Thousands cast their ballots in community-referendum on hospital privatization in Ontario
A "community-led" referendum is asking thousands of Ontarians to weigh in on whether the privatization of the province's healthcare system is good for the future.
Thousands of ballot boxes were placed in communities across Ontario on Friday and Saturday by the Ontario Health Coalition, asking residents to cast their ballots on whether they're for or against privatized care.
"I wanted to vote today (Saturday) because I think privatizing our public health system is completely wrong," said Lucille Trickett, a Simcoe County resident who went to cast her ballot in Barrie. "I lived in the United States for four years for work and had the unfortunate experience of having to go to the E.R., and when I got checked in, they immediately came up with a cart and asked for my credit card."
Simcoe County Health Coalition officials said the vote is part of a month-long campaign to educate the public about Bill 60, also known as the Your Health Act.
"There's been quite a few in the public who don't know exactly what's going on," said Daniel Burgoyne with the Simcoe County Health Coalition. "We've been finding a lot of the younger population especially. They're just kind of out of touch with that. But it is something to be known. It is going to be affecting us going forward."
Under the bill, for-profit and not-for-profit clinics will be allowed to conduct cataract surgeries, MRI and C.T. scans, minimally invasive gynecological surgeries, and knee and hip replacements under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.
“Our government's Your Health Act strengthens the oversight of community surgical settings while protecting the stability of doctors, nurses and other health-care workers in our healthcare system," reads a statement from the Ministry of Health. "Bill 60 also strengthens the already robust framework for the oversight of community and surgical diagnostic centres, including a provision to bring these centres under the oversight of a patient ombudsman, and puts into law that Ontarians will always access insured services at community surgical and diagnostic centres with their OHIP card and never their credit card, consistent with the Canada Health Act."
Saturday was the final day to vote in the referendum. Locally, the health coalition hopes it collected at least 5,000 votes before revealing its results on Tuesday.
Provincially, the Ontario Health Coalition aimed to have over 1 million people cast their ballots.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
DEVELOPING Live updates from the Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels, bookkeeper testify
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
Man accused of killing two children at Quebec daycare to stand trial in April 2025
The man accused of murdering two children and injuring six others after a city bus crashed into a Montreal-area daycare is scheduled to stand trial over five weeks beginning in April 2025.