Media Advisory: Hundreds of Health Care Advocates to Gather at Queen's Park for Day of Action to Stop Cuts to Local Community Hospitals and Contracting Out of Services to Private Clinics

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - July 8, 2014) -

Where: In front of main doors (South doors) of Main Legislative Building, Queen's Park

When: Tuesday, July 8 at 11 a.m.

What: The OHC is holding a Day of Action on one of the first key controversial issues that Ontario's new Health Minister will face. The Day of Action is the culmination of months of effort by health care advocates to protect local public hospital services from cuts and contracting out to private clinics. After the provincial government passed regulations in January empowering the LHINs and Cancer Care Ontario to cut services from local public hospitals and contract them out to regional private clinics, the Ontario Health Coalition held a volunteer-led referendum in which we asked people to vote whether they want to see local hospital services cut and contracted out to private clinics. Private clinics have been a touchstone issue for public health care advocates across Canada. The clinics have been openly flaunting the Canada Health Act, extra-billing patients and trying to dismantle single-tier medicare. Voting stations have been set up across Ontario for the last 2 1/2 months in farmers markets; on street corners; in stores and malls; in workplaces; in churches and other institutions of faith; on university campuses and many other locations. The level of public opposition to the private clinics plan is extremely high.

At the 11 a.m. media event, we will be announcing the huge final tally of votes and will be piling up the tens of thousands of ballots in front of the Ontario Legislature, after which they will be delivered to the Premier. After the media event, approx. 100 coalition volunteers from across Ontario will spend the afternoon meeting with MPPs to raise this issue.

Photo Op: The coalition will be delivering tens of thousands of ballots in a visual media event at 11 a.m. outside the Main Legislative Building in front of the south doors.

Who: The Ontario Health Coalition is the largest and broadest public interest group on health care in Ontario. The coalition has more than 400 member organizations including: faith groups; student chapters; social justice organizations; non-profit community groups; health care unions; private sector unions; nurses' associations; doctors' organizations; women's groups; seniors' organizations and many more. The coalition is comprised of a network of more than 70 local chapters across Ontario. Our mandate is to uphold single-tier public medicare under the principles of the Canada Health Act. We encourage democratic public debate about public policy decisions and advocate for the public interest in health care.