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“The public is being robbed of the medical care it deserves. Private sector administrators are skimming profits when 100 per cent of scarce health care dollars should go towards care and treatment." — Warren (Smokey) Thomas, OPSEU President
Welland (25 June 2015) — The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) has launched an ad campaign in Niagara and Norfolk County in support of its members who work for CarePartners. The ads inform the public that many of their health care tax dollars are being diverted to private-sector profits rather than public-sector medical treatment. The newspaper and radio campaign will call on residents to tell the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Dr. Eric Hoskins, that patient care should come before profits.
Private health care profiting off public health care
“We think residents of Niagara and Norfolk County should know the facts, and we are prepared to spend the money so that the truth is known,” said Warren (Smokey) Thomas, OPSEU President.
“The public is being robbed of the medical care it deserves. Private-sector administrators are skimming profits when 100 per cent of scarce health care dollars should go towards care and treatment."
“The Medicare system was born in Saskatchewan and quickly embraced by all Canadians. It is one of the best health care programs in the world. A bedrock principle is that tax dollars go towards patient care and not profits. But the Ontario government is violating this principle.”
Workers at CarePartners on strike to ensure patients receive the best care
The private company CarePartners holds one of 1,400 lucrative service contracts to provide clinical and home care services to patients. For every home visit and/or clinical visit, the private owner of CarePartners profits at the expense of the workers who are not fully paid for the time they spend at each home visit.
The workers from CarePartners have been on strike since April 10. For more than two months they have stood up against the private owner of CarePartners. They are defending the dignity of patients and their medical treatment by demanding respect and a fair and just contract in an attempt to make patient care the priority, and not profits to a private owner.
Contact the Minister to tell him to stop allowing private companies to profit off health care
OPSEU/NUPGE is encouraging the public to call the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Dr. Eric Hoskins, MPP at 416-656-0943 or mail ehoskins.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org and request that their tax dollars be spent on health care, not profits.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 360,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE