Blue and white flags filled the streets of downtown Toronto as OPSEU/SEFPO members from across sectors joined thousands of workers in a mass rally this Thursday. The rally was part of Ontario Health Coalition’s “Stop Doug Ford’s Privatization Train Wreck” march and rally, an event that shuttled in workers by train from Ottawa, Windsor, Woodstock, Niagara and several other communities to call for an end to privatization in health care.
Together, the group marched from Union Station to Queens Park – through some of Toronto’s busiest streets, drawing honks of solidarity from nearby cars, trucks, and streetcars, to tell Doug Ford that Public Health Care is Not for Sale.
As the rally marched through downtown, striking members from the Worth Fighting For campaign joined the ranks, providing a powerful reminder that the fight for public health care is the fight for all the public services our communities depend on.
At Queen’s Park, members crowded the stage as speaker after speaker took to the mic to send a clear and decisive message – we will not stand by while our public services are dismantled.
“This is not just an attack on health care. This is an attack on all our care networks from public education to public health care to our social and community services,” said OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick.
At a time when health care workers are understaffed, overworked and burnt out, Thursday’s rally was a reminder that workers across the province are fighting for a better Ontario and for a health care system rooted in equity, accessibility, and need, not how much money someone has in their bank account.