TORONTO, March 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ontario Health Coalition expressed outrage at the process by which the Ford government is rushing their new sweeping health care restructuring legislation through and is demanding public hearings across Ontario.
In the new law, the Ford government has given itself new powers to order the privatization of health care services, along with mega-mergers, transfers, and closures of local health care services including hospitals, long-term care, home care, community care, mental health and addictions services, community health centres and non-profit family health teams and others, says the OHC. In context, the planned restructuring covers 1,800 health care service providers and health care services for approximately 15 million Ontarians, according to the Health Minister’s own comments.
“The legislation has been steamrolled through in a process that is outrageously undemocratic,” said Natalie Mehra, executive director. "The legislation is being implemented before parliamentary debate has even concluded and prior to any public hearings. The government created the Super Agency. It held its first secret meeting. The government dissolved the Boards of 20 existing agencies. Yet the legislation has not even passed. Not only this but all public input and procedural protections that existed in previous legislation have been removed from this legislation which has been subject to no public consultation process prior to drafting.”
The new law was introduced for first reading in the legislature on February 26. A week later it was moved through second reading. It is expected that the Ford government will use its majority to pass a time allocation motion today ending second reading debate. So far the government has not committed to any public hearings. The Ontario Health Coalition is calling for public hearings in every geographic region of Ontario to give the public a say about this sweeping legislation that will impact their health care services. The government could hold as little as a part-day of hearings in Toronto only and try to push through the legislation within a few days thereafter.
“These are the questions that the government has not yet answered about this new law it is pushing through so quickly:
These are our health care services. The public has a right to know and this legislation should not be rushed through before people really get a chance to wrap their minds around what the Ford government is planning,” said Ms. Mehra. “We are extremely worried that this legislation puts local health services at unprecedented risk.”
For more information: Devorah Goldberg, Campaigns and Research Director (416) 441-2502 (office); Natalie Mehra, Executive Director (416) 230-6402 (cell).