Toronto The continuing push by the Tory government to privatize and under-fund health care services in Ontario is seriously undermining the provisions of the Canada Health Act, says Sid Ryan, the Ontario president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
Ryan, along with Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) will be making deputation to the Romanow Commission on Health Care today (May 30th) at 1:25pm at the Colony Hotel, Chestnut Street, Toronto.
Ryan and Hurley will be urging Romanow to critically assess privatization policies, such as competitive bidding for home care and private funding initiatives (PFI) for hospitals.
American-style home care delivery actually increases costs of home care administration services and has substantial duplication and waste. Likewise, private hospital initiatives in the United Kingdom are consistently coming in over budget for what are essentially less direct patient care services, says Ryan.
Ryan and Hurley will be available for media interviews after their presentation to the commission.
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For further information, please call:
Sid Ryan, CUPE Ontario President
416-209-0066
Michael Hurley, OCHU President
416-884-0770
Stella Yeadon, CUPE Communications
416-578-8774