To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario: / À l’Assemblée législative de l’ Ontario :
WHEREAS in the 1980s, 30,000 Canadians were infected by HIV or Hepatitis and 8,000 died after receiving tainted blood transfusions; and / ALORS QUE dans les années 1980, 30 000 Canadien.nes ont été infectés par le VIH ou l’hépatite et 8 000 sont décédés après avoir reçu des transfusions de sang contaminé; et
WHEREAS the Royal Commission of Inquiry led by Justice Krever made recommendations to protect the integrity of blood product collection; and / ALORS QUE la commission royale d’enquête du juge Krever a formulé des recommandations visant à protéger l’intégrité de la collecte de produits sanguins; et
WHEREAS recommendation 2b of the Krever inquiry states Donors of blood and plasma should not be paid for their donations; and / ALORS QUE la recommandation 2b de l’enquête du juge Krever stipule que les dons de sang et de plasma ne devraient pas être rémunérés; et
WHEREAS British Columbia and Quebec have forbidden deals between Canadian Blood Services and the for-profit plasma industry to outsource collection and pay donors; and / ALORS QUE la Colombie-Britannique et le Québec ont interdit les accords entre la Société canadienne du sang et l’industrie du plasma à but lucratif visant à rémunérer les donneurs; et
WHEREAS Ontario has adopted the Voluntary Blood Donation Act that forbids the privatization of blood products collection and payment for donation of blood and plasma. /ALORS QUE l’Ontario a adopté la Loi sur le don de sang volontaire qui interdit la privatisation et la rémunération des dons de sang et de plasma.
WE, the undersigned petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows: to immediately act to forbid Grifols pharmaceuticals from setting up for-profit clinics and paying donors for their plasma in Ontario. / NOUS soussignés pétitionnons l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario : d’agir immédiatement pour interdire à la compagnie Grifols de créer des cliniques à but lucratif et de payer les donneurs pour leur plasma en Ontario.
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Mandatory fields are indicated with an asterisk / Les champs obligatoires sont indiqués par un astérisque
2024 PETITION-Blood and Plasma Donations not for sale-Les dons de sang et de plasma ne sont pas en vente*****************************************************************************
Thank you for taking the initiative to collect petition signatures! Your work raising awareness and advocating for this important issue is incredibly valuable. I encourage you to share the petition with friends, family, and members of your community.
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December 5, 2023
More and more Emergency Room closures under this conservative government
This morning during question period, NDP Health Critic France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt, questioned Minister of Health Sylvia Jones about the unprecedented number of Emergency Room closures the Ontario Health Coalition could identify so far in 2023.
” The Ontario Health Coalition was able to identify 1199 vital hospital services closures, 868 ER closures, 316 urgent care closures, 11 obstetrics closures, the list goes on, labour and delivery closures, ICU closures, hospital out-patients lab closures. Every single one of these closures put patient health and life at risk.
The Minister must be very proud, her plan to create a crisis in our health care system is working perfectly. How many more private clinics will the minister be able to fund given this level of crisis?”
The recently closed Minden Emergency Room is becoming a Community Nursing Clinic in Partnership with SE Health and ParaMed Home Health Care. Former Minister of Health Christine Elliott sits on the board at SE Health while ParaMed Home Health is a subsidiary Extendicare Inc.
November 28, 2023
Private Hospitals get preferential treatment with the Conservative Government
This morning during question period, NDP Health Critic France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt, questioned Premier Ford about the province’s use of public funds to help expand private hospitals.
“Speaker why is Ontario paying 330 % more for surgeries in for profit clinics than in public hospitals.” The member from Eglington Lawrence stated, “These centres have higher costs because they’re purchasing equipment.” Don Mills Surgical Unit, a for profit hospital, expanded from 3 to 6 operating rooms and 7 recovery bays, while our public hospital operating rooms sit dark and empty and against the Private Hospitals Act that forbids expanding for-profit hospitals. Why are you expanding private hospitals where we pay more for less?”
After a CBC report on fees paid to private clinics, the Ontario Health Coalition shared more research on the expansion of the Don Mills Surgical Unit.
“Speaker, the previous Minister of Health, is now a lobbyist for Clearpoint, the corporation that owns Don Mills Surgical Unit. The Ontario’s Members’ Integrity Act prohibits former Cabinet Ministers from ever making representations to the provincial government. Don Mills received a 278% funding increase when Christine Elliott was Minister of Health. Does the Premier support the fact that his former Minister of Health is lobbying for preferential treatment for Don Mills?”
On November 7 2023, Premier Ford’s former Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott registered to lobby on behalf of Clearpoint Health Network Inc, a subsidiary of Kensington Capital Partners Limited.
November 17, 2023
Patients need access to dental care
France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt and Health Critic for the Official Opposition rose in the legislature to share the challenges Ontarians are facing accessing dental services in Ontario.
“Speaker, Ian Watson from my riding is a cancer survivor, living with the long-term side effects of radiation treatment for lymphoma; which means frequent dental problems and procedures. Ian was notified earlier this year that he’s no longer eligible for the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Plan because his 2022 income exceeded the $22,200 Net Income threshold.
He is not the only one, Gail is $3 over, her net income is 22,203 so she no longer qualifies but she needs dental services and can not afford to pay. Unlike the Seniors Co-Payment Program which is based a yearly income after deductions the dental plan is based on income before deductions. Ian is asking why this provincial government applies a different interpretation of net income for one program versus another. But what thousands of seniors want to know is why is this government making it so difficult for seniors to access basic dental care. Why is the eligibility income set so low.
Your mouth is part of your body, if your mouth is sick and you don’t have private coverage you will end up at one of our province’s overcrowded emergency rooms in pain or worse. The government of Ontario has left way too many patients in pain. I suppose we’ll need to wait for the federal government to clean up this government mess.”
November 16, 2023
Team Ford Playing Favorites with Vaccine Distribution
This morning during question period, NDP Health Critic France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt, questioned Premier Ford about the province’s decision to allow Shoppers Drug Mart to operate as a vaccine distributor for the province.
“Last week two Toronto pharmacies declared publicly that they are no longer administering vaccines due to major problems with the province’s new vaccine distributor. Who is the new distributor Speaker? Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws’ chain of pharmacies. The pharmacists in question reported receiving only 10% of their orders, having to cancel days of prebooked appointments, a real headache. Does the Premier see a conflict of interest in having Shoppers Drug Mart responsible for distributing vaccines to their competitors?”
It was widely reported last week that Toronto Pharmasave pharmacists were ending vaccination programs at two locations due to supply issues.
“Complaints against Shopper Drug Mart handling of the vaccine distribution are coming from every part of the province, even from Shopper Drug Mart pharmacy owners. A pharmacist in Northern Ontario told me that last year she was alone, so she only administered a limited amount of vaccines. This year she was able to recruit 3 pharmacists to come and help her, she got vaccine clinics booked solid for weeks on end but no vaccine as the distributor will only give her a percentage of what she used last year. When it comes to high dose flu vaccines the situation is even worse.
Speaker, Public Health handled vaccine distribution in Ontario for decades with no issues. They knew and listened to local providers. They were reliable. Does the Premier understand that handing the distribution of vaccines over to his friends is having drastic consequences on the health of Ontarians?”