“Pushed over the brink”: new research report to reveal full impact of austerity agenda on mounting Ontario hospital crisis as funds available for day-to-day bills plummet across the province

Media conference in Chatham on Thursday, August 6 to reveal full findings

CHATHAM, ON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new research report on Ontario’s hospital crisis highlights the destabilization of the sector through chronic underfunding and increasing privatization of healthcare services. These tactics are introducing additional strains on an already starving system and deepening the current government’s problems.

“Pushed over the brink: the escalating assault on Ontario’s hospitals” paints a picture of the dire conditions that hospitals are facing in the wake of Ford’s austerity agenda. Citing the latest data, the report shows concerning trends as daily operating budgets plummet and funding increases fail to match growing cost pressures.

While Ontario hospitals face rising deficits with no relief, job cuts and wait-times are accelerating across the province. These new problems compound the government’s failure to fix “hallway healthcare” as it promised.

CUPE will release the full findings of the report at 2 p.m. on Thursday, August 6. This includes new data on Chatham’s hospital deficit, available working capital to pay day-to-day bills, bed occupancy rate, and the additional funds and staff needed to meet the average spending per capita of other provinces.

Who: Michael Hurley, President of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE) and Doug Allan, Senior Researcher at CUPE National

What: Media conference to release findings of research report on the hospital capacity and privatization crisis

Where: Thames Campus Arena, 999 Grand Ave W, Chatham ON

When: 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 6, 2026

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