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Toronto-The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE Ontario) is holding a media conference on Friday, March 2 at 10:30 a.m. at Queens Park (Media Studio) to announce the union has launched a complaint with the federal government under the Canada Health Act concerning the contracting out of radiation therapy by the Ontario government.

The complaint argues that allowing the Ontario government to contract out after-hours essential cancer radiation treatment to a for-profit corporation (Canadian Radiation Oncology Services) poses a threat to the universality protections and not-for-profit provisions stipulated under the act, leaving our health care system open to privatization under free trade rules.

At the media conference, CUPE, the largest public sector union in the country, will release a copy of the letter of complaint calling on Federal Health Minister Allan Rock to intervene in stopping the privatization of cancer care in Ontario.

CUPE in Ontario represents over 580 cancer care therapists and other workers, who are directly employed in the public system by Cancer Care Ontario.

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For more information please contact:
Sid Ryan, President, CUPE Ontario
416-209-0066
Michael Hurley, President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU)
416-884-0770
Steven Barrett, Legal Counsel, Sack Goldblatt Mitchell
416-979-6422

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