Tag Archives: Ontario election issues

Did McGuinty err in his mental heath campaign announcement?

Posted on September 23, 2011 | 2 comments

Premier Dalton McGuinty might have found a better venue for his campaign mental health announcement today at the Centre for Mental Health and Addictions (CAMH).

CAMH has experienced significant layoffs over the past two years, yet McGuinty’s announcement really had more to do with support for mental health services delivered mostly elsewhere.

For the first time, however, we have a glimpse of how the Liberals plan to support mental health issues for adults.

After waiting three years for the comprehensive 10-year mental health plan, the McGuinty government instead gave us a three-year plan for child and adolescent mental health this spring. There is no question this is needed – three of four children with mental illness are going without treatment, and waits are frequently more than a year. But what about the adults?

At McGuinty’s announcement he said Ontario would commit $30 million more per year on adult mental health – but not until 2014. This surely must be a mistake on the Premier’s part.

If it’s true, this is insulting on two counts: the first forcing adults with mental illness to wait another three years before their issue can be addressed, the second being the pittance he is offering.

$30 million is a fraction of the cost of the bricks and mortar his government is putting into hard infrastructure at CAMH, North Bay, Windsor, Cambridge and other mental health facilities. If a concrete beam could provide mental health care, this might be a good plan.

This is $30 million on what by then will be a health budget of at least $53 billion (quite literally by Conservative standards). That’s .006 per cent.

Ontario lags far behind other provinces on mental health spending and it’s not even close to reaching the World Health Organization standard, which suggests eight per cent of health care spending should be committed to mental health. Ontario is a little over five per cent.

Ironically CAMH is part of the Ontario Mental Health and Addictions Alliance, which is calling for a comprehensive basket of services in every community, complaining of “wildly uneven” access.

The Alliance states: “In communities across the province, there are shortfalls in service across the many parts of the continuum including access to psychiatric assessments, hospital beds, residential addiction treatment and peer support, to name but a few.”

After a three-year plan that delivered little, the Alliance is calling for “a number of critical policy, planning, and funding capacities” at the provincial level to meet broader system reforms.

They say the needed reforms include clearly articulated goals and objectives, the capacity to plan and fund based on population need, and the ability to monitor and report on the functioning of the system. Wasn’t this all supposed to be in the 10-year plan?

The cost of inaction on this file is huge – the Alliance estimates the economic cost of mental health to be $39 billion annually in Ontario.

There is also a further question about support for mental health issues that fall outside the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Children and Youth Services. The PC campaign shows programs outside the health and education envelopes being frozen until at least 2017, which raises questions about where the money will come from to address the social determinants of health, including supportive housing. Clearly there is some silo thinking going on in the Tory camp.

Unless Dalton misfired, the Liberal commitment appears to be a smoke screen to a public that is unaware of the scale of this problem. The NDP tell us they still support the all-party plan, which is far from being implemented. To date they have not addressed the issue publicly. The Tories say people have been lost in the mental health system, but offer no remedies in Changebook.

A year ago the three parties were all fired up about addressing the injustices in mental health. A year later nobody appears to want to talk about it.

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Posted in Mental Health

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“Fat raises and lavish benefits?”

Posted on August 19, 2011 | 1 comment

Do you feel you have been getting “fat raises” and “lavish benefits” from the McGuinty government?

According to the Toronto Sun, Tim Hudak’s Tories are launching a television commercial attacking public sector unionized workers, urging “taxpayers” to call a toll-free number to register their objections to Dalton McGuinty “giving away more of your money to union bosses.”

The ad suggests unions are “investing in McGuinty” because “they want hundreds of millions in fat raises and lavish benefits.”

Heavy on the “cheese” – the ad looks like a late-night low-budget infomercial – it is intended to counter union messaging on the threats Hudak poses for working people.

The hysteria suggests McGuinty “handed out a 25 per cent increase for one union,” but does not say who, when or over how many years. MPPs did give themselves a 25 per cent pay raise in 2006.

The commercial also misleads the public about current wage settlements. According to statistics Canada, the average wage increase in Ontario was  2.1 per cent (as of April 2011) – well below the province’s spring’s inflation rate of 4.0 per cent. That means most workers are in fact losing ground.

The “fat raises” and “lavish benefits” also fly in the face of the McGuinty wage freeze.

A Globe and Mail review of 2010 executive pay shows CEOs at Canada’s 100 largest companies saw their compensation jump 13 per cent last year, led higher by a 20-per-cent increase in annual cash bonuses.

Hudak is taking a page out of the playbook of his former boss Mike Harris, who whipped up public sentiment against public sector workers. The Harris government ended up repealing anti-scab legislation, froze the minimum wage, made it harder to get worker’s compensation, and challenged the ability of public sector workers to bargain collectively.

Looking at their paycheques, health care workers should be asking Tory candidates if they think their current settlements are “fat” and “lavish,” and whether such attack ads are a preview of what Hudak’s relationship with labour will be?

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Posted in Health System

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PC Platform: Tim Hudak wants you to compete for the job you have

Posted on June 7, 2011 | 3 comments

Tim Hudak is no longer the mystery man. The question is, now that his Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) platform is out there, will it matter?

Hudak has made it clear that he intends to make public sector workers a target, including workers in health care.

“We will introduce initiatives requiring public sector unions to compete for government contracts, where appropriate,” the Tory Changebook states. “If another organization – whether a non-profit group or private business – can provide better value for money, taxpayers deserve to benefit.”

The platform goes on to suggest support services “like food preparation or laundry” in our “public institutions” are a prime example where he expects these competitions to take place.

If you are spared the competition, you may not have your next contract fairly arbitrated. Hudak plans to challenge the independence of the arbitrators, claiming recent awards have been “excessive.”

“We will require arbitrators to respect the ability of taxpayers to pay and take into account local circumstances,” the document states.

Changebook claims the Tories will “bring public sector paycheques in line with private sector standards.”

Specific to health care, Changebook makes the same promise as the McGuinty Liberals when it comes to funding – reduce increases to three per cent per year.

Hudak promises a review of all agencies and commissions, but would axe the LHINs before that even takes place. He would not replace the LHINs, which raises questions about how health care planning, local funding, and community engagement will take place. He says he will redirect the $70 million per year from closing the LHINs into front line care. At present Ontario spends $47 billion on public health care.

The Tories say they will add 5,000 new long term care beds and increase investments in home care to “give families more control over services.” That includes the ability to stay with the provider they have now, or pick a new government-funded home care provider who better meets their individual needs. Given the Tories have supported competitive bidding in home care, it is unclear whether an individual will be able to maintain their provider after they have lost the CCAC contract. While the Tories promise to increase investments in home care, they also promise to find savings at the CCACs.

Hudak says he will clamp down on fraud, but the only specific promise is to demand that people using the old red and white health cards also present another form of government-issued identification, such as a driver’s license or passport.

Unlike the Federal NDP, which promised more doctors and nurses, the Tories only claim to add to the number of doctors by increasing residency placements for medical students from Ontario who have pursued their education outside Canada. They call upon doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants to work collaboratively, particularly in underserviced areas. There is no mention of the other health professions integral to the public health system.

Like the McGuinty Liberals, the Tories vow to be as obsessive about measuring health outcomes and “introducing a rigorous system of patient satisfaction.” Do we read that as even more patient satisfaction forms to fill out? And how does this square with the promise to reduce bureaucracy?

The Tories say they will make it law that the province cannot raise taxes without a clear mandate. Unfortunately, it is silent on needing the same to cut taxes, particularly for corporations.

They also promise to expand the scope of Freedom of Information, but it is not clear how.

The Tories have already come under fire for their spending commitments and tax cuts. The normally conservative Ottawa Citizen called it the “common nonsense revolution,” comparing Hudak’s plans to reckless debt run up by U.S. President George Bush. “Unlike Bush,” writes Citizen editorial board member Ken Gray, “Premier Dalton McGuinty has required Ontarians to pay for the services they receive for which his government has been dubbed ‘tax and spend’ by people who would rather spend, borrow and pay interest.”

“Hudak’s election platform is the kind of document that made Greece the model of fiscal prudence it is today,” writes Gray.

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Posted in CCAC, Health Care Professionals, Health System, Local Health Integration Networks, Long Term Care

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September rally to demand health care commitments

Posted on June 6, 2011 | 1 comment

Public health care usually ranks at the top of voter priority issues. It is also an issue that politicians are reluctant to talk about during the heat of an election. All three parties carry health care baggage from their time in government.

The Rae NDP government accelerated the privatization of community labs and created Rae days which increased overtime costs in hospitals. The Harris/Eves Tory government froze health care funding and introduce the disastrous policy of competitive bidding to home care. The McGuinty Liberals have closed ERs and pressured hospitals to empty hospital beds without providing sufficient alternate care in the community.

The Liberals and Tories are now promising to reduce health care spending increases to three per cent per year. Tim Hudak wants to eliminate the LHINs but offers no replacement for planning, funding, and community consultation. He also wants to contract out support services in our hospitals. The NDP have yet to reveal their health care platform. All this is taking place as governments prepare for a new age of austerity.

Regardless of the baggage they carry in to the election, voters need to demand a vision of where health care is going from all parties. It’s not just about shovelling funding into the system.

The Ontario Health Coalition is hoping that enough people show up in the streets of Toronto September 13th to send a message that political candidates cannot ignore. During this election we really do want to talk about health care.

The rally to safeguard public health care is being scheduled at Queen’s Park on Tuesday, September 13 at 12 Noon. While most rallies are aimed at the government of the day, this rally is a message to all parties that it is time for improved and equitable access to comprehensive health care across all of our communities.

Health care workers may want to schedule their shifts to be able to come to Toronto on that date. For workers along University Avenue and near Queen’s Park, the rally offers an ability to come out during lunch time and cheer the rally on.

Watch for more details in the coming months.

Meanwhile, please download the attached rally poster and share it with anyone you know who is interested in defending our public Medicare system.

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Posted in Health System, Ontario Health Coalition

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