Ford is trying to undercut publicly funded health care

Re: Ford unveils three-step plan to invest in private health care — Jan. 17

The explanation for the government’s move that is given in the article is a long waiting list for health-care procedures that was created by COVID. That is reductionist. It is very clear that nurses are underpaid in Ontario, and doctors are overwhelmed, as are hospitals. So why not add on to the hospital?

While some of the medical procedures Ford proposes to transfer to privately run clinics are considered minor, surely it is preferable to be close to hospitals and very specialized equipment, should something go wrong.

Where are all these new doctors and nurses supposed to come from, and will their pay scale be different from those working in hospitals? While nurses don’t go into nursing for the money, they do need to pay the rent.

I don’t think this has anything to do with a COVID backlog; I think this is a first step to undercutting public health care. For instance, what is to stop one of these clinics saying to a patient that they can gain priority by paying more than what is covered by their OHIP? The article makes no mention of how that will be prohibited.

Jennifer AdamsKitchener

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