OTTAWA, Dec. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Calling on the Doug Ford government to stop the cuts to and elimination of local health care services, more than a thousand local Ottawa area residents will be joined by people from across Eastern Ontario at TD Place Arena on Saturday, December 7 at 11 a.m. In advance of the rally, the Ontario and Ottawa Health Coalitions released a new briefing note about the potential impact of the cuts and restructuring on local access to care and services. The briefing note is available here: https://www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca/index.php/update-briefing-note-on-health-cuts-restructuring-in-ottawa-and-surrounding-areas/
When: Rally will be held Saturday, December 7 at 11 a.m. – approx. 12:30 p.m.
Where: TD Place Arena, Lansdowne Park, 1015 Bank St, Ottawa
What: An indoor “rally” style event with noisemakers, speeches, visual presentations, music, hotdogs, snacks, and coffee. Family friendly. The Coalition is hoping to build enough political pressure on the Doug Ford government to stop plans to eliminate up to 25 of 35 local Public Health Units, eliminate up to 49 of 59 local ambulance/paramedic services and 12 of 22 local dispatch units and merge them down to 10; to stop plans to cut Public Health and long-term care funding and the offloading of costs to municipalities, and; to stop real-dollar cuts to hospitals and long-term care homes. The Coalition is also working to protect home care and health care services from privatization.
Who: The event is organized by the Ottawa Health Coalition and the Ontario Health Coalition with a local organizing committee including dozens of local organizations and community groups.
For more information: Al Dupuis, Co-chair Ottawa Health Coalition, 613-808-7710 or Natalie Mehra, Executive Director Ontario Health Coalition 416-230-6402 (c).