A referendum on for-profit hospitals and clinics will be held across Ontario next month.
The Ontario Health Coalition and about 30 local union supporters demonstrated in front of the local MPP's office Tuesday to let Saulites know their opinions on the matter will be heard.
The question “do you want our public hospital services to be privatized to for-profit hospitals and clinics?” will be put to Ontarians by way of about 1,000 ballot boxes across the province.
Locally, ballot boxes will be placed in a number of locations in the Sault, Blind River, Elliot Lake, Bruce Mines, Iron Bridge and other locations for the May 26 and 27 referendum, says local Ontario Health Coalition representative Al Dupuis.
“We are being faced with this plan to privatize surgical procedures into private clinics and private hospitals. We want to give people a chance to have a say about it," said Dupuis.
The yes or no question is part of a community referendum and is not currently tied to any legislation, but Dupuis said it will gauge the public's support for or against privatization of healthcare services in Ontario.
The vote will be open to any Ontario resident 16 years of age or older. Voters must provide their address and make a pledge to only vote once in the referendum.
About 30 supporters and representatives from a number of unions were on hand Tuesday afternoon at a demonstration in front of Sault MPP Ross Romano's office.
Dupuis said the Ontario Health Coalition challenged premier Doug Ford prior to the last election on his party's plans to offer an expansion of private operations to address the backlog of procedures needed in the province.
“They sent out spokespeople to deny that was their intention, and they did that right up until the election," said Dupuis.
Now with another majority government with a four-year mandate, Ford has said his government will help clear backlogs on OHIP-funded procedures like knee replacements, hip replacements and cataract procedures by allowing for-profit clinics to offer them.
That backlog is partly due to the pandemic, said Dupuis, but also to a lack of healthcare funding by Ford and his government.
"And he doesn’t need to do it," said Dupuis of Ford's plan.
The problem isn't infrastructure, said Dupuis, it's a lack of staffing and funding for the current public healthcare system.
"We have many hospitals that have operating rooms that are idle after 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon or are closed permanently because they aren’t being funded, or they are idle on weekends," said Dupuis.
He suggests hiring additional public employees to staff those clinics and hospitals in the off hours could help address those backlogs in a matter of months.