{"id":4416,"date":"2016-04-25T13:44:44","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T17:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/?p=4416"},"modified":"2020-05-08T15:41:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-08T19:41:13","slug":"province-wide-ontario-health-coalition-referendum-kicked-off-monday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/index.php\/province-wide-ontario-health-coalition-referendum-kicked-off-monday\/","title":{"rendered":"Province-wide Ontario Health Coalition referendum kicked off Monday"},"content":{"rendered":"

(April 25, 2016)<\/p>\n

By: J.T. Lewis, Erie Media<\/p>\n

Volunteers with the Ontario Health Coalition have initiated a province-wide referendum Monday to put an end to cuts to the community hospitals and restore services, funding and staff to meet the community\u2019s needs for care.<\/p>\n

In Welland, the referendum was kicked off in front of the Welland Hospital which has been targeted for closure under the Niagara Health Services plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly support this initiative,\u201d Welland Mayor Frank Campion said to the small group gathered in front of the Welland Hospital. \u201cIt\u2019s about making sure that all residents of Ontario have equal access to quality health care.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that the Welland hospital supports the local communities around, Port Colborne, Wainfleet and Welland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our hospital,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, if it\u2019s funding, whatever the cost of exposure is, and I suspect it has to do with funding, not better health care,\u201d he said. \u201cThen we need the funding. We need to insure that the proper amount of money to keep equitable quality healthcare for all residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are trying to nickel and dime, this is not the place to do it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said that the closure of the hospital would severely affect residents in the communities it serves, causing mobility problems for many and greatly reducing the quality of life for many.<\/p>\n

\u201cBottom line is, the closure of our hospital, stop it,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to keep our hospital open, it\u2019s a fact. We aren\u2019t asking for something out of the ordinary, we have a hospital, we should maintain that hospital, they should not close our hospital. \u201d<\/p>\n

Wainfleet Township Mayor April Jeffs also attended the kick-off Monday morning. The Welland Hospital serves her community as well and has been a major concern of hers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I like this referendum,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it gives people a voice, people think they haven\u2019t had any say in this, they just will be taken from us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything we do helps,\u201d she said. \u201cEvery step that we take helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

She described the plans and the current level of care as \u201cnot acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know the model of care is changing, I understand that, but, it doesn\u2019t mean taking away a hospital,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need this hospital for all the surrounding communities. For us in Wainfleet it\u2019s a matter of distance. We hear people say all the time \u2018We feel left out, the access to quality care.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI really do commend the community coming together,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople are really, really concerned about it and we need to keep putting these opportunities out there, people will sign petitions, they will put their thoughts in the ballot box, this is something that is crucial to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

The referendum is scheduled for Saturday May 28, ballot boxes are going to be set up all around the communities by members of the Niagara Health Coalition, details for locations and advanced polling are still to be sorted out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all there know there is a crisis in health care all across Ontario,\u201d Connie Butler of the Niagara Health Coalition said. \u201cWe want to take the results of the referendum to the Wynne government in Queen\u2019s Park, we want them to listen to ordinary Ontarians like us that are saying \u2018Enough is enough. You are putting our lives in danger.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis province is in bad trouble with respect to health care,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the lowest funding of all the provinces in Canada and probably the lowest of any developed country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t suffer any more cuts to our hospitals, this area in particular and to health care services,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, we want that message to get to Queen\u2019s Park so the closure of this hospital can be stopped as well as other services across the province that have been cut.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is precedent for this,\u201d Butler said. \u201cThe Ontario Health Coalition has stopped a number of small hospital closures, they stopped the closure of birthing services in Belleville, there have been a number of cuts like that that have been stopped through the activities of the Ontario Health Coalition.\u201d<\/p>\n

They are in need of lots of volunteers to help out with the referendum. People can volunteer by emailing niagarahealthcoalition@yahoo.com<\/a>, or go through their facebook page, https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/264670560348978\/<\/a> .<\/p>\n

Click here for original article<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(April 25, 2016) By: J.T. Lewis, Erie Media Volunteers with the Ontario Health Coalition have initiated a province-wide referendum Monday to put an end to cuts to the community hospitals and restore services, funding and staff to meet the community\u2019s needs for care. In Welland, the referendum was kicked off in front of the Welland […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ohc-in-the-news"],"yoast_head":"\nProvince-wide Ontario Health Coalition referendum kicked off Monday - Ontario Health Coalition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"(April 25, 2016) By: J.T. 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