OPSEU/SEFPO members joined the Ontario Health Coalition at a rally in Toronto on December 12.
OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick and Hospital Professionals Division Chair Sara Labelle were among the speakers calling on the government to properly fund public health care, to prevent further worker burnout and give Ontarians the health care they need.
“This government has turned a crisis into a collapse, and let’s be clear – this is a manufactured crisis of their own making,” said Hornick. “These are deliberate choices by this government to invest in their friends rather than invest in the front line. Ford has followed the footsteps of those who came before them and continued to underfund our health care system, but he is sitting on billions in unspent funds that could go to fixing this crisis. Every day that we wait lives are literally on the line.”
“Our members did all of the COVID testing. We did all of the testing without hiring any new staff. We stepped up and stepped in every single day for Ontarians, and we were proud to do that. But we’re tired,” said Labelle. “We cry on the way to shifts, we cry at work, and we cry when we leave. And we don’t cry because we can’t handle the work. We cry because we’re faced with the burden of a pandemic that this government has ignored and denied is happening.”
The event brought together healthcare providers, patients, advocates and all those who depend on public healthcare for themselves and their families. Protesters spoke out to protect Ontario’s public health care system and demand that the Ford government act urgently to support our public hospitals and stop privatizing their services.
