a volunteer-based referendum. Local chair Shirley Roebuck says residents have until the end of next month to make their opinions known. The question on the ballot is, do you feel that hospital cuts should be stopped and proper […]

Referendum launched in Windsor to stop health care cuts

(April 25, 2016) By: Tom Morrison, OurWindsor.ca Members of the Windsor Health Coalition are asking people from the area to vote in an informal referendum to stop provincial cuts to the health care system. The referendum is being held across the province in conjunction with the Ontario Health Coalition May 28. Ken Lewenza Jr., chair […]

Campaign launched to stop the hospital cuts

(April 25, 2016) By: Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles, The Nugget Politicians react to two things – media attention and the power of a ballot. That was the message from Mike Bisallion, campaign organizer for the Stop Funding Cuts campaign during a news conference Monday at the Ontario Public Service Employees Union hall. The Ontario Health Coalition is […]

Sault and Area Health Coalition protests for increased health-care funding

LaFLECHE: Do you agree breathing is good?

(April 25, 2016) By: Grant LaFleche, The Standard If I have written it once, I have written it a million times — facts matter. We live in a world so awash in information, there is no excuse to make political decisions in a vacuum of data. Yet it happens constantly. After all, emotional narratives often […]

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 […]

Price too high to nickel and dime health care: Campion

(April 25, 2016) By: Allan Benner, The Welland Tribune People from throughout the province are being asked to send a message to Queen’s Park on May 28. On that Saturday, the Ontario Health Coalition is asking residents to cast ballots for what it is calling a “referendum” on health care. The effort is aimed at […]

The Oxford Health Coalition is hosting a launch party for a referendum which will speak out against recent hospital budget cuts.

(April 24, 2016) By: 104.6 Heart FM The Ontario Health Coalition is launching a referendum, in order to speak out against recent cuts to rural hospital budgets. Connie Durling-Searles, the referendum coordinator for the Oxford Coalition gives us the details. “We’re seeing more community beds closing and more hospital services leaving. It’s not just affecting […]

Healthcare cut protests planned at Lindsay and Peterborough hospitals on Monday

(April 23, 2016) By: Kawartha Lakes This Week Events aim to draw addition to funding issues, beginning at 11 a.m. Watch for a giant ballot, banners and red balloons outside Ross Memorial Hospital on Monday morning. It’s not a celebration, but a call to draw attention to changes to funding to the facility. Organziers from […]

London kicking off referendum on hospital cuts

(April 23, 2016) By: CTV London Communities across the province are joining together in a referendum to save local hospitals. The volunteer campaign will kick off on Monday at various locations, including in London, in an effort to stop cuts that organizers say have created dangerous overcrowding and understaffing. The cross-Ontario referendum will be announced […]

Local campaign to stop hospital cuts joining with provincial referendum

(April 23, 2016) By: CTV Windsor Communities across the province are joining together in a referendum to save local hospitals. The volunteer campaign will kick off on Monday at various locations in an effort to stop cuts that organizers say have created dangerous overcrowding and understaffing. Locally, the Windsor Health Coalition and the Ontario Health […]

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 […]

Hospital referendum pressed

(April 21, 2016) By: Allan Benner, The Tribune A provincewide referendum could make it “politically impossible” to close hospitals, says an Ontario Health Coalition board member. Doug Allan said a referendum the coalition is planning will “make it so that these cuts, and the threatened closure of the Port Colborne hospital, can be stopped — […]

Health coalition plans referendum on hospital cuts

(April 20, 2016) By: Gord Young, The Nugget The Ontario Health Coalition believes the province will put a stop to widespread hospital cuts if enough people speak out. That’s why the group is planning to give Ontario residents a voice on the matter by organizing a province-wide referendum. “It’s going to be a big fight,” […]

Health coalition plans referendum on hospital cuts

(April 20, 2016) Author: Gord Young, The Nugget The Ontario Health Coalition believes the province will put a stop to widespread hospital cuts if enough people speak out. That’s why the group is planning to give Ontario residents a voice on the matter by organizing a province-wide referendum. “It’s going to be a big fight,” […]

Guest Column: Feds must enforce Canada Health Act

(APRIL 20, 2016) By: Medicine Hat News Extra-billing in Ontario, private MRIs in Saskatchewan and user fees in Quebec: violations of the Canada Health Act are on the rise across the country. Canadian doctors are concerned about the impact of this trend not only on their patients, but on our public health care system as […]

‘No plans whatsoever’ to close Wallaceburg ER, health minister says

(April 19, 2016) By: CBC News Ontario Health Minister Erik Hoskins insists the province has no plans to close the the Wallaceburg Emergency Department at the Sydenham Campus-Wallaceburg District Hospital. Residents from the Walpole Island First Nation and Wallaceburg are holding a press conference Monday to talk about whey claim is a planned closure of […]

Tight budgets continue to constrain hospital

(April 19, 2016 ) By: Robert Washburn, Northumberland Today The turmoil facing the Ontario Health Ministry is palpable. A recent column in a mainstream newspaper acknowledged the troubled waters being navigated by Health Minister Eric Hoskins. Over the past 18 months, he has been under siege as doctors fight fee reductions, hospitals cry out for more […]

Sydenham District Hospital board meeting 5 p.m. Tuesday in Wallaceburg

(April 18, 2016) By: Tyler Kula, Sarnia Observer Wallaceburg’s emergency department is not on the chopping block, says Ontario’s premier. “There are no plans whatsoever to close the hospital’s emergency department,” Kathleen Wynne said Monday in Question Period at Queen’s Park. She was responding to a question from NDP Health Critic France Gelinas, speaking on […]

RELEASE: Success! Patients, Residents Travel 700 kilometres to Ontario Legislature to Save the Wallaceburg Hospital’s Emergency Department

(April 18, 2016) Breaking News: Success! Patients, Residents Travel 700 kilometres to Ontario Legislature to Save the Wallaceburg Hospital’s Emergency Department Toronto – At a press conference today at Queen’s Park, patients and concerned citizens from Wallaceburg issued an urgent plea to Ontario’s Minister of Health to stop the closure of the Wallaceburg Hospital’s […]

‘No plans whatsoever’ to close Wallaceburg ER, health minister says

(April 18, 2016) By: CBC News Ontario Health Minister Erik Hoskins insists the province has no plans to close the the Wallaceburg Emergency Department at the Sydenham Campus-Wallaceburg District Hospital. Residents from the Walpole Island First Nation and Wallaceburg are holding a press conference Monday to talk about whey claim is a planned closure of […]

Formula changes dismantling hospitals: OHC report

(April 17, 2016) By: Valerie MacDonald, Northumberland Today COBOURG – A recent report from the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) says community hospitals, like Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg, are being dismantled due to funding formula changes that “force specialization and centralization of care into fewer locations with patients forced to travel further for services.” In the April […]

Health care in crisis – Mehr

(April 17, 2016) By: Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles, The Nugget If the public doesn’t start voicing their opinion then they better brace for more health care cuts. That is the warning from the North Bay and Ontario Health Coalitions. Natalie Mehr, president of the Ontario Health Coalition, said cuts will continue to happen if something isn’t done. […]

HEALTH CARE IN CRISIS – MEHR

(April 17, 2016) By: Jennifer Hamilton-Mccharles, The Nugget If the public doesn’t start voicing their opinion then they better brace for more health care… If the public doesn’t start voicing their opinion then they better brace for more health care cuts. That is the warning from the North Bay and Ontario Health Coalitions. Natalie Mehr, […]

Formula changes dismantling hospitals: OHC report

(April 17, 2016) Author: Valerie Macdonald, Northumberland Today COBOURG #8211; She summarized her reaction by doing this: “We diminished one hospital within our community already using the promise that better services could be provided. Rally organizer Judy Sherwin of Cobourg, who compensated for 2 ad banners that say “Care not cuts: Put Patients” indicates people don’t […]

Ontario Health Coalition cites Hamilton examples to illustrate province-wide hospital cuts

(April 13, 2016) By: Mike Pearson, Stoney Creek News St. Joseph’s Healthcare is closing the east end general psychiatric clinic on King Street, which serves 30 per cent of total visits in the region for patients with addiction, depression, anxiety and psychiatric disorders. Existing services will be consolidated at St. Joeseph’s West 5th psychiatric hospital. […]

REPORT: “Beyond Limits”: Ontario’s community hospital cuts worst in Canada

(April 13, 2016) Toronto – The data is irrefutable. Ontario’s cuts to hospital nursing care and hospital beds are the most severe of anywhere in Canada. In a new report Beyond Limits: Ontario’s Deepening Hospital Cuts Crisis released today, the Ontario Health Coalition finds that the cuts to community hospital care are a result of […]

Health coalition-hosted town hall attracts small crowd

(April 12, 2016) By: Tyler Kula, Sarnia Observer Thinly stretched and overworked, several nurses at Bluewater Health are considering looking for employment elsewhere: in the United States, says the nurses’ bargaining unit president. “That’s unfortunate because they are highly qualified, skilled nurses,” said Tracy Steadman. But the accumulating burnout amid more than 60 registered-nurse job […]

Vigilance urged on local health care

(April 8, 2016) By: Trevor Terfloth, Chatham Daily News With hospitals large and small feeling the pinch across the province, local residents are being encouraged to speak up about the need for investment in their health care. That was the message during a town hall meeting hosted by the Chatham-Kent Health Coalition on Friday night […]

RELEASE: Coalition Applauds Wynne Government for Reversing Course on Seniors’ Drug Fee Increase

(April 8, 2016) Toronto — This week, Ontario’s government announced that it is canceling its plans to dramatically increase user fees for seniors’ drugs after more than 80 organizations signed onto a letter to the Premier asking her to revisit the idea. The government’s plan, announced in the 2016 Ontario Budget in February, would have […]

Newly-formed health coalition defends Wallaceburg hospital

(April 7, 2016) Author: David Gough, Postmedia Network A number of people passionately defended Wallaceburg’s Sydenham District Hospital during the inaugural meeting of the Wallaceburg Health Coalition held at the UAW Hall on Thursday night. Shirley Roebuck, who is the chair of the Chatham-Kent Health Coalition, and who helped to organize the newly-formed Wallaceburg Health […]

Medicare: the ‘plan’ needs monitoring

(April 7, 2016 ) Author: 0 Comments, Orangevill Citizen AMONG THE MANY CHALLENGES faced by the new federal government, few will be as tough as those involved in protecting and improving our health-care system in the face of an aging population and a weak economy. From time to time we hear horror stories about […]

Town Hall to Tackle Hospital Cuts

(April 6, 2016) Author: Tara Jeffrey, The Sarnia Journal Shirley Roebuck says she wants Sarnia-Lambton residents to know what’s really going on at Bluewater Health. “The hospital is overcrowded and overburdened,” said the woman at the helm of the Sarnia-Lambton Health Coalition, which is set to host a town hall meeting on April 12 at […]

OHC town halls planned for Wallaceburg, Chatham, Sarnia

(April 6, 2016 ) Auhtor: Tyler Kula, Sarnia Observer More than 100,000 hours per year of registered nursing have been lost at Bluewater Health in the last 15 months. That’s according to Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) VP Vicki McKenna. “Of course the nurses there are doing the best they can, but each and every year […]

Trudeau government needs to start enforcing Canada Health Act

(April 4, 2016) Author: Ryan Meili, Evidence Network.ca SASKATOON, Sask. — Extra-billing in Ontario, private MRIs in Saskatchewan and user fees in Quebec: violations of the Canada Health Act are on the rise across the country. Canadian doctors are concerned about this trend’s impact on patients and on our public health-care system. Health Canada publishes […]

Health Coalition Holds Meeting To Protest Hospital Cuts

(April 1, 2016) Author: Kirk Dickinson, BlackburnNews.com The Ontario Health Coalition is appealing to the public to help protest staffing cuts at provincial hospitals, including Windsor Regional. The health coalition held a town hall meting in Windsor on Thursday, and plans to hold a “referendum” using voting stations in May, to give everyone in Ontario […]

EVENT: Upcoming Town Hall Meetings: Attend one near you!

(April 1, 2016) TOWN HALL MEETINGS: Lindsay, Hamilton, Windsor, Chatham, Wallaceburg, Sarnia, Pelham, North Bay, Port Colborne, Toronto, Orillia, Sault Ste. Marie, St. Joseph Island Hospitals across the province are facing serious cuts to services. London’s hospitals are planning $26 million in cuts this year and more cuts are expected to be announced. Lindsay’s Ross […]

Ontario Health Coalition Head Says Province Deliberately Underfunding Hospitals

(March 31, 2016) By: AM 980 The Ontario Health Coalition is not surprised by another round of hospital cuts in London, saying the province is to blame for a lack of funding. St. Joseph’s Health Care announced Wednesday that the Board of Directors had approved a budget plan for 2016-17 that includes eliminating 60 positions, […]

Time for feds to enforce Canada Health Act as extra billing, user fees on rise

(March 30, 2016) By: Ryan Meili, The Hill Times Charging patients at the point of care for medically necessary services strikes at the heart of the principle that access to health care should be based on need rather than ability to pay. It undermines equity, increases system costs and reduces public commitment to universal coverage. […]

Health coalition holding town hall meeting to ‘Stop the Cuts’ at Windsor Regional

(March 29, 2016) By:Brian Cross, Windsor Star The Windsor Health Coalition is kicking off a Stop the Cuts campaign Thursday, holding a town hall meeting to protest the “devastating” impact of staffing cuts at Windsor Regional Hospital. “This is not a campaign directed at Windsor Regional Hospital. The problem is funding, not management,” coalition member […]

Liberals announced a $60-million increase for hospital global budgets for upcoming year

(March 28, 2016 ) By: Jeffrey Ougler, Sault Star SAULT STE. MARIE – Consider it the $60-million question. Sault Area Hospital is unsure as to how provisions in the recent provincial budget for increased hospital dollars will affect 2016/17 funding assumptions. “Any recognition is good,” SAH president and CEO Ron Gagnon told the Sault Star this week. […]

RELEASE: Welland Hospital Awareness Day at Ontario Legislature: Patients, Residents Demand Plan to Close Welland Hospital Be Stopped

(March 21, 2016) Toronto – At a press conference today at Queen’s Park, patients and concerned citizens from Welland issued an urgent plea to Ontario’s Minister of Health to overturn the decision to close the Welland Hospital, telling him that more than 100,000 people served by the Welland Hospital will suffer worse access to […]

RELEASE: Welland Hospital Plan Unveiled: Precarious Services are No Replacement for Hospital Closure, Coalition Warns

(March 18, 2016) Welland/Niagara/Toronto: The Niagara Health System (NHS) revealed a sliver of its hospital plans today. In its email to the media, the hospital outlined its new proposal for an ambulatory care centre (outpatient clinics), an “urgent care” centre (walk-in clinic) and long-term care beds to be located in Welland. The timing of the […]

Hospital town hall meeting on job cuts attracts a crowd in Cobourg

(March 17, 2016) By: Dominik Wisniewski, Northumberland News Approximately 115 people attended Saturday’s event at Cobourg Collegiate Institute COBOURG — Standing before more than 100 residents at Cobourg Collegiate Institute’s Hagen Gym, Linda Mackenzie-Nicholas said she was there because she cares and is concerned about health care cuts. It’s those cuts that prompted Ms. Mackenzie-Nicholas, the co-chairwoman […]

Ontario Health Coalition Skewers Chamber Report On Privatization

(March 15, 2016) Author: AM 980 The Ontario Health Coalition is firing back at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce for its report on health care reform, claiming that the focus needs to be on health rather than wealth. The Chamber report laid out a case for privatization to ease the strain on the public healthcare […]

ANALYSIS: Chamber of Commerce Privatization Report Poorly Researched, Not in Public Interest: Health Coalition

(March 15, 2016) Toronto – The Ontario’s Chamber of Commerce waded into health care reform today with a poorly-researched and argued report that would cause Ontarians harm if implemented, noted the Ontario Health Coalition. The OCC report is not grounded in evidence. It is comprised of a hodgepodge of anecdotes that are often inaccurate and […]

London Health Coalition Hosting Town Hall Meeting on Healthcare Cuts

(March 11, 2016) By: London, Ontario / (CFPL AM) AM 980 Residents upset about recent cuts to healthcare funding in London will have a chance to vent their grievances on Saturday. The London Health Coalition will host a town hall meeting at the N’Amerind Friendship Centre at 260 Colborne Street at 12p.m. Officials are hopeful […]

Mehra makes keynote address

(March 5, 2016) By: Todd Hambleton, Cornwall Standard-Freeholder CORNWALL – Natalie Mehra, considered to be at the forefront of shaping social policy at the provincial level and beyond, was the keynote speaker Saturday morning at the Cornwall & District Labour Council’s annual 2016 International Women’s Day Breakfast. The event was held at the Best Western […]

Bluewater Health waiting on ministry OK for CEEH upgrade funding

(March 3, 2016) By: Tyler Kula, Sarnia Observer Shirley Roebuck worries that long-dwindling funding for hospitals will soon be a threat to rural facilities like Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital in Petrolia. “All over the province of Ontario small and rural hospitals are being targetted as the provincial government pursues its plans to regionalize and consolidate […]

RELEASE: 2016 Ontario Budget — Minimal Funding Increases for Hospitals: Not Far Enough

(February 25, 2016) 2016 Ontario Budget — Minimal Funding Increases for Hospitals: Not Far Enough Toronto – The Ontario Budget, released today at the Ontario Legislature, has announced a $60 million increase for hospital global budgets for the upcoming year. This minimal increase, along with targeted funding, will mean that some hospitals will see […]

Ontario budget 2016: Mixed reaction from health-care, student groups

(February 25, 2016) By: Shanifa Nasser, CBC News A budget can’t be balanced on sheer faith,’ Canadian Taxpayers Federation says Free college and university tuition for low-income families, a new climate change fighting cap-and-trade system and a projected drop in the deficit by nearly $2 billion dollars were among the highlights in Thursday’s provincial budget announcement. That prompted […]

ADVISORY: OHC 2016 Pre-Budget Briefing

(February 25, 2016) 2016 Pre-Budget Briefing Where We Stand: Ontario’s Ranking in Public Service and Health Care Expenditures & Cuts Ontario’s government is making budget choices that cut and privatize public services and health care. These are choices, not necessities. Here’s how we compare relative to other provinces and jurisdictions on some key measures. The […]

Coalition entering Phase 2 of Welland hospital-saving campaign

(February 22, 2016) By: Allan Benner, The Tribune Niagara Health Coalition is stepping up its efforts to save Welland hospital. The group’s chairperson, Sue Hotte, said several meetings are being held in south Niagara in the weeks to come to launch the second phase of its ongoing campaign to keep the hospital open and vibrant. […]

Ministry funding should continue: HKPR Health Unit

(February 21, 2016) By: Valerie MacDonald, Northumberland Today NORTHUMBERLAND – The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s board members voted unanimously Thursday to ask the health ministry to keep funding health units in Ontario directly. The Ministry has proposed hand the power to the Local Health Integration Units (LHINs) in the province. The Central East LHIN […]

‘Keep Hydro Public’ campaign launched by coalition of 18

(February 17, 2016) By: Tabitha Wells, Orangeville Citizen While Premier Kathleen Wynne has refused to back down from plans to privatize Hydro One, Ontarians are not backing down in their disagreement with the move. A coalition called Keep Hydro Public, which has over 18 groups declared as public supporters (including CUPE Ontario, ETFO, OSSTF and […]

RELEASE: Devastating Hospital Cuts & Flawed Process for Health Reform Consultation: Key Issues for this Session of the Ontario Legislature

(February 16, 2016) Toronto – Ontario’s premier stated that jobs and the economy are her priorities for this session of Ontario’s Legislature, which opened today. Impacting both jobs and local economies but not part of the Premier’s media messages, two key health care issues impacting Ontario’s communities will also be on the front-burner, including: Devastating […]

Provincial News: New phase in Keep Hydro Public campaign builds on growing opposition to sale-will jolt local MPPs

(February 9, 2016) By: Northumberland View TORONTO, ON – Today at Queen’s Park, the Keep Hydro Public campaign unveiled the look for a new phase in the fight to stop privatization of Hydro One. “An overwhelming majority of Ontarians are angry about the Liberal’s planned hydro sell-off. This new phase in the campaign will help people […]

MPP Rinaldi lobbies for services

(February 8, 2016) By: Valerie MacDonald, Northumberland Today NORTHUMBERLAND – After CUPE Local 2628 issued a media release calling on Northumberland-Quinte West’s MPP to lobby against hospital cuts for the good of the local community and Hwy. 401 users, Lou Rinaldi responded by saying he has been doing this already for services ranging from health to education. […]

MEDIA ADVISORY-Opposition to hydro sale still strong: new campaign phase will jolt Liberal MPPs

(February 5, 2016) By: Market Wired TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Feb. 5, 2016) – The Keep Hydro Public coalition will unveil the next phase in the campaign to stop the sale of Hydro One on Tuesday, February 9. The campaign supports strong and growing community opposition to the sale. It will focus attention on holding Liberal […]

Port Hope resident urges others to contact MPP, MP about NHH changes

(February 4, 2016) By: Valerie MacDonald, Northumberland Today PORT HOPE – In the face of hospital funding cuts, restructuring and layoffs at Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) in Cobourg, a Port Hope author is advising people to contact their local MP and MPP. “And write letters to the editor, it all makes people more aware (of what is […]

Local OHC co-chair speaks out about NHH restructuring

(February 3, 2016) By: Valerie MacDonald, Northumberland Today NORTHUMBERLAND – As Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) supporters rallied at Queen’s Park this week putting hospital cuts front and centre – including those at Northumberland Hills Hospital in 2005 – the new co-chair of the Northumberland OHC chapter has spoken out about the current restructuring and layoffs underway at […]

Labour activists fight devastating cuts to Ontario’s health services

(February 2, 2016) By: Teuila Fuatai, rabble.ca Hundreds of workers protesting nine years of cuts to Ontario’s health-care budget gathered at Queen’s Park yesterday. The rally, organized by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), the Ontario Federation of Labour and the Ontario Common Front, coincides with the standing committee on finance and economic affairs’ pre-budget consultation […]

Patients need real solutions to a health system in crisis

(February 1, 2016) By: Julie Devaney On Friday I wrote about my personal and political experiences as a patient activist and my take on the new patient ombudsman position to which Christine Elliot has been appointed. I have a lot more to say about many aspects of this appointment and its implications. Today, my starting […]

RELEASE: Patients, Concerned Citizens and Workers Rally Outside Pre-Budget Hearings to Stop Devastating Hospital Cuts, Privatization

(February 1, 2016) As MPPs from all three political parties from the Ontario Legislature traveled to Toronto for pre-budget hearings today, they were met with protests by patients, concerned residents and health care workers. The message was clear: stop the devastating cuts to – and privatization of – local hospitals across Ontario. The Ontario Legislature’s Standing […]

UPDATE: Pre-budget hearing rallies!

(February 1, 2016) Ontario Health Coalition Executive Director presented to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs at the Ontario Legislature this morning. Here is the Ontario Health Coalition’s submission with the most recent hospital spending, nursing levels (all nurse classifications), and hospital beds and overcrowding statistics. Please share with those who might be […]

Protesters demand Queen’s Park stop public service cuts

(February 1, 2016) By: Dario Balca, CTV Toronto Cries about insufficient funding echoed across the lawn of Queen’s Park Monday as more than a hundred people gathered to make their voices heard ahead of pre-budget consultations. The crowd was made up of healthcare workers, union leaders and student groups demanding that the Ontario government stop […]

LONDON HEALTH SCIENCES CENTRE – Hospital hiring freeze, but no layoffs to full-time staff, says union

(January 28, 2016) By: Kate Dubinski, The London Free Press London’s largest hospital is replacing its cleaning staff with lower-paid contract workers, a shift one health advocacy group warns will lead to more patient infections and deaths. The move, to be phased in over seven years, will save the London Health Sciences Centre $1.9 million a […]

Hospital budget freeze protestors sound off in northern Ontario

(January 21, 2016) By: CBC News With budget freezes in place at hospitals for the 4th year in a row, the OCHU is keeping up the pressure Some health care groups plan to lobby a provincial pre-budget committee to end a freeze on hospital budgets. Michael Hurley, who is with the Ontario Council of Hospital […]

President of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions/CUPE warns pre-budget hearing province’s health care in critical conditions

(January 21, 2016) By: Jeff Ougler, Sault Star SAULT STE. MARIE – A continued freeze to base operating funding for Ontario hospitals will yield a dire diagnoses for health care — particularly in Northern Ontario, contends the president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions/CUPE (OCHU). Michael Hurley, one of a number of presenters to the provincial government’s […]

Ontario government announces parking fee cut: Here’s the low-down on high-cost hospital parking & hospital funding in Ontario

posted January 20, 2016

(January 20, 2016) By: Natalie Mehra, executive director, OHC We have raised it repeatedly for the last half-decade or more in legislative hearings on the Ontario Budget and the Local Health Integration Networks. Now, finally, the Ontario government is taking some modest action to roll back the worst of hospital parking fees. In advance of the […]

Healthcare issues inform provincial pre-budget session in Windsor

(January 19, 2016) Members of the provincial legislature, in Windsor Tuesday for pre-budget consultations, were greeted by protesters calling primarily for increased healthcare funding. Natlie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, said members of her organization have appeared at these consultations for nine years, but the Liberal government hasn’t listened to demands to […]

Hospital cuts protested outside Windsor pre-budget consultations

(January 19, 2016) By: CTV Windsor The Ontario Federation of Labour and the Ontario Common Front have joined the Ontario Health Coalition in Windsor to protest cuts to Ontario hospitals and social programs. The groups gathered outside pre-budget consultations in Windsor. “Here in Windsor, we are seeing the effects of austerity in every community, “said […]

Protesters rally against health-care cuts outside pre-budget hearing

(January 19, 2016) By: Dave Waddell, Windsor Star Windsor protesters gave Ontario’s health-care system a thorough examination Tuesday and offered a grim diagnosis. About 60 people rallied against health-care cutbacks outside Caesar’s Windsor while another 10 health organizations made presentations during provincial pre-budget hearings. “Ontario is now at the bottom of the country in terms of health-care funding,” Natalie […]

RELEASE: Protect Public Medicare as first priority, as Canada’s Health Ministers gather to meet in Vancouver: Health Advocates

(January 19, 2016) Toronto/Vancouver – Urgent action must be taken to safeguard equal health care for all as a first priority as Health Ministers from across Canada gather in Vancouver this week, say advocates from the public health care watchdog the Ontario Health Coalition. “We are seeing an alarming increase in user fees charged to […]

No rally planned for Northumberland Hills Hospital

(January 18, 2016) By: Valerie MacDonald NORTHUMBERLAND – Northumberland Hills Hospital is not alone in the continuing restructuring going on in these public institutions across the province. “We are now entering the ninth consecutive year of hospital cuts – the longest stretch of cuts in Ontario’s history,” states a media release from the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) […]

Ontario Health Coalition could make formal complaint about restructuring at NHH

(January 18, 2016) By: Valerie MacDonald, Northumberland Today NORTHUMBERLAND – The Ontario Health Coalition is questioning the way proposed hospital changes are being handled at Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH). “How can they approve a document that the public hasn’t even seen?” Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra said in an interview. Mehra said she will be […]

ONA Members Demand Community Hospital Cuts End at OHC Rally

(January 1, 2016) By: ONA FrontLines ONA members were among the hundreds of patients, seniors, veterans, health advocates and health care workers gathered at a rally in Trenton on November 13 to deliver a strong message to the region’s Liberal MPP Lou Rinaldi: community hospitals across Ontario can’t take any more cuts. The Take Back […]

ONA Mourns Fallen LTC Residents, Calls for Change

(January, 2016) By: ONA Frontlines ONA members and staff have honoured those impacted by violence and inadequate care in the province’s long-term care (LTC) homes at a somber ceremony at Queen’s Park on October 1. The event, staged by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) to coincide with International Day of Older Persons, marked the 10-year […]

Paying to be a patient? Toronto woman calls doctor’s annual $150 fee request ‘galling’

(December 10, 2015) By: Ashley Csanady, Canadian Politics A Toronto woman is upset with a letter she received from her doctor asking for an annual fee. Such practices are allowed but she feels the missive wasn’t clear it was for optional services. A Toronto woman was incensed after receiving a letter from her doctor asking […]

IN THE NEWS: Health Care Wait Times – What is the Real Story?

(December 8, 2015) By: Natalie Mehra, Executive Director, Ontario Health Coalition Today, a high-profile report tracking health care wait times was released from the Wait Times Alliance. Eliminating Code Gridlock in Canada’s Health Care System, is a credible summary and a useful addition to public policy decisions about health care planning. It is written by […]

Medical errors: Who’s to blame?

(December 1, 2015) By: Adwaa Qutub, Hamilton Spectator Your Stories is a Spectator forum for community submissions on subjects of interest. They appear as submitted. To submit an article, follow the Talk to Us links on the home page of thespec.com Isn’t it questionable that they rarely blame a pilot for a plane crash, but […]

Rally protests health-care cuts

(November 30, 2015) By: North Bay Nugget The size of your wallet should not determine the quality of health care you receive. That was the message delivered to close to a thousand protesters calling for the provincial government to free up more money for hospitals in Northern Ontario – particularly the North Bay Regional Health […]

Ontario ‘backsliding,’ as income inequality balloons, manufacturing jobs drain out of province, report says

(November 20, 2015) Almost half of Ontarians stuck in neutral as top 10 per cent “make off like bandits” OFL says By: Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff, Canadian Manufacturing.com Ontario has an unemployment rate of 7.3 per cent, above the national average of 6.9 per cent. PHOTO: Benson Kua, via Wikimedia Commons TORONTO—An entire generation of Ontarians […]

Ontario at bottom for good jobs, social spending: Report

(November 19, 2015) By: Sara Mojtehedzadeh, Work and Wealth Reporter While Ontario’s rich are getting richer, the province now has the highest proportion of minimum wage workers in the country — while social spending is now the lowest in Canada, according to a new report. General Motors, in Oshawa, has shed hundreds of jobs as some […]

Hundreds rally for Our TMH

(November 13, 2015) By: Bill Glisky, INQUINTE.CA People chanted, they waved flags, they cheered, they even danced… all with one purpose – to send the message to stop the cuts. Not even blasting cold winds could cool down the more than 600 people at Trenton’s Centennial Park on Friday determined to let Queen’s Park know […]

DEMANDING AN END TO “ATTACK ON HEALTHCARE”

(November 13, 2015) By: Quinte News Cold heavy winds didn’t deter almost 600 people from coming together to send a message to the province that they won’t stand for anymore cuts to healthcare. This comes a week before the Quinte Healthcare Corporation is expected to announce another round of cuts to local hospitals as it […]

Bus headed to Trenton health-care protest Friday

(November 11, 2015) By: Peterborough Examiner Local residents are invited to join an Ontario Health Coalition bus trip to a rally in Trenton Friday. The coalition is organizing the rally to protest cuts to provincial hospital funding, which could lead to the loss of staff and services at health-care facilities across the province. Other protests […]

Rally a ‘critical’ point

(November 4, 2015) By: Ernst Kuglin, The Intelligencer/Trentonian ERNST KUGLIN/THE INTELLIGENCER Officials with Our TMH and Ontario Health Coalition are putting the final touches on the Nov. 13 Centennial Park rally to protest health care cuts and service restructuring. The rally starts at noon and goes to 2 p.m. organizers are expecting between 1,000 and […]

Meeting Thursday to address possible cuts at Northumberland Hills Hospital

(November 2, 2015) By: Valerie MacDonald, Northumberland Radio NORTHUMBERLAND – A meeting this week will address possible cuts at Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) and organize a Regional Day of Action concerning hospital funding in general for next week. The meeting will be co-hosted by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) and the Northumberland Health Coalition (NHC) and is scheduled […]

“You’ve gotta stop cutting” patient tells provincial government: “They tell us to go for help, but where do you go?”

(October 30, 2015) By Jeff Turl, The Bay Today Health workers and patients rallied outside of the Regional Health Centre on King St. this morning. Photo by Jeff Turl. Lana Brown of North Bay has seen first-hand what cuts to health services locally are doing. “They put us through so much at the hospital that it’s […]

If The Wynne Government Can Privatize Hydro One, Even Though It Will Drive Up Costs For Ontario Residents And Businesses, What’s Next?…

(October 30, 2015) By Natalie Mehra, Niagara At Large (Natalie Mehra and the non-profit activist group she directs may be familiar to people in Niagara, Ontario who have lobbied to save hospital services across this region. She and members of the OHA have made numerous visits to Niagara in recent years to support residents in their […]

Coalition urges end to hospital cuts

(October 30, 2015) By North Bay Nugget Staff A coalition of health advocates, health workers and patients want the provincial government to not only stop reductions at the North Bay Regional Health Centre, but to restore services which have already been cut. “We feel our demands are not unreasonable,” Michael Taylor, co-chair of the North […]

Health officials, politicians unite

(October 29, 2015) By Luke Hendry, The Intelligencer Luke Hendry/The Intelligencer Prince Edward County Mayor Robert Quaiff speaks during a special meeting of area mayors and health officials at Hastings County headquarters in Belleville Thursday. Mayors attacked Ontario’s new funding formula for hospitals. With him at the table were Mayors Jim Harrison of Quinte West, back […]

Making a Killing: the Drug Industry & the Cost of the Newest Trade Deal

posted October 29, 2015

(October 29, 2015) By Natalie Mehra, Executive Director, OHC One in twelve Ontarians aged 55 and up skipped filling a prescription for medicine because of cost last year, reported Ontario’s Health Quality Council earlier this month. This shocking figure reflects the high cost of drugs; highest here in Canada of any developed nation except the […]

Health coalition gearing up for rally

(October 29, 2015) By North Bay Nugget Staff The Ontario Health Coalition and its North Bay chapter are gearing up for next month’s Take Back Our Hospital Rally. At 9 a.m. Friday, local health patients, seniors, health advocates and hospital workers are expected to endorse the rally at 120 King St. W., outside by the sign […]

Hastings County to talk hospital funding

(October 28, 2015) By Ernst Kuglin, The Intelligencer/Trentonian BELLEVILLE – Hospital funding and local health care services will be front and centre Thursday during a special meeting organized by Hastings County for Quinte region mayors. The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Belleville at the county offices on Pinnacle Street. Our TMH chair John Smylie will […]

An opportunity for Ellis to make an impression

(October 27, 2015) By Ernst Kuglin, The Intelligencer/Trentonian John Smylie said given the overwhelming demand for political change, he doubts he could have retained the Bay of Quinte Riding for the Conservatives in last week’s federal election. Quite the admission from the popular businessman and philanthropist, but a pragmatic one nonetheless. Besides the overwhelming disdain […]

Peterborough Regional Health Centre board taking time to find the ‘right candidate’ as hospital CEO

(October 27, 2015) By Ernst Kuglin, The Peterborough Examiner Peterborough Regional Health Centre board chairwoman Mary Ferguson-Paré is seen at the hospital on Monday, Oct. 26, 2015 in Peterborough, Ont. The hospital board is taking the time it needs to find the “perfect candidate” for its empty chief executive officer position. ‘We’re not going to take […]

EVENTS: Take Back Our Hospitals: Fall Days of Action in S/E Ont, N/E Ont, and Scarborough/Durham

(October 23, 2015) Take Back Our Hospitals Days of Action in S/E Ontario, N/E Ontario and Scarborough/Durham Southeastern Ontario Rally Friday November 13, 12 p.m. Centennial Park, Trenton Buses will be traveling in from the whole region. For more info on buses email us at ohc@sympatico.ca Active citizens have succeeded in stopping cuts all across Ontario. Let’s […]

Giant hospital rally announced on the heels of successful Health Teleconference Call: Hospital Horror stories told during Massive Teleconference Call

(October 23, 2015) By Chris Dawson, The Bay Today Shawn Shank says the stories were shocking. “They had horror stories like about admission and early discharges and people going home sick,” said Shank. “One person talked about getting 15 minutes a week of home care after having major surgery.” The testimonials were part of a massive city-wide […]

QHC cuts to coincide with rally

(October 22, 2015) By Ernst Kuglin, The Intelligencer/Trentonian BELLEVILLE – The process of laying off dozens of unionized staff employed by Quinte Health Care will begin at about the same time as hundreds of people protest hospital cuts at Trenton’s Centennial Park. Quinte Health Care will begin notifying unions on Nov.12 beginning with physiotherapy and occupational therapy […]

Mass rally against hospital cuts planned for November 30th

(October 22, 2015) By Richard Coffin, Fox Radio Health care workers are looking to North Bay residents to circle November 30th on their calendars and join in a mass rally that’s being held against cuts at the hospital. Ontario Health Coalition Director Natalie Mehra says the cuts are the “worst in Ontario right now” and […]

Our TMH taking fight to next level

(October 22, 2015) By InQuinte.ca Staff, InQuinte.ca The fight to save services at Trenton Memorial Hospital is ratcheting up, with provincial group stepping into lend support to the cause. Our TMH said recently it would be taking a more aggressive to saving services at the hospital Quinte Health Care revealed it would be moving 2,400 day […]

CUPE organizing hospital rally

(October 22, 2015) By Jennifer Hamilton – McCharles, The North bay Nugget The North Bay and area community will have an opportunity to speak out against hospital cuts at the North Bay Regional Health Centre. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is organizing a public rally for noon Nov. 30 at Lee Park. Natalie […]

Hospital community telephone town halls slated for Thursday

(October 21, 2015) By BayToday Staff, Baytoday.ca “There’s a higher rate of chronic illness in the north. People here, on average, are also older than elsewhere in Ontario. It’s harmful to patients that the province does not recognize that these key factors impact on the hospital’s ability to provide quality care and give the additional funding […]

Taking the Pulse on Canadian Health Before the Vote on Monday

(October 17, 2015) By Sharmini Peries, The Real News Network Natalie Mehra, Executive Director of the Ontario Health Coalition, and Linda Silas, President of the Canadians Federation of Nurses Unions, say the Harper cuts to health care lead to one of the most expensive drug plans in the developed world Bio Natalie Mehra is the Director […]

OP-ED: Conservatives are wrong to refuse debate on health care

(October 16, 2015) By: Natalie Mehra Across Ontario federal Conservative candidates have refused to attend most all-candidates debates on health care. This is a new low. Never has any political party simply refused to debate a leading issue for voters. In correspondence and the media, candidates have excused themselves, saying that “health is a provincial […]

VIDEO: How do “tax cuts” stack up against new costs as a result of health care cuts?

(October 16, 2015) We’re besieged with commercials and messages about tax cuts. But who’s paying for them and how? Here’s a 2 minute video that you’ll want to know about:

Oshawa joins push for universal pharmacare program

(October 16, 2015) By: Reka Szekely, Oshawa This Week Growing health-care coalition argues Canada needs a universal pharmacare program to compliment medicare OSHAWA — Canada is the only country with a universal health-care program but no pharmacare and a growing coalition in the health sector is arguing that it doesn’t make sense to cover the […]

Conservative and Liberal candidates snub health-care debate

(October 6, 2015) By: David Gough, Postmedia Network It’s likely that a lot of voters weren’t moved to change their vote following an all-candidates health-care forum held at the Walpole Island Sports Complex on Oct. 1. Both the Liberal and Conservative candidates snubbed the forum organized by the Chatham-Kent Health Coalition, leaving the NDP and […]

Election candidates to debate health care

(October 6, 2015) By: The Welland Tribune Local federal election candidates will share their thoughts and ideas about the delivery of health-care services during three debates scheduled for later this week. The Ontario Health Coalition has organized a series of political debates in communities across the province, focusing on health-care issues in the various ridings. […]

Union marches for health care as election issue

(October 2, 2015) By: Jon Thompson, tbnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY — Public health care hasn’t been central in the federal election campaign but those who work in the field say it ought to be. Over 100 local health care workers marched along Balmoral Street to the Local Health integration Network office over the lunch hour on […]

Federal Election 2015 – Vote Health Care!

(October 2, 2015) Canadians share a deeply held belief that access to health care should not be based on how rich we are, but on our medical need. Most of us believe that our government will not purposely destroy public health care. But privatization is a serious threat and it would dismantle health care for […]

Public funding for long term care must be redirected to services for seniors

(October 1, 2015) By: Lloyd Mack, Kenora Miner and News Two weeks ago, I mentioned my grandmother in a column I penned about Greyhound Canada’s plans to cut the number of scheduled trips along the TransCanada, I’ve been thinking of her again in the wake of a horror-filled report released last week by Ontario’s Auditor […]

CITY IN BRIEF: CUPE workers protest long-term care home deaths

(October 1, 2015) By: The Peterborough Examiner Staff Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) health care workers from Peterborough are heading to Queen’s Park on Thursday for an event in remembrance of long-term-care residents killed as a result of violence by another resident. Organized by the Ontario Health Coalition, the event starts at 10:30 a.m. […]

Three of Sarnia-Lambton’s four candidates debated health-care issues Wednesday

(September 30, 2015) By Barbara Simpson, Sarnia Observer The Harper government’s treatment of veterans came under attack from three of Sarnia-Lambton’s federal candidates Wednesday night. “If Canada is willing to send our sons and daughters to fight overseas, we better damn well take care of them if they’re lucky enough to come back alive,” NDP […]

Ceremony to remember residents killed in nursing homes

(September 30, 2015) By Sudbury Northern Life Staff Ontario Health Coalition says more funding needed for long-term care sector A group of Sudbury health-care workers are headed to Toronto tomorrow for a ceremony in memory of the 29 long-term care residents who have been killed by other residents in Ontario nursing homes since 2001. 2015 […]

Candidates likely to skip health forum

(September 30, 2015) By David Gough, Postmedia Network Despite the fact that the Conservative and Liberal candidates cannot make it, the Chatham-Kent Health Coalition is still hosting all-candidates event this Thursday. The event is being called an open forum on Canadian health care. It will be held at the Walpole Island Sports Complex this Thursday […]