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Jagmeet Singh says the Canada Health Act could be used to challenge private health care. Could it?

(February 1, 2023) By: Mark Gollom, CBC News Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has been sounding the alarm about privatization creeping into the public health-care system. Recently, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced he wanted to give a greater role to privately run for-profit clinics. These facilities are clinics operated by the private sector that receive public funding from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan […]

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Ontario’s response to updated national long-term care standards ‘pretty reprehensible’: Algoma health advocate

(January 31, 2023) By: Jeffrey Ougler, The Sault Star Ontario’s response to updated national standards for long-term care is more mocking that mindful, says Ontario Health Coalition’s Algoma District representative. Responding to Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra’s statement Tuesday that the province will take a look at the new codes but wouldn’t want to “water […]

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Ontario Health Coalition planning online protest Tuesday against Ford’s health cuts

(January 30, 2023) By: Glenn Hendry, InSauga Thousands of union members and other Ontario residents upset with cuts to health care in the province are expected to participate in an emergency meeting Tuesday evening via Zoom to fight back. “The Doug Ford government is not going to stop until he has dismantled and privatized our […]

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Shirley Roebuck Interview Regarding Pre-Budget Consultations on Windsor Morning with Nav Nanwa

(January 24, 2023) By: Windsor Morning with Nav Nanwa The Ontario government has begun consultations for its 2023 provincial budget. The standing committee on Finance and Economic affairs heard from a number of groups yesterday, with many representing parts of our listening area. What are some of the things that these groups are hoping for […]

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Here’s what 3 Windsor groups say they need from the 2023 provincial budget

(January 24, 2023) By: CBC News Ontario has begun consultations for the 2023 provincial budget, with the standing committee of Finance and Economic affairs listening to multiple Windsor-Essex region groups requests for funding. Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce, Community Living Essex County and a Windsor-representative of the Ontario Health Coalition were at the meeting asking for […]

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Ford unveils latest plan to privatize surgeries

(January 23, 2023) By: Vi Bui, The Council of Canadians Are you ready to pull out your credit card the next time you need a hip replacement or cataract surgery? Because that’s what will happen if the Ford government’s privatization plan for dealing with the surgical backlogs goes forward. On Monday, Ford unveiled his intention […]

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Natalie Mehra Interview on the Plan to Privatize Surgeries

(January 21, 2023) By: 105.9 The Region, The FEED Ann Rohmer speaks with Natalie Mehra who is against the government’s plan to allow private clinics to conduct more surgeries and diagnostics. Click here for radio interview

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Is Expanding Private Health Care the Right Move for Ontario? | The Agenda

(January 20, 2023) By: The Agenda | TVO Today After weeks of speculation, the Ontario government finally announced the plan to expand private health-care delivery in the province. Will this be the solution for long wait times and understaffed, overcrowded hospitals? Or is it a threat to the province’s public health-care system? We take a […]

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One Peterborough clinic ‘interested’ in private surgeries after province announces plan to clear backlog, says MPP Smith

(January 19, 2023) By: Taylor Clysdale, The Peterborough Examiner As the province opens up the rules to allow private clinics to do more surgeries, Peterborough’s MPP says one local clinic could come on board. “There is at least one clinic that’s expressed an interest in being able to do it,” said Dave Smith, on Wednesday, […]

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Ontario reducing wait times for surgeries and procedures amid privatization concerns

(January 19, 2023) By: Brian Lockhart & Brock Weir, The Auroran The Ontario government has announced it is going to make it easier and faster for people to access the publicly-funded surgeries and procedures they need by further leveraging community surgical and diagnostic centres to eliminate surgical backlogs and reduce wait times. The announcement said […]

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Algoma Health Coalition representative irked by privatization move

(January 18, 2023) By: Alex Flood, Elliot Lake Today Stock Image The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) is voicing their displeasure with the Ford government’s latest plans to deal with surgical backlogs. The province recently released a 3-step plan that would expand resources and invest more money into privately-run healthcare clinics with the intention to reduce surgical wait times […]

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Doug Ford’s private health-care push ‘fatal’ to Ontarians: OHC

(January 18, 2023) By: Nabeela Damji, Now Toronto Many Ontarians aren’t impressed with the Ford government’s three-step plan to move thousands of surgeries and diagnostic procedures out of publicly funded hospitals and into private specialized community clinics in Ontario. Ford says the move will ease the backlog created by the COVID-19 pandemic and will start this spring. […]

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‘A lot of work to do’ but Trudeau ‘confident’ premiers will agree to health funding deal

(January 17, 2023) By: Rachel Aiello, CTV News Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says federal health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos was right in saying there is “still lots of work to do” before reaching a deal with the provinces for increased health-care funding, but that he’s “confident” that the two levels of government will get there. “I’m […]

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Ontario Health Coalition warns of extra billing from private health care providers

(January 17, 2023) By: Janice MacKay, Blackburn News The Ontario Health Coalition is calling the Ford government’s plans to expand private delivery of health services currently delivered at public hospitals a fatal threat to Canada’s public health care system. The coalition claims existing private for-profit clinics routinely extra-bill patients thousands of dollars. It also claims […]

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Windsor hospital, local clinic back health service changes; Provincial plan will move some surgeries, procedures to private clinics permanently

(January 17, 2023) By: Kathleen Saylors, Windsor Star Windsor Regional Hospital and a private local medical surgery centre are welcoming the Ford government’s announcement Monday that more publicly funded surgeries and procedures should be performed in private clinics. It’s something already done for cataract surgeries in Windsor-Essex since the beginning of the pandemic. David Musyj, […]

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Nurses, patient advocates rip Queen’s Park plan to privatize more surgeries

(January 16, 2023) By: Norman De Bono, London Free Press A move by the Ontario government to privatize more surgeries will worsen the surgical backlog that’s hit area hospitals, says the local representative for a provincewide advocacy group. More doctors, nurses and other staff will shift to private clinics at a time hospitals are already […]

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Province Working To Shorten Surgical Wait Times

(January 16, 2023) By: Kenora Online The provincial government says it is working to reduce surgical wait times. Right now it’s estimated that 206,000 people are waiting for routine surgeries. Minister of Health Sylvia Jones says they will be using private clinics to provide some of the procedures. “It really wants to reinforce that this […]

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Ontario to permanently fund more surgeries at private clinics

(January 16, 2023) By: Miranda Chant, London News Today While initially billing it as a way to deal with a surgical backlog worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has confirmed the expansion of publicly funded medical procedures at private clinics will be permanent. Ford and Health Minister Syliva Jones announced the three-step […]

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Private delivery of public health-care services a ‘fatal threat’: Giroux

(January 16, 2023) By: Jeff Turl, North Bay Today Ontario is expanding the private delivery of public health care, and Henri Giroux of the North Bay and District Health Coalition calls it a “fatal threat” and a “terrible blow to our public hospitals.” Giroux vows a “major fightback.” In an announcement today, Premier Ford said the province will […]

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ONTARIO HEALTH COALITION SOUNDING ALARM OVER NEW ONTARIO HEALTH PLAN

(January 16, 2023) By: Newstalk 1010 Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra speaks to Newstalk 1010 about the plan to turn over a significant portion of our public hospitals’ surgeries to for-profits, a fatal threat to our public health care system. Click here for radio interview

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Surgery shift: London hospitals say they’re on same page as province

(January 16, 2023) By: Jennifer Bieman, London Free Press London hospitals hope the province’s push to do more publicly funded surgeries at community clinics will bolster work they’re already doing to streamline patient flow. The province Monday unveiled a three-stage plan to increase access to publicly funded surgical and diagnostic procedures by tapping into more […]

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Ontario government invests in private healthcare to address surgical backlog

(January 16, 2023) By: Brigid Goulem, Belleville Intelligencer The Ontario Conservative government announced plans on Monday to expand the number of surgeries and diagnostic procedures in for-profit “community surgical centres”, with the aim of addressing the backlog of surgeries across the province. The announcement was swiftly denounced by healthcare advocates and unions as a strategy […]

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Canada’s Ontario to expand use of private healthcare providers

(January 16, 2023) By: Anna Mehler Paperny & Ismail Shakil, Reuters Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, plans to significantly expand its use of private providers to perform public health services, the premier said on Monday, in a bid to deal with backlogs and delays in a healthcare system strained by the coronavirus pandemic. Premier Doug […]

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RELEASE: Calling Ford’s plans to privatize Ontario’s public hospital surgeries a “fatal threat” and a “terrible blow” to our public hospitals, health advocates vow major fightback

(January 16, 2023) Toronto – The Ford government’s plans to privatize our public hospitals’ vital services are a fatal threat to the core tenet of Canadian Public Medicare that extra user fees are forbidden and patients will not be faced with user charges in their time of need. Already existing private for-profit clinics routinely extra-bill […]

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Doug Ford’s Conservative Ontario Government is Hellbent on Privatizing the Province’s Hospitals

(January 15, 2023) By: Doug Allan, Jacobin Ontario sits directly north of the US, giving it an unimpeded view of just how disastrous American health care is. But Doug Ford’s government is ignoring this warning and pushing through for-profit privatization schemes in the province’s hospitals. Ontario premier Ford wants for-profit surgical clinics — but that […]

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Ontario set aside funds for 2 private hospitals as part of surgery backlog strategy

(January 13, 2023) By: Isaac Callan & Colin D’Mello, Global News As the Ford government strategized ways to cut down on the COVID-19 surgical backlog, provincial health officials set aside a small pot of public funding for private hospitals and independent heath facilities, according to documents obtained by Global News. A Ministry of Health presentation on the province’s surgical and diagnostic […]

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Flack defends reported plan to fix surgery backlog

(January 13, 2023) By: Bryan Bicknell, CTV News London Elgin Middlesex London MPP Rob Flack is defending the province’s plan to tackle surgery backlogs. “The backlog is not fair to the people of this province,” Flack told CTV News. He made the comments as the Ford government comes under fire after sources revealed the government […]

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Premier Ford announces plan to ease strain on hospitals, operating rooms

(January 11, 2023) By: Alex Last, CHCH In his first public address of the year, Premier Ford re-announced that Ontarians can go to local pharmacies to receive treatments for certain ailments. It’s an attempt to ease the strain on Ontario hospitals, but the premier wants to go further, by having more procedures done in private […]

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Personal support worker and paramedic groups alarmed as PSWs tapped to monitor patients awaiting hospital care

(January 6, 2023) By: Alan Hale, Politics Today At least two Toronto hospitals are resorting to using personal support workers (PSWs) to watch patients who were dropped off by an ambulance so paramedics can get back on the road, Queen’s Park Today has learned — despite the fact that PSWs cannot provide medical care. The move has […]

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Eviction from London, Ont. long-term care home exposes flaws in system

(January 4, 2023) By: Bryan Bicknell, CTV News London It’s a case that some say exposes flaws in the province’s long-term care system. Advocates are speaking out after their friend, a vulnerable woman, was evicted from Glendale Crossing long-term care home in London because she hadn’t slept in her room for three months, as she […]

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LETTER: Conservatives not trying to ‘fix’ health care

(January 3, 2023) By: Shirley Roebuck in The Sarnia Observer Premier Doug Ford released a New Year’s message in which he proclaimed that Ontario’s “future is bright” and its “best days are still ahead.” He vowed his government “will never stop working for workers” and touted a number of initiatives, including investing in the skilled […]

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Public invited to join in healthcare campaign

(December 23, 2022) By: Sara McCleary, Sault This Week The Ontario Health Coalition and the local chapter, Sault Ste. Marie-Algoma Health Coalition, hope to see more community members become active in what they call the fight to save public health care. Although the local chapter was active in the spring, supporting the province-wide Fightback Against […]

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Vigorous Campaign to “Stop the Ford Government From Privatizing Our Public Hospitals”

(December 16, 2022) By: TML Daily Vigorous Campaign to “Stop the Ford Government From Privatizing Our Public Hospitals” The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) organized rallies in Ottawa and Niagara on December 9 and in Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and Windsor on December 12 as part of their campaign to stop the Ford government’s privatization of hospitals. The […]

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Ford government says controversial new policy hasn’t yet shortened waits for hospital beds

(December 16, 2022) By: Rob Ferguson, Toronto Star Ontario has freed up 3,414 hospital beds this fall by moving elderly patients who no longer need acute care into nursing homes, but the transfers under the Ford government’s controversial Bill 7 have not resulted in shorter wait times for beds. “We haven’t seen that yet,” Health Minister Sylvia […]

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RELEASE: Health Coalitions warn health funding without strings is not in the public interest: Federal health dollars must come with accountability and national standards

(December 16, 2022) As Canada’s premiers and the federal NDP ramp up the pressure on the Trudeau government, Health Coalitions across Canada are demanding that any increase in public health funding be used in the public interest and not be used to privatize health care. The Health Coalitions support the call for a long-term increase […]

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Ontario Health Coalition holding marches Monday outside three major Ontario hospitals

(December 12, 2022) By: Joanna Lavoie, CP24 A province-wide organization that advocates for publicly funded health care is holding marches across Ontario today to protest the Ford government’s handling of the hospital crisis. The Toronto demonstration, organized by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), is set to get underway at noon outside the Peter Munk Cardiac […]

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‘Beyond emergency’: Protesters in Toronto accuse Ford government of ‘inaction’ amid hospital crisis

(December 12th, 2022) By: Griffin Jaeger, CBC News Dozens of protesters carrying signs with words like, “overworked, underpaid, overwhelmed, underfunded” gathered in front of a downtown Toronto hospital Monday — to speak out against what they say is “inaction” by the Ford government amid overcrowded children’s hospitals across the province. The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), which represents […]

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Sending sick children to faraway hospitals is ‘not ideal,’ Ontario’s health minister says

(December 12, 2022) By: Rob Ferguson, Toronto Star Health Minister Sylvia Jones acknowledges it is “not ideal” that kids are being sent far from home because local children’s hospitals are swamped by a post-pandemic surge of respiratory viruses like flu and RSV. “I get it. It’s not ideal as a family to have a child […]

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‘Things could get worse’: New warning from Ontario children’s hospital as flu rates rise

(December 12, 2022) By: Colin D’Mello, Global News An Ontario hospital is issuing a blunt warning that the crisis in pediatric care could “get worse” as influenza rates among children spike in the province. The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) has been under immense pressure as a result of a triple threat of respiratory illnesses that have sent children to intensive care […]

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Doug Ford didn’t want to talk about a national crisis during the ‘Freedom Convoy.’ What’s the difference with health care?

(December 12, 2022) By: Susan Delacourt, Toronto Star Doug Ford has clearly had a change of heart in 2022 about the value of federal-provincial meetings. Last February, the Ontario premier expressed the view that the so-called “Freedom Convoy” protest paralyzing Canada’s capital and major border points would not be resolved by “a bunch of people […]

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3 eastern Ontario health units exploring merger

(December 11, 2023) By: Safiyah Marhnouj, CBC News Three health units in eastern Ontario are considering merging into one in response to the province’s recent efforts to consolidate such units across Ontario. Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox & Addington Public Health, the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark (LGL) District Health Unit and Hastings Prince Edward Public Health said in a joint news release last week […]

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Protesters rally in Windsor to ‘protect public hospitals’

(December 12, 2022) By: Trevor Wilhelm, Windsor Star Dozens of protesters rally for better health care at the intersection of Walker Road and Tecumseh Road East, on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022. PHOTO BY DAX MELMER /Windsor Star Dozens of protesters held a rally outside a Windsor hospital Monday calling on the provincial government to fix a “crisis” […]

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Healthcare crisis sparks protest outside Windsor Regional Hospital

(December 12, 2022) By: Sijia Liu, CTV Windsor Dozens gathered near Windsor Regional Hospital Monday to protest the Ford government’s handling of the healthcare crisis. “I don’t think we should call it a crisis. It’s a catastrophe. Not enough nurses, not enough other hospital workers, not enough doctors,” said Shirley Roebuck with the Ontario Health […]

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RALLY IN WINDSOR CALLS ON PROVINCE TO FIX ‘HEALTHCARE CRISIS’

(December 12, 2022) By: Rusty Thomson, iHeartRadio Members of the Windsor-Essex Health Coalition rally outside of Windsor Regional Hospital to call on the Ontario government to fix what they call a crisis in the healthcare system. Dec. 12, 2022 (Photo by Rob Hindi) A rally today outside of Windsor Regional Hospital as part of several […]

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Health care woes at centre of Windsor protest (GALLERY)

(December 12, 2022) By: Mark Brown, Windsor NewsToday Protestors on Tecumseh Road East and Walker Road, Windsor, December 12, 2022. Photo by Mark Brown/WindsorNewsToday.ca. Residents upset with the current state of healthcare in Ontario took to the streets in Windsor Monday. Dozens of people, many holding signs or flags, converged on Tecumseh Road East and […]

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Health-care coalition stages protest against privatization in Windsor

(December 12, 2022) By: Dale Molnar, CBC News Protesters with the Windsor-Essex Health Care Coalition joined in a noon time protest against the privatization of health care along with protestors in Toronto, Waterloo, Niagara and Ottawa Monday. (Dale Molnar/CBC) Health-care workers, union representatives, nurses and PSWs joined organizers with the local representatives of the Ontario Health Coalition […]

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Ontario Health Coalition calls on Ford government for immediate action as hospital crisis worsens

(December 12, 2022) By: Global News at Noon Protests are being held outside of the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre on hospital row in Toronto as well as in Waterloo and Windsor as health care workers urge the Ontario government that the state of hospitals in Ontario are completely overwhelmed. Marianne Dimain has more. Click here […]

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Protestors in Kitchener-Waterloo demand action from Ford government on healthcare

(December 12, 2022) By: Colton Weins, CTV News Kitchener Videographer Members of the Ontario Health Coalition are calling out the Ford government over the current state of hospitals what they say are attempts to privatize. Protests are taking place across the province Monday, including in Kitchener-Waterloo where demonstrators met at Waterloo Public Square at noon. […]

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Demonstrators take to streets around Ontario to protest health care changes

(December 12, 2022) By: Terry Pender, The Hamilton Spectator WATERLOO REGION — More than 100 people protested Monday along King Street in Kitchener and Waterloo against the transfer of diagnostic and surgical procedures out of publicly funded hospitals and into privately owned for-profit clinics. Organized by the Waterloo Region Health Coalition to raise awareness of […]

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Concerned about cuts to health care and possible privatization, people rally in Waterloo

(December 12, 2022) By: Kate Bueckert, James Chaarani, CBC News A group of more than 60 people took part in a rally and march organized by the Waterloo Region Health Coalition on Monday at noon. Similar marches were held Monday in Toronto and Windsor. (James Chaarani/CBC) Donna Evans says she recently had a nightmare that she […]

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Protesters rally to protect public healthcare

(December 12, 2022) By: CityNewsEverywhere Healthcare professionals, patients and politicians held rallies across the province to protest the Ford government’s ‘inaction’ on the hospital crisis, and fears the system is being privatized. Tina Yazdani has the new numbers from the Ontario Health. Click here for original video

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Ontario Health Coalition holding marches to protest Ford government’s handling of hospital crisis

(December 12, 2022) By: Joanna Lavoie, CP24 Web Content Writer A province-wide organization that advocates for publicly funded health care is holding marches across Ontario today to protest the Ford government’s handling of the hospital crisis. The Toronto demonstration, organized by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), is set to get underway at noon outside the […]

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Toronto SickKids ICU over 100% capacity as protesters demand action from Ford government

(December 12, 2022) By: News Staff, City News Everywhere Demonstrations took place in three cities Monday afternoon as the Ontario Health Coalition spoke out against what it calls inaction by the Ford government. One of the rallies was held outside the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre on University Avenue in Toronto, with others taking place in […]

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Toronto SickKids ICU over 100% capacity as protesters demand action

(December 12, 2022) By: CityNews Everywhere Demonstrations are set to take place in three cities today as the Ontario health coalition speaks out against what it calls inaction by the Ford government. Click here for original video

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Ontario Health Coalition calls on Ford government for immediate action as hospital crisis worsens

(December 12, 2022) By: Global News Protests are being held outside of the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre on hospital row in Toronto as well as in Waterloo and Windsor as health care workers urge the Ontario government that the state of hospitals in Ontario are completely overwhelmed. Marianne Dimain has more. Click here for original […]

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‘Beyond emergency’: Protesters in Toronto accuse Ford government of ‘inaction’ amid hospital crisis

(December 12, 2022) By: Griffin Jaeger, CBC News A demonstration was held in Toronto Monday by The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), which represents more than 500 organizations, speaking out about what it calls “inaction” by the Ford Government to address an ongoing hospital crisis. ( Lorenda Reddekopp/CBC) Dozens of protesters carrying signs with words like, “overworked, underpaid, […]

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Cambridge Memorial Hospital supports patients waiting for long-term care

(December 6, 2022) By: Barbara Latkowski, CambridgeToday.ca CambridgeToday file photo Cambridge Memorial Hospital (CMH) has yet to issue any fines since the Ontario government passed Bill 7. The legislation, which has been in effect since September, allows hospitals to move patients to long-term care homes without their informed consent and charge them $400 a day if […]

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PCs’ Bill 7 constitutionally challenged for charging hospital patients $400 daily when refusing involuntary transfers

(December 4, 2022) By: Jessica R. Durling, The Pointer Natanael Melchor/Unsplash When Ontarians first heard the Doug Ford government’s plan to charge hospital patients, mostly seniors, $400 a day if they refused to be involuntarily uprooted from their hospital bed, residents flooded social media with their angry responses. Now, Bill 7, The More Beds, Better […]

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Health Alliance hasn’t had to fine hesitant patients

(November 30, 2022) By: Tom Morrison, Chatham Daily News The Chatham site of the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance is shown Nov. 19, 2020. (Tom Morrison/Chatham This Week) The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance hasn’t had to use new measures granted by the province to move certain patients out of hospital faster. Bill 7, also known as the More […]

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Constituents concerned about hospital leadership, Gélinas says

(November 29, 2022) By: Len Gillis, Sudbury.com Dominic Giroux is the CEO and president of Health Sciences North in Greater Sudbury. Image: Health Sciences North When it comes to Dominic Giroux, some are critical, some are complimentary and many just don’t want to talk about it. In the wake of a highly critical report from […]

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Long term care home to be replaced by condo as LTC licenses expire

(November 29, 2022) By: City News A Forest Hill LTC home is set to close to make way for a condo development thanks to an expiring license. As Michelle Mackey reports, the Ontario Health Coalition warns of more closures with more LTC licenses expiring over the next 3 years. Click here for original article and […]

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Controversial Bill 7 fees not yet used by Sault Area Hospital

(November 28, 2022) By: Darren Taylor, SooToday.com Darren Taylor/SooToday To date, no alternate level of care (ALC) patients at Sault Area Hospital have been charged $400 a day to stay within the hospital’s walls. Bill 7 – also known as the More Beds, Better Care Act – was passed by the Ford government and came into […]

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A flawed plan for hospital beds

(November 28, 2022) By: Niagara Falls Review Ontario Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra says legislation meant to encourage the transfer of patients our of hospitals and into long-term care facilities will help free up hospital beds. But critics says the province is using “coercive” tactics.  CHRISTOPHER KATSAROV THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO It’s not clear that […]

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Highlands activist recognized with prestigious provincial award

(November 25, 2022) By: Angelica Ingram, The Echo Highlands resident Bonnie Roe was recently awarded with the Orville Thacker Award by the Ontario Health Coalition for her dedication and work to protect public health care. /FILE Longtime community activist and Lochlin resident Bonnie Roe was recently honoured with a prestigious award from a provincial health […]

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Coalition says Waterloo region had more hospital beds in the 1960s than today

(November 24, 2022) By: Stephanie Villella, CTV News Kitchener Analysis The Waterloo Region Health Coalition is calling on the province to address staffing shortages in hospitals, while pointing to a decrease in available hospital beds as the population grows. During an online town hall meeting Wednesday night, the coalition, joined by the Ontario Health Coalition […]

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Province being taken to court over controversial Bill 7

(November 24, 2022) By: Darren Taylor, SooToday.com Stock image The Ontario Health Coalition and the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly has taken its fight against Ontario’s controversial Bill 7 to court. Under the new legislation, hospital patients in Alternate Level of Care – ALC – awaiting placement in their preferred long term care home can […]

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Ontario Health Coalition holding virtual townhalls to stop provincial ‘privatization plan’

(November 23, 2022) By: Germain Ma, City News Grand River Hospital in Kitchener | Blair Adams The Ontario Health Coalition is holding a series of community meetings to speak out against “the Ford government’s plan to privatize hospital services.” “This is actually happening and once our hospitals are privatized, we’re not going to get them […]

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Kingston, Ont. seniors concerned over bill that could force long-term care living

(November 23, 2022) By: Aryn Strickland, Global News Analysis Some seniors in the city feel that the provincial government is dictating where they can live – Nov 23, 2022 A controversial law allowing the province to force elderly hospital patients into long-term care homes regardless of their choosing is facing major backlash, including a constitutional […]

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Coalition says Waterloo region had more hospital beds in the 1960s than today

(November 23, 2022) By: Stephanie Villella, CTV News Kitchener Analysis The Waterloo Region Health Coalition is calling on the province to address staffing shortages in hospitals, while pointing to a decrease in available hospital beds as the population grows. During an online town hall meeting Wednesday night, the coalition, joined by the Ontario Health Coalition […]

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Constitutional Challenge Levied Against Bill 7

(November 22, 2022) By: CKXS FM The Ontario Health Coalition and the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly are joining forces to launch a Constitutional Challenge to the Ford government’s new law, Bill 7, which could force elderly hospital patients into a long-term care home not of their choosing. The government introduced the bill earlier this […]

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NDP critics call on Ford to repeal bill that forces seniors into long-term care

(November 22, 2022) By: North Bay Nugget Ontario NDP critics are calling on premier Doug Ford’s Bill 7, which forces seniors into long-term care facilities far from home against their wishes. PHOTO BY STOCK PHOTO /Getty Images Ontario NDP critics are calling on premier Doug Ford’s Bill 7, which forces seniors into long-term care facilities far from […]

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Projet de loi 7 : l’imposition d’amende n’est pas l’option privilégiée à Windsor

(November 22, 2022) By: Radio-Canada Le PDG de l’Hôpital régional de Windsor, David Musyj, soutient le projet de loi 7, mais veut éviter d’imposer des amendes aux patients. PHOTO : RADIO-CANADA Le PDG de l’Hôpital régional de Windsor (WRH) affirme que le projet de loi 7 va aider à désengorger les hôpitaux, mais David Musyj n’envisage d’imposer une […]

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Charter challenge to Ontario LTC law ‘well thought out,’ Algoma Ontario Health Coalition rep says

(November 22, 2022) By: Jeffrey Ougler, The Sault Star Ontario Health Coalition brands the More Beds Better Care Act as “fundamentally discriminatory” against the frail and elderly. Postmedia With I’s dotted and T’s crossed, there is a “pretty good chance” of success for a constitutional challenge to an Ontario law that allows some discharged elderly hospital patients […]

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Ontario advocates fight LTC law posing an ‘egregious deprivation’ on seniors’ rights

(November 21, 2022) By: Hannah Alberga, CTV News Paramedics take away an elderly patient at the Tendercare Living Centre, long-term-care facility during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scarborough, Ont., on Wednesday, December 23, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette Ontario advocates are launching a constitutional challenge to a law they call an “unprecedented and egregious deprivation” of seniors’ […]

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Ontario advocates to fight LTC law infringing on seniors’ rights

(November 21, 2022) By: Samantha Lawson, CHCH Ontario advocates launched a constitutional challenge on Monday to a law they call an “unprecedented and egregious deprivation” of seniors’ rights and freedoms. The law is Bill 7, titled ‘More Beds, Better Care Act (2022)’ and was passed by the Ford government in late August. It says elderly […]

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Contestation judiciaire de la loi sur le transfert d’aînés contre leur gré

(November 21, 2022) By: Radio-Canada La Coalition ontarienne de la santé va contester en cour la loi du gouvernement Ford qui permet aux hôpitaux de transférer des aînés contre leur gré dans un centre de soins de longue durée ou de leur présenter une facture de 400 $ par jour. Cette dernière disposition est entrée en vigueur […]

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Ontario health care advocates launch constitutional challenge against controversial Bill 7

(November 21, 2022) By: Meredith Bond and The Canadian Press, City News A resident chats with workers at Orchard Villa Long-Term Care in Pickering, Ontario on Monday June 1, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn The Ontario Health Coalition has officially launched a constitutional challenge against the province’s controversial Bill 7. The law allows some discharged […]

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Advocacy groups launch constitutional challenge of Bill 7

(November 21, 2022) By: Maureen Revait, BlackburnNews.com File photo courtesy of © Can Stock Photo / Bialasiewicz Two advocacy groups have launched a constitutional challenge to the Ontario legislation that forces the elderly out of hospitals and into long-term care homes that are not of their choosing. “The impact on the lives of the elderly […]

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2,400 elderly patients had rights violated in moves from Ontario hospitals, critics charge

(November 21, 2022) By: Rob Ferguson, The Hamilton Spectator Ontario Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra speaks with media at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Sept. 14, 2022.  CHRISTOPHER KATSAROV / THE CANADIAN PRESS More than 2,400 elderly patients who no longer needed hospital care have been moved to nursing homes this fall, helping to clear beds for the […]

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How effective is the Ontario law that allows fines for patients who refuse pre-arranged LTC beds?

(November 21, 2022) By: Isaac Callan and Colin D’Mello, GlobalNews.ca Analysis WATCH ABOVE: The Ford government’s bill to free up hospital beds by moving patients to long-term care homes is facing a constitutional challenge. Colin D’Mello reports. As a health-care advocacy group prepares to take the Ford government to court over a provincial law designed to free-up hospital […]

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New fee for patients who refuse LTC transfer a ‘non-starter,’ son says

(November 21, 2022) By: Guy Quenneville, CBC News Rainer Pethke of Berwick, Ont., poses here with his 95-year-old mother Hilde. (Submitted by Rainer Pethke) Sooner or later, 95-year-old Hilde Pethke is going to fall, break her hip and need medical care, her son says — and that could leave her “struggling in a home far away from loved ones.” […]

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NATALIE MEHRA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ONTARIO HEALTH COALITION, TELLS MOORE IN THE MORNING WHY SHE STARTED A CHARTER CHALLENGE OVER ONTARIO’S LTC LAW.

(November 21, 2022) By: Moore In The Morning, iHeartRADIO Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, tells Moore In The Morning why she started a charter challenge over Ontario’s LTC law. Click here for original article and audio

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Advocates for elderly patients vow Charter challenge to Ontario LTC law

(November 20, 2022) By: Cassandra Szklarski, The Associated Press Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition holds a news conference at Queen’s Park inToronto on Monday, January 21, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young Health-care advocates say they are preparing a possible constitutional challenge to an Ontario law that allows some discharged elderly hospital […]

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RELEASE & LEGAL OPINION: Ontario Health Coalition & Advocacy Centre for the Elderly will go to court to challenge Ford government’s new law forcing elderly into long-term care homes against their choice: “an egregious violation of their Charter rights”

(November 21, 2022) Toronto –The Ontario Health Coalition and the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly launched a Constitutional Challenge this morning in response to the Ford government’s new law that forces elderly hospital patients into long-term care homes against their choice. The two groups will be co-applicants to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in […]

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Peel is warming twice as fast as the global average; how will a strained health system handle a population made increasingly sick by climate change?

(November 19, 2022) By: Rachel Morgan, The Pointer Emergency rooms, ICUs and inpatient beds in hospitals across Ontario are overflowing. Throughout late summer and the fall, disturbing stories of shuttered ERs, paramedics driving hours to assist overburdened departments in other jurisdictions and patients being transferred hundreds of kilometres for surgery, have been heard across the […]

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Ontario group to challenge $400/day penalty for seniors who stay in hospital instead of moving to LTC

(November 18, 2022) By: Hannah Alberga, CTV News Toronto Public health advocates are launching a charter challenge against a new Ontario law that requires hospitals to charge elderly patients $400 per day if they refuse to move to a long-term care home against their will. Bill 7, the More Beds Better Care Act, forces seniors who are waiting for […]

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‘Unprecedented’ hospital crisis prompts series of town hall meetings

(November 16, 2022) By: Calvi Leon, Northern News (Getty Images) A health coalition is holding a series of emergency meetings across Southwestern Ontario to urge the provincial government to tackle the hospital crisis. The Ontario Health Coalition, a network representing more than 400 organizations, will host online town hall meetings across Ontario, including Seaforth, St. […]

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Ontario health minister’s talking points edited to remove denial of privatized health care

(November 16, 2022) By: Isaac Callan and Colin D’Mello, Global News As the Ford government faced intense questions during the summer about the private delivery of health-care services, a set of talking points given to Ontario’s Minister of Health included a forceful denial of privatization — words which were never uttered by Sylvia Jones because they […]

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More vacant positions than working nurses at GTA hospital, internal report shows

(November 7, 2022) By: Jon Woodward, CTV News There are more vacant positions for nurses than nurses working at one GTA emergency room, according to an internal report obtained by CTV News Investigates — a sign of how dire staff shortages are “deteriorating” a medical system already on edge. A consultants report for Lakeridge Health […]

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Regional group among advocates critical of privatization plans

(November 3, 2022) By: Bill Atwood, Observer Health care advocates that laid into the Ford government ahead of last June’s provincial election haven’t let up. Critics include the Waterloo Region Health Coalition, which is part of the chorus warning about privatization of the likes of hospital services. As with the Ontario Health Coalition, the local […]

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Rally against hospital privatization held at MPP’s office

(November 3, 2022) By: Natalia Vega, Blackburn News The Sarnia-Lambton Ontario Health Coalition is emphasizing growing concerns regarding the privatization of Ontario’s hospitals. A rally was held outside of MPP Bob Bailey’s office Thursday afternoon in Point Edward. Co-chairs Shirley Roebuck and June Weiss led the local rally, about one week after the Ontario Health Coalition […]

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Demonstration targets MPP, funding for private health clinics

(November 3, 2022) By: Tyler Kula, The Observer Shirley Roebuck with the Sarnia-Lambton Health Coalition organized a demonstration Thursday outside Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey’s office in Point Edward. (Tyler Kula/ The Observer) Sarnia-Lambton’s MPP was under fire Thursday from the local health coalition chapter. “We are here today to make sure that the people of […]

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Kawartha Lakes long-term care advocate’s efforts recognized with Ontario Health Coalition award

(October 29, 2022) By: Catherine Whitnall, The Peterborough Examiner Bonnie Roe has once again been recognized for her outstanding commitment to safeguarding public health care and advocacy for long-term care residents and their families in Kawartha Lakes. “This year we have faced enormous challenges in public health care. Each of our award winners have given […]

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Amid fears health system is buckling, Toronto hospitals to issue alerts about overcrowded ERs

(October 29, 2022) By: Tyler Cheese, CBC News University Hospital Network staff were informed Thursday that Toronto General Hospital’s emergency department was at capacity. (Carlos Osorio/CBC) Amid signs of a growing crisis in the province’s health-care system, an alert went out Thursday that the emergency department at Toronto General Hospital was at capacity — and that […]

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‘No mandate’ for province’s greater use of private clinics: Health Coalition

(October 28, 2022) By: Tom Morrison, St.Thomas Times-Journal Shirley Roebuck, with the Ontario Health Coalition, is shown in this 2020 file photo. (File photo/Postmedia Network) Members of a local health care advocacy group are calling out the provincial government for actions which they say contradict past statements. Although members of the Progressive Conservative government made […]

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Sault Area Hospital reports hike in alternate level of care patient numbers

(October 27, 2022) By: Jeffrey Ougler, The Sault Star SAH receives an average of 57 alternate level of care patients a day, and generally has up to 15 patients waiting for long-term care placement, accounting for approximately 25 per cent of its ALC patient population. Getty Sault Area Hospital has posted an increase in alternate […]

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Ontario Health Coalition challenges Ford’s privatization of Ontario’s hospitals

(October 26, 2022) By: Samantha Lawson, CHCH Video: The Ontario Health Coalition joins Democracy Watch at 10 a.m. to challenge specific claims the Ford government made about their plans regarding hospital privatization. The Health Coalition will announce its plans for a major campaign to stop the privatization. Click here for link to full video

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NDP rail against 30-year license extension for Pickering’s Orchard Villa LTC, which lost 85 residents during pandemic

(October 26, 2022) By: Liam McConnell, insauga Frank Gunn, Canadian Press The long saga of Orchard Villa, a long-term care (LTC) home responsible for the death of 85 of its 230 residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, continues with increased opposition to the facility’s request for a 30-year license extension. Opposition NDP leader Peter Tabuns, LTC […]

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Ontario health care organization calls out Doug Ford for lying to voters

(October 26, 2022) By: Jack Landau, blogTO An organization that aims to protect and improve the province’s public health care system is furious with Premier Doug Ford, accusing his PC government of lying to the public about its planned privatization of Ontario’s public hospital services. The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) issued a scathing brief on Wednesday, attacking the Ford government […]

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RELEASE & BRIEFING NOTE: The Ford government lied to the public re. their privatization of public hospital services: Health Coalition demands Ford stop their privatization of our hospitals, kicks off major campaign to save our local public hospitals

(October 26, 2022) Toronto –The Ontario Health Coalition released a brief today charging that the Ford government lied to the public about its privatization of Ontario’s public hospital services. The Coalition reported that the Ford government significantly increased funding to private clinics while at the same time denying that they were expanding the private clinics. […]

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REPORT & RELEASE: Ontario Hospital Crisis Province-Wide and By Community

(October 24, 2022) Toronto — Across Ontario, the hospital crisis continues to burn through the resilience of the province’s truly heroic health care staff. As the burden of infectious disease has increased, with the removal of virtually all public health measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19; the flu, other respiratory illnesses, and a severe […]

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Public in dark about COVID-19 spread: Ontario Health Coalition

(October 21, 2022) By: Antonella Artuso, Toronto Sun A wayward disposable face mask hangs on a street sign pole. PHOTO BY KEVIN KING /Postmedia COVID-19 is moving through communities and nursing homes but the lack of official public reporting means people have been left largely in the dark about the latest surge in cases, a new report from the […]

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Sleepwalking through a crisis? Alarms raised over COVID impact on young and old

(October 21, 2022) By: Kim Zarzour, YorkRegion.com Health-care professionals warn we are sleepwalking into a disastrous winter, based on what they’ve seen among the very young and very old. While much of the province seems ready to put the pandemic in the past, those with an eye on the front line are using words like […]

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Amy Ayers quit her career working in long-term care—for a job at Tim Hortons

(October 21, 2022) By: Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen Amy Ayers left her PSW job to go to work at Tim Hortons due to the stress levels of the PSW work environment. PHOTO BY JEAN LEVAC /Postmedia When Amy Ayers worked her first night shift at Tim Hortons last month, she experienced a sense of relief. The former […]

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Ontario Just Recorded Its Highest COVID-19 Death Count In Months & Here’s What It Means

(October 21, 2022) By: Stuart McGinn, Narcity Toronto A masked individual in Toronto. Shawn Goldberg | Dreamstime Ontario has just reported quite a notable spike in COVID-19-related deaths and the number is the highest we’ve seen in a while. Weekly data from Public Health Ontario released on Thursday, October 20, revealed the highest death toll since […]

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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 […]

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RELEASE: New report on the spread of COVID, LTC outbreaks, hospitalizations & deaths raises red flags despite the Ford government’s suppression of COVID Data

(October 21, 2022) Toronto – The Ford government has ceased regular reporting on the spread of COVID-19. Public Health no longer publishes daily and weekly epidemiologic reports and it has become steadily more difficult to get accurate numbers. Not only are the government and Public Health not reporting much of the data previously available, they […]

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UPDATE: Submission to Ministry of Long-Term Care Public Consultation on New License & Expansion for Southbridge Care Homes Orchard Villa

(October 21, 2022) Submission to Ministry of Long-Term Care Public Consultation on New License & Expansion for Southbridge Care Homes Orchard Villa To:       The Director under the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021 Ministry of Long-Term Care Capital Planning Branch 438 University Avenue, 8th Floor Toronto, Ontario M5G 2K8 Via email: LTCHomes.Licensing@ontario.ca From:   Ontario Health Coalition Re:       PROJECT #23-034 Orchard Villa […]

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‘Health care system in crisis’: Emergency room wait times reach all-time high

(October 19, 2022) By: Jenn Basa, CTV News Emergency departments across Ontario are struggling to keep up with the high volume of patients and staffing shortages. This week, the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) reached an all-time high of 20 hours for patients waiting in the emergency department. “As cold and flu season approaches, our […]

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Parents of sick baby speak out against Windsor, Ont., hospital’s policy limiting NICU visitors

(October 17, 2022) By: CBC News Olivia Gagnon was born on Sept. 11 at London Health Sciences Centre in southwestern Ontario. A few weeks later, she was diagnosed with trisomy 18, a rare genetic condition that causes several health issues. (Clarissa Macgregor-Mitchell) Sheena Wallace-Wilson and Bruce Gagnon of Windsor, Ont., want their sick month-old daughter to be […]

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‘It’s looney’: Wait time trackers not the solution to overcrowded emergency rooms

(October 15, 2022) By: Tina Yazdani and John Marchesan, City News Lakeridge Health in Durham region has launched a wait time tracker for its emergency room, the latest tool to try and address spiking delays patients are facing at Ontario hospitals. While the tracker gives the public an estimate of ” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>how long the wait […]

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October 19th is the deadline to suspend the new 30 year LTC contract with Orchard Villas

(October 14, 2022) By: Walter Pallad, Eminetra Orchard Villa is where Diane Colangelo’s 86-year-old mother, Patricia, arrived 48 kilograms (105 lbs) and died at 31 kilograms (68 lbs). Paul William Russell Parkes also died there claiming that her daughter Cathy was severely dehydrated. Andrew Watt’s mother, Nina, died just weeks after arriving at the for-profit […]

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Lakeridge Health launches tracker that shows wait times at its 4 Durham Region emergency rooms

(October 14, 2022) By: CBC News Lakeridge Health, an integrated regional health system that serves Durham Region, has launched what it calls an ‘Emergency Department Wait Times Tracker.’ The web-based tool tracks approximate wait times in emergency rooms in four of its hospitals. (Jonathan Castell/CBC) People who live in Durham Region can now check an online […]

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Scarborough long-term care home battles COVID-19 outbreak with 46 residents testing positive

(October 6, 2022) By: Muriel Draaisma, Natalie Kalata, CBC News This Scarborough long-term care home is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak, in which 46 residents have tested positive for the virus. (CBC) Forty-six residents at a Scarborough long term care home are infected with COVID-19 and the facility says families will have to visit their loved ones though windows this […]

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Patients, unions unite to fight Ford

(October 6, 2022) By: Carolyn Egan, Socialist.ca The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) held a dynamic organizing conference over two days at the start of October. It brought together hundreds of activists from across the province, in person and on zoom, representing grassroots groups and unions. A large number of local organizations have developed in the […]

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The Health Care Crisis V: Privatization

(September 30, 2022) By: The Big Story Podcast As Canada’s health-care system fails, more and more people will be willing to pay up to avoid the most overcrowded and underserviced parts of it. While no politician will come out in favour of privatizing health care, you do here a lot about “looking for innovative solutions”—which […]

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10% of long-term care homes in Windsor-Essex had proactive inspection a year after Ontario vowed to do better

(September 29, 2022)   By: Jennifer La Grassa, CBC News In October 2021, the provincial government allocated $20 million to the long-term care sector and announced the launch of a proactive inspection program and the hiring of 193 inspectors by fall 2022. To date, the Ministry of Long-term Care says it has performed proactive inspections […]

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‘Lost in the system’: Timmins family waiting months for tumour surgery due to health care shortage

(September 28, 2022) By: Sergio Arangio, CTV Northern Ontario Analysis Brittany Roberge, a mother in Timmins, Ont., is speaking out about the current state of Ontario’s health care system as her 12-year-old daughter, Paige, faces repeated delays in removing a large tumour near her kidney. Roberge told CTV News that local doctors discovered the growth […]

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BRIEFING NOTE & QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES: Municipal Election Key Health Care Issues

(September 27, 2022) Questions for Candidates Will you commit to maintaining our municipal long-term care homes as public homes, and oppose contracting out the operation of municipal LTC homes to for-profit companies? Will you commit to funding municipal LTC homes to provide safe, quality living and caring environments, and support a minimum care standard of […]

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London hospital defends shakeup of brass, won’t reveal cost to taxpayers

(September 23, 2022) By: Jennifer Bieman, London Free Press Victoria Hospital in London. Southwestern Ontario’s largest hospital, which has added new presidents for its two London campuses, is defending an overhaul of its executive ranks, but won’t say what the restructuring is costing taxpayers. London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) has gone from an executive team […]

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Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Wed. September 21st, 2022

(September 21, 2022) By: Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron Just before lunchtime, a child attending Stepping Up Daycare experienced an anaphylactic allergic reaction. The daycare’s director called 911, paramedics arrived, and the child was fine after a shot of Benadryl. However, more children experienced that same reaction. CTV’s Colton Praill describes the scene in Hour […]

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Ford’s “More Beds, Better Care Act” is only bringing more anger across Ontario

(September 20, 2022) By: Abbey Bilotta, The Brock Press Photo by Martha Dominguez de Gouveia on Unsplash Last week, Ontario released new regulations which would move elderly hospital patients awaiting long-term care into temporary nursing homes. Such legislation, formerly recognized as Bill-7, was titled “More Beds, Better Care Act” in hopes of clearing out hospital beds to make […]

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LETTER: Bill 7 removes Charter right for patient choice

(September 20, 2022) By: Shirley Roebuck, Chatham This Week A joint statement from the CEOs of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance and Windsor Regional Hospital was issued in regard to Premier Doug Ford’s Bill 7, which is now the law. The statement is an attempt to make Bill 7 seem to be a reasonable part of the […]

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LTC waiting lists raise questions about where Hamilton hospital patients will be sent

(September 20, 2022) By: Joanna Frketich, Hamilton Spectator A controversial bill requiring hospitals to send seniors to long-term-care homes as far as 70 kilometres away in southern Ontario comes at a time when many Hamilton facilities have long waiting lists. Every Hamilton long-term care home had a wait list as of April 30 — the […]

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‘It’s immoral on every level’: Health advocates, MPPs decry PC plan to charge patients $400 a day for refusing hospital transfers

(September 19, 2022) By: Joel Wittnebel, The Pointer A Bill that has been labelled “grotesque”; the “worst and most cruel Bill” the Ontario Legislature has ever seen, was approved by Premier Doug Ford’s PC majority last month, paving the way for hospital patients to be billed $400 a day if they refuse to be transferred […]

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RELEASE: Health Coalitions denounce for-profit deal by Canadian Blood Services that endangers Canada’s Blood Supply

(September 20, 2022) OTTAWA (the traditional and unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin people) – Canada’s provincial and territorial Health Coalitions and the Canadian Health Coalition call for the resignation of the leadership of the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) including the CEO and Board of Directors. This call comes after the appalling decision by CBS […]

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Outrage Over Elderly Patient Bill Continues

(September 16, 2022) By: Mike Ebbeling, CKDR 92.7 Dryden The opposition continues to attack the provincial government on a controversial bill that allows hospitals to move patients no longer needing alternative level of care to long- term care facilities without consent. Details have emerged that patients in the north could be moved 150 kilometres away […]

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Bill 7 fills an urgent need, Thunder Bay hospital CEO says

(September 16, 2022) By: Gary Rinne, NWO Newswatch THUNDER BAY — The CEO of Thunder Bay’s regional hospital is welcoming new provincial legislation that allows hospitals to transfer elderly patients to long-term care homes once they are ready to be discharged. Bill 7, which takes effect Sept. 21, also requires hospitals to charge a daily […]

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Ford Government to Move Hospital Patients to Long-Term Care, But Proactive Inspections Still On Hold

(September 16, 2022) By: Mitchell Thompson, Press Progress The Ford government’s More Beds, More Care Act, is set to move designated hospital patients to long-term care homes, and charge those who refuse , as early as September 21. But it will not restart annual, unannounced Resident Quality Inspections before the transfers start — even though Doug Ford […]

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Controversial LTC bill causing tug of war: condemned by advocates but applauded by hospitals

(September 15, 2022) By: Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen FILE: Patient in a hospital Photo by Srisakorn /GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO While The Ottawa Hospital’s President and CEO Cameron Love and other health-care leaders are throwing their support behind Bill 7, opposition to the controversial provincial legislation is growing. Under the legislation, southern Ontario hospital patients awaiting spots […]

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‘It is grotesque to do this’: Critics slam Ford government’s plan for long-distance placements in nursing homes

(September 15, 2022) By: Rob Ferguson, Toronto Star Sue’s elderly mom has complex medical issues and depression, and is waiting for a long-term-care bed after being hospitalized in June. But she’s under no illusions she’ll ever get into the nursing home she picked four years ago — despite what the Ontario government has promised under […]

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Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Thurs. September 15th, 2022

(September 15, 2022) By: Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron Hundreds of thousands of people are patiently waiting to pay their final respects to Queen Elizabeth. As she lies in state over the next 4 days, some have waited several days for this moment, with the lineup stretching 8 kilometres long as of Thursday morning. That […]

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Waterfront developer to bring privatized healthcare to Sault and elsewhere

(September 14, 2022) By: Christopher Shoust, Sault Online Old hospital these days at 941 Queen Street East. Provided to SaultOnline from Pabtimbo. The waterfront development company Leisure Meadows Community Living Inc., who control the dilapidated, old hospital (941 Queen St. East), the Doctor’s Building (955 Queen St. East), 10 Lucy Terrace, and 309 East Balfour […]

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Ontario hospital patients to be charged $400 a day for refusing temporary long-term care placements

(September 14, 2022) By: Durham Radio News According to the provincial government, if you are a hospital patient waiting for a spot in long-term care, you can be charged for refusing a home that is not of your choosing. Anyone who refuses will face a daily fine of $400. In southern Ontario, you can be […]

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Some Windsor-Essex hospitals support Ontario’s LTC changes to ease surgery backlog

(September 14, 2022) By: CBC News A hospital bed sits empty at Windsor Regional Hospital’s Ouellette Campus in a stock image in 2019. The hospital’s CEO says he supports Ontario’s plans to move hospital patients awaiting a long-term care home into a home that isn’t necessarily of their choosing. (CBC Windsor ) Following more details […]

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Ford government will charge $400 a day for long-term-care patients who won’t leave hospital

(September 14, 2022) By: Rob Ferguson, Toronto Star Young or old, staying in hospital if you’re cleared for discharge to available care elsewhere could cost you $400 a day as the Ontario government tries to free up beds for the expected fall and winter surge of COVID-19 and flu. And seniors can be moved to […]

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More Private Players in Health Care? | The Agenda

(September 14, 2022) By: The Agenda with Steve Paikin Analysis Would more private health care help alleviate the problems within Ontario’s health-care system and give Ontarians more, and faster options? Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra joins a panel to highlight the issues with private health care. Link to TV panel

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FACT CHECKER & RELEASE: Furious at the “grotesque” ageism and violation of human rights, advocates respond to Ford government’s planned regulations to push elderly patients out of hospital

(September 15, 2022) Toronto – The Ford government has released its regulations under the euphemistically titled More Beds, Better Care Act (formerly Bill 7) today. The regulations are the details under the legislation to provide new powers to push elderly patients and people with chronic care needs out of hospitals, overriding their right to consent. […]

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Privatization scheme has few winners

(September 12, 2022) By: Paul Kahnert, Rabble Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones addressing the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) on August 17, 2022. Credit: CPAC Ford is following the usual Tory script to privatize healthcare in Ontario. First, as John Snobelen of the Harris government said, “you have to create a crisis.” The COVID […]

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Don’t be scared into supporting privatized health care

(September 12, 2022) By: Gordon Guyatt in the Toronto Star That one should never let a good crisis go to waste has become a political cliché. Canadian, and particularly Ontario health care, is facing a crisis resulting from three main factors. First is the pent-up demand for health care resources and innovations. This follows from […]

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Un Ontarien coincé en C.-B. par manque de lits dans un hôpital près de chez lui

(September 11, 2022) By: Radio-Canada Brian Wootton pensait être en bonne santé lorsque lui et sa femme ont commencé un voyage de trois semaines sur la côte ouest au mois de juin. Mais au bout de quelques jours, Brian tombe malade et est admis à l’hôpital Royal Jubilee de Victoria, en Colombie-Britannique. Le diagnostic tombe […]

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With no bed in his local hospital, Ontario cancer patient is stuck in B.C.

(September 11, 2022) By: Mike Crawley, CBC Brian Wootton is in hospital in Victoria, B.C., waiting for his local hospital in Owen Sound, Ont. to find a bed so he can be transferred. Officials with the Grey Bruce Health System say the Owen Sound facility has been over capacity for weeks. (Laurie Wootton) An Ontario […]

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Flawed Bill 7 is not the right answer

(September 10, 2022) By: Spectator Editorial, Hamilton Spectator Leaders at Hamilton and Burlington health-care systems are making a difficult choice in an effort to strike a near impossible balance. As reported by Spectator health journalist Joanna Frketich, decision-makers at Hamilton Health Sciences, St. Joseph’s Health Care and Burlington’s Joseph Brant Hospital are not yet using […]

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Hamilton hospitals avoiding using controversial long-term care bill to free up beds

(September 9, 2022) By: Joanna Frketich, Hamilton Spectator Area hospitals have held off using new powers provided by Ontario’s Conservative government to help move seniors into long-term care without their consent despite being under what one CEO describes as “immense pressure.” Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), St. Joseph’s Healthcare and Burlington’s Joseph Brant Hospital haven’t yet […]

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MPP Gélinas appeals to Human Rights Commissioner as Bill 7 passes vote : My Espanola Now

(September 6, 2022) By: Rosalind Russell, MyEspanolaNow Moving vulnerable seniors into a long-term care facility, not of their choice does not sit well with Nickel Belt MPP, France Gelinas, so she has sent a letter to the Human Rights Commission. She says that Bill 7, which could force the elderly now receiving alternative accommodations in […]

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LETTER: Ontario’s Bill 7 ‘smacks of ageism’

(September 6, 2022) By: Marie DellaVedova in the Sault Star Facing a long-foreseen crisis in Ontario’s hospital care, the Ford government has recently announced a plan which it says will free up much-needed beds in hospitals across the province. Bill 7, the ‘More Beds, Better Care Act,’ will allow the forcing of elderly patients into […]

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MPP Gélinas appeals to Human Rights Commissioner as Bill 7 passes vote : My Espanola Now

(September 6, 2022) By: Rosalind Russell, MyEspanolaNow Moving vulnerable seniors into a long-term care facility, not of their choice does not sit well with Nickel Belt MPP, France Gelinas, so she has sent a letter to the Human Rights Commission. She says that Bill 7, which could force the elderly now receiving alternative accommodations in […]

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LETTER: Ontario’s Bill 7 ‘smacks of ageism’

(September 6, 2022) By: Marie DellaVedova in the Sault Star Facing a long-foreseen crisis in Ontario’s hospital care, the Ford government has recently announced a plan which it says will free up much-needed beds in hospitals across the province. Bill 7, the ‘More Beds, Better Care Act,’ will allow the forcing of elderly patients into long term care […]

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France Gélinas appeals to Human Rights for judgment on Bill 7

(September 3, 2022) By: Sudbury.com Nickel Belt MPP and official opposition health care critic France Gélinas believes the rights of some hospital patients are being ignored by government legislation Ontario’s official opposition health critic France Gélinas is stepping up the fight against Ontario’s Bill 7; the More Beds, Better Care Act that was passed by the governing […]

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Health Advocates Claim Bill 7 Discriminates against Seniors

(September 2, 2022) By: Randy Thoms, CKDR The passing of Bill 7 has prompted renewed calls for the Ontario Human Rights Commission to investigate the level of care provided to seniors. The controversial piece of legislation gives power to hospitals to move patients who no longer need acute care to a long-term home without consent, […]

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Health Advocates Claim Bill 7 Discriminates against Seniors

(September 2, 2022) By: Randy Thoms, CKDR The passing of Bill 7 has prompted renewed calls for the Ontario Human Rights Commission to investigate the level of care provided to seniors. The controversial piece of legislation gives power to hospitals to move patients who no longer need acute care to a long-term home without consent, […]

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‘I feel like I am non-existent:’ Ottawa woman is pressured to take a LTC room she didn’t want under threat of Bill 7

(September 1, 2022) By: Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen An Ottawa woman and her family say she was coerced to accept a room in a long-term care home she doesn’t want to live in under the threat that she could be charged up to $1,800 a day for refusing to move once the province’s Bill 7 […]

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‘I feel like I am non-existent:’ Ottawa woman is pressured to take a LTC room she didn’t want under threat of Bill 7

(September 1, 2022) By: Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen   An Ottawa woman and her family say she was coerced to accept a room in a long-term care home she doesn’t want to live in under the threat that she could be charged up to $1,800 a day for refusing to move once the province’s Bill […]

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Hospital unions blast Bill 7

(August 31, 2022) By: Greg Estabrooks, Northern News This Week Ontario’s Council of Hospital Unions and other union representatives are demanding a Human Rights Commission inquiry of the Ford government’s plan to relocate some hospitalized seniors. This comes as the Ontario government has passed Bill 7, which would transfer senior hospital patients to long-term care homes not […]

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Aînés : l’Ontario adopte le controversé projet de loi 7

(August 31, 2022) By: Radio Canada Le gouvernement de Doug Ford a adopté mercredi son projet de loi sur les soins de longue durée, malgré les récriminations des partis d’opposition et de groupes de défense des aînés. En vertu de la nouvelle législation, des patients âgés jugés aptes à quitter l’hôpital peuvent être transférés temporairement, […]

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Ontario government passes controversial long-term care bill without public input

(August 31, 2022) By: CBC News Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government used its majority Wednesday to pass Bill 7, controversial legislation that could force hospital patients awaiting long-term care to nursing homes not of their choosing on a temporary basis. The government has faced criticism over the vague wording of the legislation, and that it opted not to […]

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Seniors waiting in hospital beds for nursing home spots target of new law

(August 31, 2022) By: Antonella Artuso, Toronto Sun   The Doug Ford government passed legislation Wednesday that will bring more pressure on seniors to vacate acute care beds if hospitals decide their needs can be better met in a nursing home. Under Bill 7, if a doctor determines a patient doesn’t require the “intensity of […]

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Ontario passes bill that would transfer hospital patients to alternative long-term care homes

(August 31, 2022) By: Liam Casey, The Canadian Press Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government passed legislation Wednesday that would force hospital patients awaiting long-term care into nursing homes not of their choosing on a temporary basis, but many details of the new law remain unknown. Patients who refuse to move to long-term care are expected to […]

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‘This government is morally abhorrent to us’: Local reaction to accelerated LTC legislation

(August 30, 2022) Jenn Basa, CTV News Analysis On Monday, the Progressive Conservative government passed a motion to advance Bill 7 without public hearings. The proposed bill ‘More Beds, Better Care Act’ would allow hospital patients awaiting long-term care to be transferred to a home without their consent. The Ford government has said that the legislation will […]

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Opinion | Doug Ford’s familiar refrain on private health care

(August 30, 2022) By: Paul Kahnert in the Hamilton Spectator Doug Ford is following the usual Tory script to privatize health care in Ontario. First, as John Snobelen of the Harris government said, “you have to create a crisis.” The COVID crisis is tailor made. Taking advantage of or creating a crisis is only the […]

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Ontario Health Coalition concerned with shift to private clinics

(August 30, 2022) By: Darren Taylor, SooToday The Ontario Health Coalition is expressing its concerns over the provincial government’s plans for Ontario’s health care system. Announced August 18 by Health Minister Sylvia Jones, the plan includes a move to increase publicly covered surgeries at private clinics to make up for backlogs in surgeries. The OHC […]

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‘These are vulnerable people’ – Seniors shafted in bid to transfer patients to nursing homes sans consent: Sault public health advocate

(August 30, 2022) By: Jeffery Ougler, Sault Star Skipping public hearings for legislation that would allow hospital patients awaiting Ontario long-term care to be transferred to a nursing home without their consent is “unprecedented” and targets society’s most “vulnerable,” contends a Sault Ste. Marie public health advocate. The province’s stand that the legislation will free […]

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LETTER & RELEASE: “Rife with discrimination against the elderly,” Bill 7 prompts advocates to escalate call for Human Rights Commission investigation into systemic ageism in Ontario health policy

(August 31, 2022) Toronto, ON – At a press conference held today, the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE), and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced they are escalating their call for the Ontario Human Rights Commission to launch a formal inquiry into systemic discrimination in the provision […]

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Ford government passes motion to skip public hearings on long-term care legislation

(August 29, 2022) By: The Canadian Press Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government passed a motion Monday to skip public hearings for legislation that would allow hospital patients awaiting long-term care to be transferred to a home without their consent. Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra has said the legislation will free up badly needed acute care beds in […]

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Health care privatization isn’t new, needs to stop, say experts

(August 26, 2022) By: Taylor Pace, Guelph Today After the provincial government hinted at increased health care privatization, Ontario residents and health care workers have been anxiously waiting to see what happens next. In Guelph, privatization has slowly been filtering in since the early ’90s, according to former chair of the Guelph Wellington chapter of […]

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Hotel turned hospital expanded as pressure mounts at Hamilton Health Sciences

(August 26, 2022) By: Joanna Frketich, Hamilton Spectator Hamilton’s largest hospital network is opening up 30 more beds at a downtown Satellite Health Facility to cope with increasing pressure on the health-care system. Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) consistently has more than 200 patients ready to be discharged from hospital but are waiting for services in […]

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Bill 7: Ontario plans to bypass public hearings to pass controversial LTC bill

(August 25, 2022) By: Alex Last, CHCH There is mounting pressure from the opposition tonight as the Ford government plans to bypass public hearings in order to quickly pass controversial long-term care legislation. Bill 7 would allow hospital patients to be moved to a temporary long-term care home without their consent and if they refuse, […]

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Long-term care consent bill making way through Queen’s Park despite opposition from health care advocates

(August 25, 2022) By: Durham Radio News The provincial government is reportedly looking to skip a public-hearing stage as they push through legislation affecting hospital patients waiting for long-term care. Bill 7 would allow health care planners to decide how eligible a hospital patient is for long-term care, and then authorize them for admission into […]

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Ontario’s health care plan gets mixed reviews

(August 23, 2022) By: Pam Wright, The Chatham Voice The chair of the Chatham-Kent Health Coalition says Ontario’s new five-point health-care plan doesn’t bode well for marginalized citizens. According to Shirley Roebuck, the government “didn’t listen to stakeholders” when it devised its plan to curtail wait times by freeing up beds in hospitals and long-term […]

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FACT CHECKER & RELEASE: Ford Government’s Claims Re. Forcing Elderly Patients into Long-Term Care in Contravention of their Right to Consent

(August 25, 2022) Toronto – Here are the facts about the Ford government’s new legislation, Bill 7 – More Beds, Better Care Act, 2022, which was introduced in the Legislature last week and is currently under debate. The government has made an array of claims, some of which have been printed in major media stories, […]

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Sending seniors to LTC bed not of their choosing ‘very serious’

(August 22, 2022) By: Bay Today Imagine your loved one being placed where physical distance is a barrier to maintaining the relationship with your loved one.  Local Labour Council President Henri Giroux has slammed a provincial government proposal to free up hospital beds by sending seniors to long term homes not of their choosing as “shameful.” […]

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LETTER: Ford has no mandate to privatize health-care

(August 22, 2022) By: Shirley Roebuck in Chatham This Week Last week, the Minister of Health and the Minister of LTC announced new legislation, entitled “More Beds, Better Care”. It will be put to a vote, probably in the second week of September. All of the regulations have not been made public yet, but basically […]

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LETTER: Privatization will not fix health care

(August 22, 2022) By: Shirley Roebuck in the Sarnia Observer Before Doug Ford and the Conservatives were re-elected to a majority government, an all-candidates meeting was held in Sarnia. Incumbent Bob Bailey was asked multiple questions about health care in Ontario. He stated: “I want to put to rest this notion by – well, I […]

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Concern rises about health-care privatization following provincial announcement

(August 22, 2022) By: Brigid Goulem, Kingston Whig Standard Health care advocates across Ontario are concerned following the announcement that the Ontario government will be relying on private surgical clinics to attempt to alleviate the surgical backlog across the province. In a media release issued on Thursday afternoon, Ontario minister of health Sylvia Jones announced […]

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Transfert de patients vers des foyers de soins : atteinte au droit au consentement?

(August 19, 2022) By: Grégory Wilson, Radio Canada La Coalition ontarienne de la santé ainsi que des militants pour les droits des aînés se disent préoccupés et alarmés par le projet de loi du gouvernement Ford qui permettra de transférer des patients dans un foyer temporaire en attendant un lit dans le foyer de leur […]

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Advocates, critics warn Ontario’s planned changes to long-term care are a violation of patient rights

(August 19, 2022) By: Vanessa Balintec, CBC News A group of senior care advocates and critics is warning planned changes to the long-term care sector are a fundamental violation of patient rights. On Thursday, Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra introduced new legislation that, if passed, would allow hospitals to transfer patients awaiting a bed in their preferred LTC […]

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‘Morally repugnant’: Ontario plan to move seniors from hospital to long-term care criticized

(August 19, 2022) By: CTV News The Ontario government’s plan to move some seniors from hospital to long-term care beds outside of their community is being heavily criticized by the Ontario Health Coalition. Link to video coverage

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OHC Expresses Concern About Privatized Healthcare

(August 19, 2022) By: 98.9 myFM News  The Ontario Healthcare Coalition says they’re on full alert regarding the possibility of the government further privatizing healthcare in the province. OHC executive director Natalie Mehra said the throne speech and health minister Sylvia Jones comments were signs that the not-for-profit healthcare system is at risk. The OHC […]

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Ontario’s new health-care plan falls short, says NDP health critic

(August 19, 2022) By: Jonathan Migneault, CBC News The Ontario government’s new five-point plan to ease health-care pressures doesn’t do enough to address severe staffing shortages, says NDP health critic France Gélinas. On Thursday Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced a new health-care plan meant to reduce pressure on hospitals and attract more health professionals […]

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Elderly soon to be forced out of hospital and into long-term care beds, coalition says

(August 19, 2022) By: Dave Battagello, Windsor Star Health care changes announced this week by the provincial government may spell trouble for seniors as it includes plans to force some out of hospital beds and into long-term care homes not of their choice — possibly a great distance away from their home community, said the Ontario […]

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Dr. Zoutman takes issue with healthcare privatization efforts by the Ford government.

(August 18, 2022) By: NEWSTALK1010 Dr. Dick Zoutman, former chief of staff of the Scarborough Health Network, current Board member of Ontario Health Coalition and a professor at Queen’s and University of Toronto, explains to Moore In The Morning why he takes issue with healthcare privatization efforts by the Ford government. Link to radio interview

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The 519 Podcast presents Crisis in the ER? Examining Ontario healthcare

(August 18, 2022) By: Craig Needles, 519 Podcast This summer, we’ve begun to see some startling news come out of our local healthcare systems. ER closures in Clinton and St. Marys, major staffing shortages that are impacting the care we receive, under funding in our hospitals, and burnout from the front line workers we rely […]

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Ontarians waiting in hospital for prefered long-term care home may be placed in any LTC home temporarily

(August 18, 2022) By: Alex Last, CHCH The province unveiled its plan to stabilize the system and keep hospitals open. Part of the plan calls for patients in hospital who are waiting for a bed in long-term care (LTC), to be placed in any LTC facility with a room, while they wait for a spot […]

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‘It is an asinine idea’: Fears of privatization of health care rise in Ontario

(August 18, 2022) By: Elisabetta Bianchini, Yahoo News As part of the Ontario’s “Plan to Stay Open: Health System Stability and Recovery,” the provincial government will increase investment in surgeries in paediatric hospitals, and private clinics covered by Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). This comes after the provincial government faced criticism and fears, after suggesting […]

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‘It’s corrosive. They’re price gouging:’ Agency staffing is costing hospitals, LTC homes, critics say

(August 18, 2022) By: Joanne Laucius, Ottawa Citizen Ontario hospitals and LTC homes are filling in workforce gaps with nurses and other workers hired from agencies at a cost of more than two times the hourly rate that staff earn. The issue was bubbling beneath the surface, particularly in the Toronto area and northern Ontario, […]

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RELEASE: Doug Ford’s new legislation being pushed through the Legislature gives new powers to force the elderly & persons with disabilities into substandard long-term care homes: “morally repugnant”

(August 19, 2022) Advocates and experts spoke with one voice today decrying the new law that the Ford government introduced yesterday and intends to pass within just two weeks. The new law, disingenuously titled “More Beds, Better Care Act” gives new powers to force the elderly and persons with disabilities who are waiting in hospitals […]

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FACT CHECKER & RELEASE: Health Coalition response to Ford government’s plans to move seniors out of hospitals & privatize hospital diagnostics and surgeries to for-profit clinics and hospitals

(August 18, 2022) The Ford government released what it called a five-point health care plan this morning in a press conference. In summary: On COVID-19 there was nothing new. On the unprecedented staffing crisis in Ontario’s hospitals, long-term care and home care, there was another in a long string of reannouncements of plans to bring […]

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Ontario Health Coalition speaks out following more talks of healthcare privatization

(August 17, 2022) By: 94.1 myFM News With the provincial government keeping the door open to further privatizing healthcare, the Ontario Health Coalition is speaking up. The group which represents 750,000 citizens and over 500 organizations says their mission statement is to improve the public healthcare system. Executive director Natalie Mehra said they were taken […]

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OHC: “Everything is on the table” to defend public health care

(August 16, 2022) By: 99.1 News Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra speaking during a Zoom news conference, August 16, 2022.  Health care advocates in Ontario are more concerned than ever about potential privatization of public services. Over the last few weeks, both Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones have come under […]

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Pénurie de personnel infirmier : le recours au privé fait exploser les coûts

(August 16, 2022) By: Radio Canada Le recours au personnel infirmier d’agences privées pour pallier la pénurie de personnel qui sévit dans les hôpitaux de la province fait exploser les dépenses. Pour le réseau hospitalier University Health Network (UHN), basé à Toronto, les dépenses d’embauche d’infirmières venant du privé sont passées d’environ 775 000 $ en 2021 à […]

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Ontario Health wants public-private integration as hospitals struggle with staffing

(August 16, 2022) By: Colin D’Mello, Global News The head of Ontario’s health-care bureaucracy wants more integration between the public and private sectors to prevent hospitals from being “cannibalized” as the Ford government considers introducing more privately delivered care to reduce pressure on the public system. In a sit-down interview with Global News, the CEO […]

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Privatization concerns growing larger

(August 16, 2022) By: Maureen Revait, Windsor News Today The Ontario Health Coalition is becoming increasingly worried about the Ford government’s plan to privatize health care in the province. After the health minister and Premier Doug Ford made comments about ‘exploring all options’ to fix the health care crisis the coalition is once again raising […]

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Ontario health advocate sees ‘fight of our lives’ against private health care

(August 16, 2022) By: CBC News Ontario needs to improve the health care system it has and not engage in ‘bold new experiments with for-profit privatization,’ says Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra. Link to video interview

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Health coalition vows to fight any privatization efforts by Ford government

(August 16, 2022) By: CBC News A coalition of health experts is vowing Tuesday to defend Ontario’s public health care system from further privatization, days after the provincial government confirmed “all options are on the table” to address an ongoing health-care staff shortage. The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), which represents more than 500 organizations, says it’s consulting with […]

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EVENT: 2022 Health Action Assembly & Annual Conference

(September 28, 2022) Ontario Health Coalition Health Action Assembly & Annual Conference In person: Central YMCA, 20 Grosvenor Street, Toronto, or by Zoom for those who want to participate virtually (from home by computer) Saturday October 1st & Sunday October 2nd 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.        9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Featuring Key […]

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Liberal MP tables bill that would criminalize long-term care neglect but concerns linger

(July 16, 2022) By: Marie-Danielle Smith, The Canadian Press Cathy Legere saw firsthand the conditions that elder residents of long-term care were enduring, and the intense pressure that personal care staff were under, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The retired infection control nurse volunteered her services at the Orchard Villa home where […]

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Frey veut criminaliser les établissements de soins à longue durée négligents

(July 16, 2022) By: Marie-Danielle Smith, La Presse Canadienne OTTAWA — Deux ans après que la première vague de COVID-19 eut démontré une certaine incurie dans le système de santé de longue durée au pays, le gouvernement fédéral n’a toujours pas bougé, malgré ses promesses exprimées dans le discours du Trône, en 2020. «Le gouvernement […]

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Frey veut criminaliser les établissements de soins à longue durée négligents

(July 16, 2022) By: Marie-Danielle Smith, La Presse Canadienne OTTAWA — Deux ans après que la première vague de COVID-19 eut démontré une certaine incurie dans le système de santé de longue durée au pays, le gouvernement fédéral n’a toujours pas bougé, malgré ses promesses exprimées dans le discours du Trône, en 2020. «Le gouvernement […]

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Liberal MP tables bill that would criminalize long-term care neglect but concerns linger

(July 16, 2022) By: Marie-Danielle Smith, The Canadian Press Cathy Legere saw firsthand the conditions that elder residents of long-term care were enduring, and the intense pressure that personal care staff were under, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The retired infection control nurse volunteered her services at the Orchard Villa home where […]

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The Shadow Side of the Rise of Big Hospital Foundation Gifts: Donation Disparities, Roller Coaster Giving and Donor Influence

(July 13, 2022) By: Gabe Oatley, Future of Good The discrepancy in donations could have consequences. If a community can’t come up with the money for its local share, the project will stall, preventing a community from securing much-need equipment for renovations, says Monika Turner, Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) policy director. She stresses […]

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