Defend Public Healthcare

The first two weeks of the Liberal government's consultations with unions on a 'compensation freeze' are up.  University faculty unions were one of the groups involved in the first two weeks of consultations. So here's the resolution on those consultations from the university faculty unions, passed on to the government Wednesday evening: The Ontario faculty associations and other groups representing academic staff have received reports from their delegation about the issues discussed the week of August 9, 2010 with COU (Council of Ontario Universities) and government officials. We are confident that these issues can better be addressed at the local level by free collective bargaining. This would acknowledge the diversity of Ontario’s universities and their respective financial situations. We also do not accept the government’s premise that compensation is the cause of the current financial situation, nor its determination, made even before commencing its consultati

Buried in today's Statistics Canada report on inflation in July is the fact that inflation in Ontario has increased from 1.6% to 2.9%.   The new "Harmonized Sales Tax" (HST) came into effect on July 1 in Ontario.  As the HST transfers costs to consumers,  the increase in the cost of living in Ontario is now the highest in the land.  This means you have to earn 2.9% more dollars to maintain your standard of living as of a year ago.  And if your wages were frozen (as the government would like), your standard of living would go down by an equivalent amount.  For those of you lucky enough to live in Toronto or Ottawa, the increase is 3.1% and 3.0% respectively. (The Statistics Canada report is here and a quick Canada-wide summary from the Globe and Mail is  here  ). It's worth remembering that the same McGuinty government that brought you the HST also wants to freeze your wages. dallan@cupe.ca

In the midst of the first two weeks of consultations over the Ontario government's proposed compensation freeze, members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union have begun a strike for a first contract at Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM).  After voting 97% in favour of strike action, picket lines went up at the school’s two main campuses in  at Laurentian University in Sudbury and at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.  About 150 clerical, administrative and technical staff are involved.  Outstanding issues include hours of work, overtime, sick leave, family leave, and wages. The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), which has not reported any progress at its discussions with government on the compensation freeze, wrote to the School in solidarity with the strikers.  OCUFA   noted : Employee compensation is not the cause of the current challenges, and we do not accept that restraint on the part of your support staff will solve them.

The provincial government Estimates (a document where the government lays out in some detail how it intends to spend the money in the provincial Budget) indicates that health care 'provincial programs' are going up $943,146,400 this year compared to last year.  (Line item 1412 .)  Just shy of a billion dollars. Now that's a whopper of an increase: a 37.5% increase in fact ! While the provincial government is giving its own 'provincial programs' a massive increase, the LHINs (the main funder of hospitals, home care, and long term care) will be getting a miserly 1.5% increase. In fact the total increase for the LHINs, $322 million, is about a third of the $943 million increase for the (much smaller) 'provincial programs' budget. A cynic might suspect the government is giving itself a free hand to make funding announcements, while the LHINs are stuck with the job of telling hospitals, homes, and home care providers that 'There's no money, ther

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario is meeting and at least two municipalities are taking this opportunity to raise concerns about hospital cutbacks with the Minister of Health and Long Term Care, Deb Matthews. Lambton County Warden Jim Burns has indicated  that a delegation was to meet with Minister of Health Deb Matthews Monday to discuss recent cuts to the Petrolia emergency room, now closed from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. "It's also a really good opportunity to meet with provincial ministries.  This issue is vitally important to all of Lambton country," Burns said. "It touches almost every municipality. I know the minister is aware of what's going on, but I think it's very, very important to have that face-to-face chat with her." A City of Cornwall delegation led by Mayor Bob Kilger will be pushing for a solution to the Cornwall Community Hospital's bed shortage when they meet with health minister Deb Matthews, the Cornwall Standard Freeholder

Health care slashers and right-wingers are beginning to understand the pickle they are in over the falling faith in the the LHINs, the Liberal government's instrument of choice to cut health care services.  Here's the conclusion of today's Ottawa Citizen editorial : With an aging population and rising health-care budgets,it is difficult to imagine a year in which every health network in the province doesn't face some very tough decisions involving a region's crucial health-care services. Without public trust, those decisions will be much harder, if not impossible. Which is why Marin's (the Ombudsman) findings are crucial. Indeed, LHIN imposed cuts will be harder now that the LHINs have been discredited.  (What a pity!)  But this won't stop those cuts. And here's another troubling thought.  If the LHINs are becoming blunt instruments,  another instrument may be introduced to make the cuts down the road.  In other provinces the trend has been for

A darn good letter on the McGuinty government's  introduction of the LHINs from local CUPE hospital activist, Paul MacDonald. It was published yesterday in the Toronto Star .  Paul -- yes -- public sector union and community activists did do a pretty fair job campaigning on the problems associated with the LHIN model, and did so pretty much right from the get go.  And YES, it is nice to see that at least some of those problems are becoming more apparent to a broader section of the population now. So a thanks to all the local union and community activists who got the ball rolling! -- Doug LHIN system should be scrapped; Secret health unit meetings 'illegal,' Aug. 11 Toronto Star, Sat Aug 14 2010 Page: IN7 Section: Letter Re. Secret health unit meetings 'illegal,' Aug. 11 Not only should these secret LHIN board meetings be deemed illegal, the entire system of LHINs should also be deemed illegal. When an unelected, unaccountable board of overpaid bur