Rally at Doug Ford’s office: Health care workers to protest on Monday morning as staffing cuts take toll on workers, patients

More than 9,000 nurses and PSW jobs could be lost by 2027-28 if government does not increase funding

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Health care workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees will hold a rally outside local Premier Doug Ford’s office in Etobicoke in response to funding cuts by the provincial government.

The government’s fall economic statement shows a plan to cut hospital funding by 10 per cent in real terms over three years by 2027-28 as projected spending fails to cover the six per cent annual cost inflation for hospitals, says CUPE.

The consequences of fiscal restraint are already being felt by staff and patients in hospitals across Ontario, as hundreds of jobs are being eliminated in the GTA, North Bay, Hamilton, Ottawa, and Niagara.

“This government promised to clear surgical waiting lists and to end hallway medicine. 200,000 people are waiting for surgeries, and 73,000 patients are waiting longer than clinically recommended. 2,000 are on hallway stretchers waiting for beds and the government has now announced it will no longer report those numbers,” said Michael Hurley, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE), which represents 45,000 health care workers. “The PC funding plan through to 2027-28 will have devastating consequences for many people needing hospital treatment in Ontario.”

Based on projections by the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, about 2,450 hospital beds could be lost across the province along with 9,000 nursing and PSW positions.

Who: Health care workers and community allies

What: CUPE rally against health care cuts

When: 10 a.m., Monday, March 2

Where: Doug Ford’s constituency office, 964 Albion Road, Etobicoke

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