(July 2, 2020)<\/p>\n
By: Bryan Bicknell, CTV News London<\/p>\n
LONDON, ONT. — Demonstrators gathered outside Covent Garden Market Thursday to protest a bill they say could lead to the end of public health care as we know it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very concerned that if home care gets privatized the last vestiges of what we have in the public system are under threat,\u201d warned Peter Bergmanis of the London Health Coalition.<\/p>\n
The event attracted about a dozen people. They are worried the government is attempting to push through Bill 175 in the summer, and with little notice.<\/p>\n
Coalition spokesperson Jeff Hanks says the bill would privatize home care in the same way that long-term care has been privatized.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor-profit nursing homes, a lot of people died. Like right now there\u2019s a crisis in long-term care for staffing, and that\u2019s going to be the same with home care. And if you let corporations that are driven by making a profit oversee something with no public oversight, we\u2019re headed for another disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coalition also claims the bill would also open the door for reintroducing private, for-profit hospital beds into public facilities.<\/p>\n
The province has said Bill 175 will not privatize home care.<\/p>\n
In a statement released to CTV News amid similar protests last week, a spokesperson for Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliot said the bill would “enable the delivery of flexible care models” and “in no way enables the privatization of home care.”<\/p>\n
Similar rallies were also held at Queen’s Park and in cities across the province.<\/p>\n