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Comment by FixOurWorld on April 29, 2009 at 9:19pm

More than 4,000 participate in Queen's Park health-care rally
'Does this premier care?' Saracino asks
Posted By MAGGIE RIOPELLE/Tribune Staff
Posted 3 hours ago


TORONTO — “Save our hospitals, save our hospitals,” chanted a united voice of more than 4,000 at a Queen’s Park rally Tuesday.

Municipal leaders looking to stop cuts to health care called for a moratorium on plans they feel will destroy this country’s health-care system.

The rally called by the Town of Fort Erie that was supported by the City of Port Colborne and residents from Welland and St. Catharines drew crowds from municipalities across Ontario who shared a common concern that inadequate funding, centralization of services, closure of emergency rooms and cuts to services will dismantle the health-care system and cost lives.

It was also a rally supported by the Ontario Health Coalition.

In Niagara, the controversial Niagara Health System’s hospital improvement plan prompted the community and residents to take action. When their concerns fell on deaf ears — after rallies, petitions and town hall meetings — they took their message straight to Premier Dalton McGuinty’s front lawn.

Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey said his community built its own hospital with money raised from the people and now “we are being robbed.”

Badawey said it is time to put the brakes on current health-care plans until a better solution can be found.

“Put a moratorium on those cuts today,” said Badawey.

Wayne Redekop, former Fort Erie mayor and co-chair of the mayors task force to save hospitals, said the province has developed a two-tier system where those in urban centres get -health care with all the bells and whistles, while small municipalities have to fight to keep emergency departments and hospitals open.

“It’s disgraceful and not acceptable,” Redekop said.

The province recently announced plans to develop a rural and northern health-care panel to look at health care and hospital needs. Communities such as Fort Erie and Port Colborne have already come up with their own community-based plans and strategies.

Port Colborne regional Coun. Bob Saracino said residents care about accessible, quality, adequately funded health care in this province. Health care, he said, is not a privilege, it is a right.

“Does this premier care? The premier and his cabinet appoint unelected people to sit on boards called LHINs (Local Health Integration Networks) who oversee funding …”

The LHINs are approving plans — at least in Niagara — that will “cost taxpayers more money but most of all jeopardize peoples’ lives,” said Saracino.

“Premier, does this make sense? Premier, listen to what people are saying. Put an end to the elimination of health-care services by local health-care systems and LHINs.”

Saracino called on McGuinty to “do the right thing” — put an end to the cuts and restore services eliminated or about to be slashed from small hospitals.

“If it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it. Well it ain’t broke, the only thing that is broke is our health-care system,” he said.

A number of concerns were raised Tuesday regarding the LHINs, the fact that its people are appointed, not elected, and that the Liberal government is hiding behind the LHINs to push through plans for more cuts and consolidation of services.

Welland New Democrat MPP Peter Kormos has put forth a bill that is before the House now calling for hospital boards to be elected.

The belief that consolidated services, that bigger is better, is a recipe for disaster, said Ontario Health Coalition director Natalie Mehra.

”I heard the premier on TV. His best advice is if we consolidate ... it means better care. Someone is going to have to explain that to me,” said Mehra.

Mehra said the move to downgrade emergency rooms in Fort Erie and Port Colborne to urgent care centres will cause some 45,000 patients to “descend on the hospital” in St. Catharines or Welland and it will lead to longer wait times, more overcrowding and the potenti