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Ontario Health Coalition’s trojan horse stops at Cornwall Community Hospital
Posted: November 5, 2024
(November 4, 2024) By: Shawna O’Neill, Cornwall Standard-Freeholder
It isn’t the first time the Ontario Health Coalition’s 4.5 metre (15-foot) wooden trojan horse has come to the region, according to co-chair of the Cornwall/SDG chapter of the Ontario Health Coalition, Elaine MacDonald.
“At that time, we were alarmed because of what the Liberals had been doing to health care. They had been hiving off minor sections around the outside,” said MacDonald, recalling cuts being made to public physiotherapy services, which was prior to the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario government coming into power in 2018.
The trojan horse reappeared on Monday, this time outside of the Cornwall Community Hospital, as the coalition is touring the province and speaking out against the privatization of hospital surgeries and diagnostic tests. The coalition is demanding the Doug Ford government invest further in its public hospital staffing and capacity needs.
“Privatization of health care is being presented to the people of Ontario as a gift; relief from the long drought of inadequate health care and long wait times… but it is no gift, because it’s going to further hollow out the public system,” said MacDonald.
The trojan horse is being used by the coalition as a large and imposing symbol, comparing it to the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario’s health-care plan. It references Greek mythology when a giant wooden horse was presented to the city of Troy as a fake gesture of peace during a lengthy war. In the night, the Greek soldiers who were hidden inside the horse crept in and destroyed the city, ultimately winning the war.
MacDonald cited an article published by Global News last month, which highlighted how the CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association said early forecasts indicate many hospitals will likely be projecting deficits for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
“The real big problem at the moment is the rolling out of Bill 124 — it got repealed, of course. But sadly, the government has not funded the hospitals the money it would take to be able to do the catch up to pay the retroactive salaries it owes to people,” said MacDonald.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some health-care announcement coming… but believe me, it’s going to be a double-edged sword; (the announcements) always are with this government.”
First vice-president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) Kevin Cook said Ontarians who are desperate for care are being price-gouged by private for-profit clinics.
“In August, there was a new study on private clinics published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal. It found that rates of surgeries went up by 24 per cent for the wealthiest people in Ontario, and they declined by nine per cent for the people with the lowest income. In other words, if you’re wealthy, you jump the queue and get treated, but if you’re middle class, you wait,” said Cook.
“We care about the principle that care should be provided based on your needs, not on your ability to pay.”
There hasn’t, to-date, been any expansion of the surgeries now permitted in privately run clinics within Cornwall/SDG— however the region is seeing the permitted expansion of certain diagnostic and care services provided virtually or by existing private providers.
OCHU alternate area 5 vice-president Sarah Anderson spoke about how private clinics and agency services are poaching staff members from the public sector.
“Workers simply don’t want to stay in a system that is so under-resourced and poorly staffed. They’re fed up, exhausted, feeling defeated, and they’re leaving. These staffing shortages are worsening the crisis… and it’s the main reason for the longer wait times,” said Anderson.
CCH declined to comment on the coalition’s demonstration on Monday.
To learn more about the Ontario Health Coalition, visit www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca.
