Tag Archives: privatization

CKMS News -2024-09-30- A province-wide doubling of hospital patients exposed to hallway medicine since 2018.

1 October 2024 dan kellar Leave a comment

CKMS News -2024-09-30-A doubling of patients exposed to hallway medicine since 2018

dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – A recent exposé by The Trillium newsroom has revealed that the practice of hallway medicine in Ontario’s hospitals has on average, doubled from 2018 when Doug Ford’s conservatives were elected to government. Hallway medicine or hallway healthcare, is the practice of patient beds being placed in “unconventional spaces” or areas that are not designed for the purpose, such as hallways, closests, or staff rooms.

The data, which was obtained through the freedom of information process, reveals that Waterloo Region’s two hospitals mirror the provincial data while Guelph’s hospital experienced a 6-fold increase in hallway medicine.

This show features interviews with RN Erin Ariss, the President of the Ontario Nurses Association, and Jim Stewart of the Waterloo Region Health Coalition, a non-partisan advocacy group. Both Erin Ariss and Jim Stewart live in Waterloo Region.

CKMS News received a statement from the office of the minister of Health Sylvia Jones, some of which is included.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

CKMS News – Mobilising to defend the Greenbelt and “Stop the Sprawl”

29 July 2023 News 1 Comment

Listen: 2023-07-29 – Mobilising to defend the Greenbelt and “Stop the Sprawl”

By: dan kellar
Kitchener

Premier Dog Ford and the Ontario Conservative party have pushed forward with legislation which will allow housing development across swaths of the previously protected land, despite previous promises to leave the Greenbelt alone.

Across the province residents have organized against the changes to Greenbelt protections, and in Waterloo Region many groups and individuals have been working to “Stop the Sprawl”. Ahead of the July 29th “Rally Against the Big Sprawl” in Waterloo, CKMS News spoke with Kevin Thomason of the Grand River Environmental Network and a number of other social and environmental justice oriented organizations.

Thomason spoke about efforts to mobilize against of the Ontario government’s actions and legislation which they he argues will dismantle the rules protecting the Greenbelt from destruction by development (such as with Bill 23) and undermine local democracy (such as with Bill 39). He also spoke of continuing to engage in public participation processes, the work of GREN, and some of the solutions that could be implemented to address the housing crisis without causing further damage to the ecological services associated with Greenbelt lands.

Photo: dan kellar

Lawn signs placed on either side of the road and in the median ahead of the Stop the Sprawl Rally. The first sign, red and dark green with white text which reads: "Stop Sprawl. Respect Waterloo Region's Plan. Stop Forced Urban Boundary Expansion on Farmland and Natural Spaces. — Photo: dan kellar

Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles standing with local NDP MPP Catherine Fife. They are having a friendly chat with a rally participant. Others at the demo are in the background. — Photo: dan kellar

A crowd of folks at the demonstration. — As the Ontario government works to overrule local decision making and accelerate the dismantling of the ecologically significant lands of the Greenbelt to facilitate suburban sprawl, groups across Ontario have organised to resist these actions.
Photo: dan kellar

This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, Heritage Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.

Check out the archived versions of this program on radiowaterloo.ca/news, and listen to all the LJI content at canada-info.ca.

If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

CKMS News – 2023-07-04 – Jim Stewart of the Waterloo Region Health Coalition discusses protecting Ontario’s public healthcare from privatization

4 July 2023 News Leave a comment

Listen: CKMS News – 2023-07-04 – Jim Stewart of the Waterloo Region Health Coalition discusses Protecting Ontario’s public healthcare from privatization

By: dan kellar

As the efforts by the Ontario government to privatize public health care in Ontario accelerate, protests by health care workers and local residents have taken place across the province. On June 26th over 200 people demonstrated in front of St. Mary’s hospital in Kitchener to tell the government “Healthcare is a Human Right, Hands off our Hospitals!”.

Attending the event were representatives from the Waterloo Region Health Coalition and today’s show features an interview with Jim Stewart, the chair of the Waterloo Region Health Coalition, a node in the Ontario Health Coalition whose goal is to defend public health care against privatization.

In the interview Stewart speaks on Doug Ford’s and the conservative government’s continuing privatization agenda, the work the Waterloo Region Health Coalition is undertaking and the growing movement within the healthcare system, and across the public sphere, that is organizing to support health care workers and protect public healthcare in Ontario.

For more information on the Waterloo Region Health Coalition, visit waterloohealthcoalition.org.