On November 13, approximately 180 coalition members and supporters attended the OHC’s Health Action Assembly. Groups convened on each of the major health sectors and discussed issues and responses. Feedback was gathered and a cross-province action plan was kicked off.

Roy was selected from a large group of deserving nominees from local health coalitions to be this year’s recipient of the Daniel Benedict Activist Award. The award is given each year, in memory of former coalition co chair Daniel Benedict, to a local coalition member who best exemplifies Dan’s activism and commitment to protecting and extending our universal, one-tier public health system. Roy’s extraordinary work in his local health coalition and supporting others in the region is celebrated in this award.

In a CBC competition, Tommy Douglas was named Greatest Canadian. Tommy Douglas is known for introducing the first public health insurance plan in Saskatchewan when he was Premier. He went on to campaign relentlessly for public Medicare to be introduced across the country.

This award recognizes the importance with which Canadians see our universal, one-tier public health system. Thanks to all those who voted to send a celebratory message in support of public Medicare.

Over the last several months, hundreds of volunteers have assisted in weekend door to door blitzes in the Minister of Health’s riding.

*over 1500 households have been reached through the door to door canvass

*200 stores, local business and residents are displaying lawn signs saying "McGuinty keep your Promise: Don’t Privatize our Hospitals"

*over 3000 residents have received mail outs from our affiliate organizations

Last month the OHC co-sponsored a conference on mental health issues along with OPSEU. Over 200 workers and reps from community organizations attended. Great progress was made. A province-wide action strategy was created at the conference to begin working together in coalition and get mental health issues onto the public agenda.

Toronto - The Ontario Health Coalition called the government's homecare review "smoke-and-mirrors" in a press conference at Queen's Park today.

The Coalition has been told that the Minister of Health has instructed Ms. Caplan to look only at "procurement procedures." and that competitive bidding will continue. She has no mandate to review the competitive bidding policy, and will not consider scrapping the controversial process that has encouraged the privatization of the homecare sector. Ms. Caplan will look only look at models in other jurisdictions that include competitive bidding processes.

"The Minister of Health promised a review of competitive bidding but has instead set up a smoke-and-mirrors process to entrench privatization for the long term," said Ross Sutherland, a nurse and coalition spokesperson. "The government will not even consider evidence from any other Canadian provinces with non-profit delivery of homecare."

"From the point of view of people receiving care in their homes, the „managed competition‰ process has worked against continuity of caregivers right from the start," concluded Ethel Meade of the Ontario Coalition of Senior Citizens' Organizations. "We had high hopes that this review would have helped."

At the press conference, the coalition released a policy paper containing a set of recommendations for public reform of homecare.

MPP Monique Smith is conducting a consultation on her long term care reform discussion paper, A Call to Care. The Ministry has announced that it will roll the Acts governing long term care facilities into one new Act to be introduced in 2005. Responses to the discussion paper will be accepted until December 15.

While the Ministry has brought in several important improvements in Long Term Care Homes, notably in unannounced inspections, improved funding and better regulations, they have not brought in clear minimum staffing standards for these facilities - a key improvement that would guarantee a standard of care for patients and protections for staff. The OHC is completing its response which will be sent out by email and on our website at www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca shortly. If you do not have internet access and want a copy, please phone our office at 416-441-2502.

The Ministry of Health has announced a major restructuring of the Province’s health system through the creation of 14 LHINs which will plan and fund health institutions and services across the province. Boards of Directors for the LHINs will not be elected but will be appointed by the provincial government. LHINs are planned to be operational by April 1.

Currently the Ministry is conducting cross-province meetings of health service providers, agencies, advocates and corporations. Local health coalitions have attended these meetings in many locations.

We will be sending out an update in the next newsletter.

On November 1, the Windsor Health Coalition held a rally at Liberal MPP Sandra Pupatello’s office to protest the delisting of OHIP services. On December 1 the Windsor Health Coalition held another rally of approximately 100 people outside Liberal MPP Dwight Duncan’s office. The Windsor Coalition is encouraging organizations to pass a resolution condemning the delisting. Resolutions should be sent to the Ministry of Health fax: 416-392-0713 and the Ministry of Finance fax: 416-226-7838

Hello, My name is Jenny-Rae Merritt, and I am a third year social work student at the University of Windsor. I am quite concerned with the outcome from the delisting of Chiropractics, Physiotherapy and Optometry.... Not only does the delisting of these services affect myself, but also the countless clients that I support on a daily basis in the social work field. On November 1st I attended a rally at my local MP's office (Sandra Pupatello), organized by the Windsor-Essex Health Coalition. They were circulating petitions at this event, and.... I set up an online version of the petition. As of 3:10 pm on Friday, November 26, I currently have 1929 signatures. I am hoping that you are able to spread the word, be it via media or email or your extensive network of contacts, so that we are able to give all Ontarians the choice whether or not to sign this petition. To sign, go to

Ontario’s government and hospitals are facing off over their first set of accountability agreements under Bill 8. The hospitals have announced that they face deficits of approximately $600 million, and in response the government has directed them to find cuts to balance their budgets. Several hospitals have issued public lists of clinical services that are under threat of cuts, including services such as women’s and aboriginal health, chiropody, EEG outpatient services, dental surgery and others. In addition, hospitals have begun to issue lay offs. The province has responded by directing hospitals to find administrative cuts. People requiring the threatened health services are in distress waiting to find out what is going to happen. The provincial response to individual hospital plans is ongoing. Local coalitions, notably in Peterborough, have been active in working to protect and maintain these services.

A new round of privatization of support services in hospitals is underway across the province. Rallies to support public, non-profit delivery of services have been held in London and Kitchener in recent months, supported by the health coalition. Hospitals are being encouraged to develop plans to regionalize services so that one company will provide support services to several hospitals in a region, cutting staff and potentially leading to deeper privatization.

As a citizen of a democracy, I have trouble finding answers to the following: Why are William Osler Health Centre board meetings a fiasco of citizen participation where both members of the public and press are not permitted to ask questions and have to leave after the hour's routine agenda has been gone through and the real business of management begins? And why, when a doctor on that board queries management decisions, is he speedily told these will be discussed in camera?

The board has stated there is a $27 million deficit in regard to the present hospital, and staff continually hear rumours of imminent drastic cuts in patient services. If the board is in such a quagmire, how in the name of financial common sense can they be judged competent to manage the new hospital? It would also be to the point if the board CEO's huge paycheque was based on getting the hospital out of the present mess rather than on the customary slash and burn which passes for business management in today's corporate world.

Canada prides itself on being a democracy. However, there is nothing democratic about undercover deals with for-profit corporations whose sole purpose is financial rather than patient well-being: about keeping in the dark the very people who will both use these desperately needed services and pay a horrendous price for them; about cutting vital services without first inviting the public to the table for consultation; about landing taxpayers with a new hospital which will cost $175 million more than a publicly funded hospital.

As Carol Goar, in a recent Toronto Star article points out, "A generation that is richer than any in Canadian history has somehow lost its ability to pay for hospitals schools, universities, subway lines and affordable housing." The social breakdown that will result will, of course, cost us a frightening lot more. Both us and our descendants. When citizens and media alike are effectively silenced at board discussions vital to the future of those citizens, then democracy is clearly down the spout. At least in Brampton.

Eva Davis Brampton

Printed in the Brampton Guardian Newspaper

The Brampton Health Coalition attended the beginning of construction at the William Osler Health Centre P3 with McGuinty money that they burned in front of hospital officials and the media. The Brampton P3 is over a year behind schedule, over $174 million (net present value) more than if it were built publicly, and smaller than originally planned. The OHC, along with CUPE, OPSEU & SEIU, is continuing to press for disclosure of the secret deal through the courts. We will continue to fight the private control & privatization of services at the WOHC.

Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, David Caplan announced this fall that he would bring in his new plan for developing all public infrastructureincluding hospitals, roads, schools, municipal services, water. Unless this plan provides public funding for building infrastructure, these services will be privatized using P3s and other models. The final report is not yet released. We will keep you posted as we wait for his report.

Huge amounts of money get wasted every year as part of the bidding process for the British P3 program, according to an in-depth report from a specialist publication for architects, Building Design.

The amount wasted in the last full financial year could be as much as £400m ($1 billion Canadian), or 3% of the entire P3 bill for those 12 months. "This £400m is two or three major hospitals that could have been financed outright each and every year," said Jack Pringle, the president-elect of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). See Building Design, 5 November, 2004 for full article.

The British government has paid up to 30% more in construction costs for P3 hospitals, according to the British Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. They also claimed that 26% of the increase in NHS income between 2000-03 has gone towards paying PFI charges for new hospitals.

The report criticised P3s as an expensive way of financing and delivering public services which could, in the long term, lead to cuts in services or tax increases. They said: "The chief beneficiaries are the providers of finance and some of, but not necessarily all the private sector service providers rather than the public sector."

Joining community groups, labour and agencies opposing the Quebec governmentís plans to build 2 P3 superhospitals, specialist doctors and medical residents told a National Assembly committee that public-private partnerships would introduce the profit motive into health care. "There's no place for profit," said Yves Dugre, president of the Federation des medecins specialistes du Quebec. The province's medical residents said they worry that doctors, faced with performance criteria, will not have time to teach medical graduates who are qualifying to practise medicine.

From Kevin Dougherty, Montreal Gazette, November 11, 2004

Allyson Pollock's Issues A Warning from Across the Atlantic NHS, plc: The Privatization of Our Healthcare Allyson Pollock, world expert on P3 hospitals has put out this new book on the health reforms taking place in Britain. You will find remarkable similarities to the reforms taking place in our own health system. Look for a full review in the next issue of "The Pulse". The book was published in September 2004 and is available online at major bookselling sites or by order through your local progressive bookstore.

Prescription for Excellence: How Innovation is Saving Canada's Health Care System Dr. Michael Rachlis, Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at U of T has previously co-authored, with Carol Kushner, two national best-sellers on Canada's health care system. In his third book, Dr. Rachlis describes innovations in health care delivery within a publicly funded, publicly delivered health system. Food for debate. This book can be ordered at your local progressive bookstore.

Gender and Health Policy: New Book Underlines the Impact of the Privatization and Health Reform on Women Caring For/Caring About Women, Home Care and Unpaid Caregiving

The National Coordinating Group on Health Care Reform and Women has published this new book edited by Karen R. Grant, Carol Amaratunga, Pat Armstrong, Madeline Boscoe, Ann Pederson, and Kay Willson. The Canadian health care system is undergoing steady change, but one thing that remains constant is the key role that women play in providing care.