EVENT: May 30 Giant Protest & March: The fightback is on to save public health care

Posted: March 18, 2024

(March 18, 2024)

More information can be found at StopForProfitHealthcare.ca. Updated information on the campaign can be found here.

Thursday May 30
12 pm noon

The Fightback is On
Either we save our public medicare now, or we are going to lose it

Giant march & protest. Send a message to the Ford government & Ontario’s Legislature that cannot be ignored.

In Toronto: Gather at 12 p.m. noon at the south side of Nathan Phillips Square across from the Sheraton, 123 Queen St. W. We will march to the Ontario Legislature at Queen’s Park which is in session — local Members of Provincial Parliament from across Ontario will be there.

There is a designated space at Queen’s Park for people with mobility issues who cannot join the march. Meet us at Queen’s Park in front of the Ontario Legislature. The march will arrive at Queen’s Park at 1 p.m.

Across Mid- & Southern Ontario: There will be buses/transportation to the Toronto protest. We will post details on our website about buses and how to reserve a space as soon as we get them. For now, please contact your local health coalition here to let them know you want a seat. If you don’t have a local coalition please email us at info@ontariohc.ca.

In Northern Ontario (N. Ontario locations where it is too far to travel in to the Ontario Legislature):

North Bay: Gather at noon at MPP Vic Fedeli’s office, 219 Main St E. Contact Henri Giroux at the North Bay and District Health Coalition hgiroux1@hotmail.com.

Sault Ste. Marie: Gather at 12 p.m. noon at Roberta Bondar Pavilion for protest and march. . Contact Al Dupuis at the Algoma Health Coalition algomahc@gmail.com.

Thunder Bay: Gather at 12 p.m. noon at mini Queen’s Park. Contact Jules Tupker jtupker@tbaytel.net.

Dryden: Rally outside of MPP Greg Rickford’s office (429 Government Road) at 11:30 a.m. CDST

If your organization can book buses and bring people to the protest, please do. At this point, every single person is needed.

In Eastern Ontario

Ottawa: Gather at 12 p.m. noon at Faircrest Heights Park, 550 Smyth Road. Contact the Ottawa Health Coalition at ottawahealthco@gmail.com

Cornwall: Gather at 4 p.m. (note the time is different than elsewhere) outside MPP Nolan Quinn’s office, 120 Second St. W. Contact Louise Lanctot at louiselanctot18@gmail.com or Elaine MacDonald at elainemacdonald11@gmail.com.

Bus Registrations

For organizations/people who are booking and filling buses to come to the protest, please fill in the bus registration form found here: https://www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca/wp-content/uploads/Bus-Registration-Form.pdf

If you are organizing a bus from your community, please register the bus with us so we can send you a bus captain’s package. Please submit it to the Ontario Health Coalition by email at info@ontariohc.ca. When you send in your registration, the Ontario Health Coalition will send you a bus kit by email to the contact information you have provided in the form. Your bus kit will contain a bus number, a sign-in sheet (so you can make sure everyone makes it back on the bus for the return trip), general bus instructions, parking information and driving directions. We will send out the bus kits in early May.

If you just want to get on a bus, please sign up at https://forms.gle/nAjs3Azf3wrQ6UrC9

The situation has never been more urgent 

The Ford government is dismantling public non-profit health care, closing local public hospitals’ emergency departments and other vital services. They are privatizing hospital care, long-term care, primary care and other services to for-profit corporations.

They are allowing for-profit clinics to charge patients hundreds — or even thousands — of dollars for needed medical care, in violation of our Public Medicare laws. Thousands of Ontarians are now being forced to pay out-of-pocket for access to health care.

Don’t let the Ford government destroy public health care.

Save our public health care & restore it so we can be proud of it again.