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KINGSTON, Ont. More than a week after alerting Ontario’s health minister about whether a contract process between Kingston General Hospital (KGH) and a global food company meets provincial criteria, there has been deafening silence from both the province and the hospital.
The community coalition opposing the outsourcing deal says that’s just not good enough for the people of Kingston. More than 10,000 people signed postcards and took part in an on-line action asking KGH not to sign the deal.
At a noon (12:00 p.m.) rally tomorrow, Wednesday, January 26, in front of the KGH Stuart Street entrance, the local food group will again call on Ontario’s health minister Deborah Matthews to step in and suspend the contract while her ministry conducts a thorough investigation into the potential infraction of the province’s procurement criteria.
The letter sent to the health minister last week highlighting the following two concerns was also sent to Ontario’s environment minister and the provincial auditor:
1. Whether the province’s procurement protocols were adhered to because, as we understand it, during the RFP process, Compass, the eventual successful bidder, was provided a copy of an earlier KGH internal bid in potential breach of the requirements of non-discrimination contained in the guidelines, as well as the legal duties on an issuer of any tendering process.
2. Whether the Compass/KGH contract failed to incorporate the green procurement considerations under the public sector procurement guidelines.
We also want to highlight that, despite nearly 10,000 Kingston residents opposing the outsourcing of food service to Compass, the KGH Board of Governors rubber-stamped the deal.
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For more information, please contact:
Michael Hurley President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) 416-884-0770
Louis Rodrigues President, CUPE 1974, People Who Care About Kingston 613-531-1319
Stella Yeadon CUPE Communications 416-559-9300
For more information about the local hospital food campaign, go to: www.kingstonfoodfight.ca.
Click to read letter focused on provincial procurement policies and a recent contract between Kingston General Hospital and multinational food giant Compass was sent to Ontario’s Health & Long-Term Care Minister, Deborah Matthews recently by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) on behalf of a Kingston-based community coalition. The letter raises concerns about the request for proposal process the hospital engaged in when they outsourced foodservice, which includes patients’ meals. Copies of the letter have also been sent to the Provincial Auditor, the Provincial Environment Minister and area MPP John Gerretsen.
Click to see photographs from rally
