{"id":4717,"date":"2016-04-25T12:01:45","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T16:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/?p=4717"},"modified":"2020-05-08T15:43:15","modified_gmt":"2020-05-08T19:43:15","slug":"referendum-launched-in-windsor-to-stop-health-care-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/index.php\/referendum-launched-in-windsor-to-stop-health-care-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Referendum launched in Windsor to stop health care cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

By: Tom Morrison, OurWindsor.ca<\/p>\n

Members of the Windsor Health Coalition are asking people from the area to vote in an informal referendum to stop provincial cuts to the health care system.<\/p>\n

The referendum is being held across the province in conjunction with the Ontario Health Coalition May 28.<\/p>\n

Ken Lewenza Jr., chair of the Windsor coalition, said this about making a \u201cpolitical action\u201d rather than creating something which would bind the Ontario government.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about taking an opportunity to educate the community, to make the community know and feel that there\u2019s actually something to tap into, that they can make a difference,\u201d he said Monday during the local kickoff for the referendum.<\/p>\n

The referendum reads, \u201cOntario\u2019s government must stop the cuts to our community hospitals and restore services, funding and staff to meet our communities\u2019 needs for care,\u201d with the option to select yes or no.<\/p>\n

Lewenza said there have been nine consecutive years of \u201creal dollar cuts\u201d to the health care system, meaning any increases to funding hasn\u2019t covered the inflationary pressures health facilities have to deal with.<\/p>\n

He said that includes the extra $345 million announced in the 2016 provincial budget,<\/a> which provides roughly a one per cent increase to the operational budgets of all Ontario hospitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat one per cent doesn\u2019t cover the inflationary pressures, doesn\u2019t cover the growth,\u201d he said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t cover our community\u2019s unique challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coalition is also looking for 400 volunteers locally to work at voting booths across the area for the day of the referendum.<\/p>\n

Lewenza said the plan is to have these booths in places like corner stores, drug stores, cafes and malls. He said they are also looking into bringing the voting into workplaces.<\/p>\n

Windsor Regional Hospital announced in January that due to a funding shortfall it would be cutting 166 full-time positions this year<\/a>, including 120 registered nurses, 80 of which would be replaced with 80 registered practical nurses.<\/p>\n

Sue Sommerdyk, president of the Ontario Nurses Association bargaining unit for Windsor Region, said this referendum is a way to further raise awareness of the effects the provincial funding model is having on hospitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are afraid to move jobs because they\u2019re afraid that if I move from my part-time job to my full-time job, then I\u2019ll get laid off,\u201d she said or nurses on staff at Windsor Regional. \u201cIt\u2019s just not a very good atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the first schedule for June 15, when these cuts will occur, has been posted and it has led to \u201cvery, very low morale\u201d among the nursing staff.<\/p>\n

Mike Lepine, a Vietnam War veteran involved with the coalition, said the government needs to have more compassion when it comes to healthcare.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get the message out that we\u2019re tired of you (the province) breaking a system that doesn\u2019t need to be broken,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lewenza said while the governing Liberals deserve some criticism, he doesn\u2019t want to make this a partisan issue so that doesn\u2019t get in the way of people rallying behind the campaign.<\/p>\n

To get involved, contact Lewenza at 519-819-0830 or ken.lewenzajr@unifor.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

(April 25, 2016) By: Tom Morrison, OurWindsor.ca Members of the Windsor Health Coalition are asking people from the area to vote in an informal referendum to stop provincial cuts to the health care system. The referendum is being held across the province in conjunction with the Ontario Health Coalition May 28. Ken Lewenza Jr., chair […]<\/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-4717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ohc-in-the-news"],"yoast_head":"\nReferendum launched in Windsor to stop health care cuts - Ontario Health Coalition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"(April 25, 2016) By: Tom Morrison, OurWindsor.ca Members of the Windsor Health Coalition are asking people from the area to vote in an informal referendum\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/index.php\/referendum-launched-in-windsor-to-stop-health-care-cuts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Referendum launched in Windsor to stop health care cuts - 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