MEDIA ADVISORY - Thunder Bay health care workers are rallying to save public healthcare and stop the privatization of hospital services

THUNDER BAY, ON, Oct. 25, 2023 /CNW/ - Healthcare workers including nurses, personal support workers, clinical staff, and social workers at St. Joseph's Care Group in Thunder Bay are taking action to oppose the Ford government's plan to contract out hospital services to private, for-profit clinics.

Front-line healthcare workers will be rallying at St. Joseph's Care Group - St. Joseph's Hospital to demand that hospital executives stand up for public health care and support efforts to stop the handing over of taxpayer funds to private profiteers at the expense of patient care.

The Ford Government's Bill 60 – the deceptively named Your Health Act – will farm out thousands of surgeries and diagnostic procedures to private investor-owned clinics. Hospital staff know that this will devastate the services in most of Ontario's public hospitals and threaten public healthcare.

The workers want to get a firm commitment from St. Joseph's Care Group management that it will defend public delivery of healthcare and fight all steps towards privatization. Unions warn that unless privatization is stopped, the non-profit hospital system that Ontarians have built and relied upon for a century will be irreparably damaged.

This event is part of a series of rallies organized by a coalition of Ontario's five largest health care unions: OPSEU/SEFPO, ONA, the CUPE Ontario, SEIU Healthcare and Unifor.

WHO:	Local and Provincial Leaders of OPSEU/SEFPO, CUPE, ONA, Unifor, SEIU Healthcare, and front-line healthcare workers
WHAT:	Rally by hospital workers to stop the privatization of hospital services
WHERE:	St. Joseph's Care Group – St. Joseph's Hospital, 35 Algoma St N, Thunder Bay
WHEN:	Friday, October 27, 2023 – 11:30 am - 1 pm

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

ONA Communications, [email protected]; Zaid Noorsumar, CUPE Communications, [email protected], [phone]; Katie Arnup, OPSEU/SEFPO Communications, [email protected], [phone]; Corey Johnson, SEIU Healthcare Communications, [email protected], [phone]; Hamid Osman, Unifor Communications, [email protected], [phone]