Every week, OPSEU’s We Own It campaign publishes a newsletter called The We Own It Weekly. It’s a round-up of news and information about the growing movement to protect communities from privatization.
To receive the newsletter directly, you can sign up for it on the We Own It website. You can also keep in touch with the campaign through its Facebook page and Twitter feed.
And here’s the latest issue:
Vote Better for a better Ontario
The writ has dropped. The campaign busses are on the road. The 2018 provincial election campaign is now officially on.
But how to decide who will get your vote on June 7?
To help answer that question, have a look at Vote Better:
Created by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), Vote Better takes a comprehensive look at the kinds of investments that will help keep our communities healthy, safe, and prosperous. It all starts by stopping privatization, which will free up billions of our dollars now being siphoned off by large corporations and profiteers.
“Ontario is richer than it has ever been,” says OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “We can afford to invest in ourselves and our communities. We can afford to do better. We just need to vote better.”
Invite your friends and family to check out Vote Better, too. They can find out more at here.
In the news
The fight to save Grey Gables isn’t over
A group of Grey County councillors has voted down a plan that would save $1.2 million and maintain the Grey Gables long-term care facility in Markdale. But OPSEU leaders say the fight for high-quality public long-term care in the county is far from over.
“We’re not going to sit by and let these councillors waste more than a million dollars and force seniors to move farther away from their families where they’ll get lower-quality care,” said OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas.
“As a group of former Grey County Wardens said: ‘Something smells’ about the Grey Gables sell-off,” said Thomas. “We’re going to make sure the next provincial health minister clears the stench by putting this scheme where it belongs: in the trash heap.”
Kanata Tory called for privatized health care, Liberals charge
The Ottawa Citizen reports that the Progressive Conservatives would cut public health care in Ontario in favour of a two-tier system that would give better care to people who could pay for it themselves, the provincial Liberals charged Wednesday, citing extensive tweets from the Tory candidate in Kanata-Carleton.
“We need to keep showing support for Hybrid health care. Voices of Unions should not be the only ones heard,” said Kanata PC candidate Merrilee Fullerton in one tweet from 2014.
“Canada and North Korea share the common value of government monopoly health care,” she said in another tweet.
We Own It Events
Owen Sound All Candidates Meeting
7 p.m. – 9 p.m., Tuesday, May 15, Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre, 1900 3rd Ave E
Orillia Power Generation Open Forum
7 p.m. – 9 p.m., Wednesday, May 16, City of Orillia, 50 Andrew St. South
Mississauga town hall to make privatization an election issue
7 p.m. – 9 p.m., Tuesday, May 22, Mississauga Valley Community Centre & Library, 1275 Mississauga Valley Blvd.
Toronto town hall to make privatization an election issue
7 p.m. – 9 p.m., Thursday, May 24, The 519, 519 Church St.
Scarborough town hall to make privatization an election issue
7 p.m. – 9 p.m., Wednesday, May 30, Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto
5183 Sheppard Ave. East