(July 8, 2024) By: Richard Coffin, MyNorthBayNow<\/p>\n
Another rally against healthcare privatization is taking place next week in North Bay.<\/p>\n
The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions and North Bay Health Coalition are organizing the July 15 event from 11:30 am to 1 pm outside of Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re rallying against the privatization of hospital surgeries and diagnostic procedures.<\/p>\n
Bill 60, which expanded for-profit clinics and hospitals to take on surgeries and diagnostic procedures typically done at public hospitals received royal assent in 2023.<\/p>\n
That spring, North Bay Health Coalition Co-chair Henri Giroux said the government \u201cneeds to fix the healthcare system not sell it\u201d.<\/p>\n
In May, the Ontario Health Coalition said in the past year, more than a billion dollars in public funding has gone to private for-profit clinics and for-profit staffing agencies to privatize what have been public non-profit services.<\/p>\n
Fedeli has previously labelled the Ontario Health Coalition as an \u201cout-of-touch, NDP-backed special interest group has spent the last decade accomplishing nothing while standing ideologically opposed to innovation taking place in the health care system, our government is taking bold action to connect more people to the care they need, when they need it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week, he announced $10.5 million in funding for the North Bay Regional Health Centre, including $9.2 million in additional base funding.<\/p>\n