CUPE blasts Ford government for $36 million budget deficit at Scarborough Health Network

CUPE to hold “Fund SHN Properly” rally on Monday, June 1 at SHN Centenary Hospital site as 71 per cent of staff say patient care is compromised

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The union representing 2,500 health care workers at Scarborough Health Network is blaming the provincial government as the hospital battles a $36 million budget shortfall.

Stacy James, president of CUPE 5852, says that SHN is facing a staffing crisis, which requires a big investment in improving conditions of work and care. However, the current budget deficit could lead to further reduction in staffing that would jeopardize the well-being of staff and patients alike.

In a November 2025 CUPE survey that yielded 551 responses, 71 per cent of staff said patient care is compromised due to insufficient staffing levels.

“Our hospital desperately requires higher staffing levels to ensure people are receiving appropriate and timely care,” James says. “But instead of a drive to attract and retain staff, SHN is now focused on reducing the deficit caused by provincial funding cuts. If we end up with staffing cuts like other hospitals in Ontario, it will intensify the staffing crunch and make it even more challenging to care for our patients.”

The union says that the staff are experiencing high levels of stress and burnout due to poor working conditions. She says 43 per cent of SHN staff have experienced violence at work.

Violent incidents increase when patients are agitated due to long wait-times and insufficient care in understaffed – and often overcrowded – hospital units.

Drawing attention to the twin issues of low staffing and capacity, the union highlights that only 24 per cent of emergency department patients at the SHN are admitted on time within the target time of eight hours, based on latest Health Quality Ontario data.

“The government’s funding cuts have had a profoundly negative impact on patients, particularly the elderly, who are the most likely to bear the brunt of long wait-times, delayed treatments, and lower quality of care,” says Michael Hurley, president of CUPE’s hospital division, which represents 46,000 workers including SHN employees. “The government’s deliberate destabilization of our public hospitals, just as it faces the demands of an aging and growing population, is unacceptable.”

CUPE will be holding a demonstration on Monday, calling on the Ford government to fund SHN properly.

Who: Health care workers at SHN
Stacy James, president of CUPE 5852 (representing 2,500 SHN staff)
Michael Hurley, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE)

What: CUPE 5852 rally to Fund SHN Properly

When: 11:30 a.m. on Monday, June 1 2026

Where: Centenary Hospital (SHN), 2867 Ellesmere Rd., Scarborough

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