Ontario Healthcare Coalition challenge the Ford Administration

BY STEVEN KASZAB

The Ontario Health Coalition’s media release on February 21^st, 2024, makes some scathing claims about a conspiracy hatched by the Conservative Ford government to possibly create an artificial healthcare crisis, with the hope of introducing private healthcare in Ontario.

The Coalition claims the Ford Government makes well promoted promises of investments in the billions to Ontario Healthcare, while at the same time cutting programs, budgets, placing hiring freezes upon specific hospitals staffing, limiting regional hospital network’s ability to hire needed staff, buy modern equipment and expand upon essential services within the regions located. While Toronto receives particular preference by the Ford Government, regions well outside of the Greater Toronto Region are suffering from:

• Lack of funds resulting in emergency room closures
• Appointments for specialists are well extended time periods
• EMS services are limited in capacity and staffing/equipment
• Entire sections in hospitals have empty beds while not having the required staffing.
• Management of hospitals seem to be in emergency funding mode.

Premier Ford’s government is moving lock stock and barrel towards a hidden agenda, to bring American Style Private Healthcare to Ontario. Their allies in Alberta are also moving in that similar direction. Private Healthcare Operations are allowed to charge much more for every situation such as: surgery, use of specialists, drawing healthcare professionals away from universal healthcare units to for- private healthcare.

The Ford Administration hopes the public will remain ignorant of the real situation their healthcare organizations truly are in, and the methodology and practices of the conservative government towards public healthcare will remain in the shadows.

Beg a question: Who do the Premier and his government truly work for:  the electorate or private business? Has Ontario’s government returned to the days of Kathleen Wynne when corporations bought time and benefits from various government Ministers? Is Premier Ford truly grass roots, or is he what he has always been, a part of big business. Leopards cannot change their spots, but they can promote themselves as something they are not.

Challenge: Check on the wealth of the Premier and his ministers when they took office, and one week before they retire from public office, or are thrown out of office. Are they much wealthier upon their exit? Are bad things happening at Queens Park, hidden from the public’s scrutiny?

The electorate will be challenged like never before come the next election. You will have blustering Premier Ford (possibly enriching himself and his friends), Marit Styles presenting the NDP’s ineffectual platform, and the do-nothing former Mayor Bonnie Crombie (Liberal) standing around hoping to be picked by the despairing electorate.

Now would be a good time for the Ontario Ombudsman and Ethics Commissioner to investigate their masters.