Across Ontario, of<\/span>\u00a0382,647 ballots cast, 376,223 registered a \u2018no\u2019 vote.<\/p>\n <\/span>Poll results were<\/span>\u00a0announced in communities across Ontario Tuesday morning, with Algoma District numbers unveiled at a press conference in front of Progressive Conservative MPP Ross Romano\u2019s Elgin Street office.<\/p>\n Ontario Health Coalition<\/span>\u00a0Algoma District representative Al Dupuis told about 40 supporters, including Unifor and CUPE representatives, the turnout was \u201creally good\u201d considering what he called little time to organize.<\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cTo say that<\/span> it\u2019s a resounding \u2018no\u2019 is an understatement,\u201d said Dupuis, adding the numbers were a \u201cgood\u201d sample size<\/p>\n <\/span>Some workplace votes<\/span>\u00a0have yet to be tallied.<\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cThey do public<\/span>\u00a0opinion polls with a couple thousand people to get an accurate level that\u2019s pretty high,\u201d Dupuis said.<\/p>\n <\/span>The ballot question<\/span> was: \u201cDo you want our public hospital services to be privatized to for-profit hospitals and clinics?\u201d Vote options were: \u201cYes\u201d or \u201cNo.<\/p>\n <\/span>The Ontario government<\/span>\u00a0passed Bill 60 May 8 allowing private clinics to conduct more OHIP-covered surgeries as advocates warn of potential legal action.<\/p>\n <\/span>OHC, which advocates<\/span>\u00a0for publicly funded health care while representing more than 500 member organizations and individuals, contends the Ontario government has already called for bids for three new private day hospitals to do 14,000 cataract surgeries initially, as well as diagnostics. The Ford Progressive Conservatives have also given repeated boosts of tens of millions in new funding to expand existing private clinics, increased the number of private clinics and intend to further beef up volumes as well as expand the types of surgeries they privatize.<\/p>\n Dupuis said it\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0not necessarily true that the bulk of those who voted already shared his group\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cProbably after seeing<\/span>\u00a0the facts (people pitched a \u2018no vote,) which is the whole point,\u201d Dupuis told the Sault Star in an interview follow the announcement. \u201cWe work very hard to get to the bottom of what\u2019s the reasons for the short-comings in our health-care system.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>Sault Ste. Marie<\/span>\u00a0OHC representative Marie DellaVedova said local voting stations were strategically set up so that those who may not have been aware of the event would notice them.<\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cWay above and<\/span>\u00a0beyond the people who came over and heard about it voted in favour of our stand, which was no to privatization,\u201d she told the Sault Star.<\/p>\n <\/span>Dupuis said OHC<\/span>\u00a0collaborates with other organizations, such as the Canadian Institute for Health Information, which gauges Ontario health-care funding compared to that of other provinces.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just abysmal<\/span>\u00a0\u2026 We\u2019re at the bottom of funding in Canada by a lot, not just by a little,\u201d he said. \u201cWe do our best to find out what\u2019s at the root cause of what\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cAn effort like<\/span>\u00a0this, for no other reason than just to reach a whole bunch of people \u2026 there\u2019s close to a half a million people we\u2019ve been able to reach over the last few weeks, who now understand what\u2019s at stake and what kind of misinformation they\u2019ve been getting from this government about solutions and what\u2019s necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>The province\u2019s take<\/span>\u00a0that it must be \u201cinnovative\u201d in managing health care is \u201ccode\u201d for privatization and \u201cselling off our public services to profiteers.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cWhen people see<\/span>\u00a0that stuff, they\u2019re angry,\u2019 Dupuis said. \u201cAnd I think they should be. Especially when the government said categorically leading up to the last election that they weren\u2019t going to.\u201d<\/p>\n Dupuis said OHC<\/span>\u00a0called out the Tories at the time and, despite promises not to move forward with privatization, the government \u201cbacktracked\u201d once re-elected.<\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cNow they\u2019re moving<\/span>\u00a0forward with it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n <\/span>Romano did not<\/span>\u00a0appear at the event.<\/p>\n <\/span>Under the bill,<\/span>\u00a0for-profit and not-for-profit clinics will be allowed to conduct cataract surgeries, MRI and C.T. scans, minimally invasive gynecological surgeries, and knee and hip replacements under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.<\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cFord is still<\/span>\u00a0saying you can pay with your OHIP card, not your credit card. Another really good one,\u201d Dupuis said.<\/p>\n