KENORA, ON — There will be a rally to call for increased health care funding on Tuesday, April 25, 2017, 12:00 noon at Lake of the Woods District Hospital in Kenora.
The rally will feature Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) National president Mark Hancock and CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn.
Hospital staff from across Ontario are in Kenora for meetings from Tuesday, April 25 through Thursday, April 27, and will join the rally, along with Lake of the Woods District Hospital staff.
Ontario’s 2017 provincial budget will be released this Thursday. CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) is calling for a 5 per cent funding increase for hospitals.
Hospitals and long-term care facilities have endured 8 years of real budget cuts. The Lake of the Woods District Hospital has lost 25 per cent of its budget in real terms over the 8-year period and is undergoing an operational review, which in other communities has meant an externally driven budget cutting exercise.
Based on the latest figures from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Ontario government funding for hospitals is $1,395.73 per capita. The rest of Canada, excluding Ontario, spends $1,749.69 per capita. In other words, provincial and territorial governments outside of Ontario spend $353.96 more per person on hospitals than Ontario does. That is a whopping 25.3 per cent more than Ontario.
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For more information please contact:
Michael Hurley
President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions – OCHU/CUPE 416-884-0770
Stella Yeadon
CUPE Communications 416-559-9300
