(May 31, 2023)<\/p>\n
By: Marcie Culbert, 104.7 Heart FM<\/p>\n
A citizen-led vote took place last week. Over 4,400 ballots were collected in Oxford County and 98.6 percent of them were against the privatization of hospitals.<\/p>\n
OXFORD COUNTY – The votes are in and it looks like Oxford County residents are against the privatization of hospitals.<\/p>\n
The Ontario Health Coalition held a citizen-led vote on May 26th and May 27th.<\/p>\n
Several polling stations were set up all across Oxford County in local stores, churches, union halls, and more. Online voting was also available.<\/p>\n
Bryan Smith, the Chair of the Oxford Coalition for Social Justice, says 4,425 ballots were collected here in Oxford and 98.6 percent of them were against privatization. He says this proves that the people of Oxford value their public hospitals.<\/p>\n
“The reason why people in Oxford give so generously to their hospitals, having built them up over more than 100 years, is that they expect them to remain publicly owned and run.”<\/p>\n
In January, the Ford Government announced its intentions to begin offering for-profit clinics to Ontario, stating it was pushback at wait times in hospitals.<\/p>\n