Protest as MPPs come to Stratford on pre-budget tour: Local citizens angry at Ford government for underfunding, privatizing & destroying our public health care plan to make their voices heard

Attn: Assignment Editor

STRATFORD, Ontario, Dec. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the government travels to Stratford to hold Pre-Budget Hearings, concerned citizens from Stratford and area will gather to send a message to the Ford government regarding their underfunding and privatization of our public health care services.

Health care in Ontario is in the worst crisis we have ever seen with services from primary care to home care in total disarray. Millions have lost their family doctors. Hospitals are in deficit and, now even in the worst staffing crisis in our history, are actually cutting positions. Regionally, hospital staff were protesting cuts in Guelph just last week. Local emergency departments had a record number of closures last year, worse even than 2023 and 2022 when the unprecedented closures started. These closures have had a significant negative impact in the region around Stratford, and to the west and north of the town.

Speakers will describe the unprecedented damage and disarray in our health care, and how the Ford government has chosen to redirect more than a billion dollars per year in public money to contracts with for-profit corporations to privatize our care and services while leaving our local hospitals with too few staff, beds and inadequate funding. It is the old adage: create a crisis and privatize, warn the Health Coalitions. It is causing unprecedented devastation to our public health care and it must be stopped.

The pre-budget hearings have been called with little notice and publicity. Concerned local residents only found out about them this week. Left with almost no time to organize people to attend and give input in the hearings, they are organizing this event to ensure that the public anger about what Ford is doing to our health care is heard. In any case, in recent years, input from public interest groups and concerned citizens has been ignored as the Ford government has met with for-profit lobbyists, including those with strong links to the Conservative Party, and has given unprecedented private contracts to for-profit companies that are lobbying them to make profits from privatizing our public health care. This has been happening while our local public and non-profit health care services have been damaged, dismantled and under-resourced.

For more information: Peter Bergmanis, co-chair London Health Coalition (519) 860-4403; Bryan Smith, chair, Oxford Coalition for Social Justice (226) 228-8309; Jim Stewart, chair, Waterloo Health Coalition (519) 588-5841.