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TORONTO, Ont. Like the summer of love in ’67, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario is building a love-in for public services by hosting a series of free rock concerts called Rock for Public Services featuring bands like April Wine and Trooper.
The concerts, in communities including Ajax (tonight), Thorold, Kingston, Lindsay, Kenora and Sturgeon Falls, are a highly unusual but effective way to draw attention to how public services are being undermined by provincial underfunding and the privatizing of services.
We’re asking residents to stand up for quality public services and not let politicians underfund or sell them off through privatization, contracting out or relocation of these jobs and services, said CUPE Ontario President Sid Ryan. For example, tonight’s concert in Durham Region will draw attention to unacceptable cuts to health care services at the Ajax-Pickering Hospital.
Last month, over 4,000 people packed Goulard Park in Sturgeon Falls and another 1,000 turned out in Kenora to hear Trooper. With Trooper and April Wine, we’re appealing to the bulk of taxpayers while local guest bands booked to open the shows are drawing in young people, added Ryan.
Ryan says that people don’t always know what role public services play in their lives. We’re there from cradle to grave for people. Public services deliver when you send your children to public day care, the library, to school or university; when you turn on your tap, switch on the lights, drive to work behind the snow plow. Or when you visit loved ones in the hospital, your local nursing home or supportive housing.
According to CUPE Ontario, the provincial government and local municipalities mistakenly believe that contracting out and privatizing services is going to save them money. In the long term, privatization costs taxpayers more and delivers less. When work is contracted out to the lowest bidder, this hurts communities, said Ryan. People cannot afford to live on $12 an hour. They can’t purchase goods and services from the small business community. They can’t afford to buy a home and can’t afford to send their kids to university. This hits communities hard.
These concerts are our way of thanking people for their ongoing support and dedication to preserving public services that are the bedrock of strong communities, said CUPE Ontario President Sid Ryan. The next Rock for Public Services’ concerts with April Wine are scheduled for Thorold (August 22) and Kingston (August 28) with more scheduled for the fall.
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For more information, contact:
Sid Ryan CUPE Ontario President 416-209-0066
Valerie Dugale CUPE Communications 647-225-3685
