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The Edmonton Sun Fri Mar 20 2015

The Alberta government will repeal controversial anti-union strike legislation as Premier Jim Prentice looks to "reset the table" with public sector unions ahead of an expected spring election Following a meeting with the heads of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), United Nurses of Alberta (UNA), the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Alberta branch on Thursday, Prentice said the government will move to repeal Bill 45, The Public Sector Services Continuation Act. Passed in December 2013 but never proclaimed, Bill 45 proposed stiffer penalties for unions involved in illegal strikes to the tune of $1 million per day of strike action. The bill was introduced after a costly wildcat strike at the Edmonton Remand Centre in April 2013. Prentice said he personally didn't think the legislation should have ever been passed.

"I didn't go into this meeting offering to repeal Bill 45 as a negotiating chip. That was not the point ... the purpose of the discussion today was to reset the table," said Prentice in a news conference at Government House following the meeting. "I don't agree with (Bill 45). I don't agree with the content of the legislation and we will move forward and define essential service legislation that is as respectful of the rights of our employees as it is respectful of taxpayers." Prentice said the government wants to collaboratively work with unions to define essential service legislation as well as a new contract negotiation process that's similar to British Columbia's, where all public sector labour negotiations go through the Public Sector Employers' Council Secretariat under a fixed fiscal mandate.

March 24, 2015

Focus group report points to widening urban-rural divide If Premier Paul Davis is looking to make cuts in the upcoming budget, he’d do well to avoid slashing spending on health care, according to polling information provided to the premier’s office.

Campbell River Courier-Islander Wed Mar 25 2015

It's time for Canadians to take back the public health care agenda. For far too long, forces have been chipping away at our most cherished social program. To get a glimpse of the future facing public health care today, just follow the money. This March 31 marks the first anniversary of a decade-long $36 billion cut to health care transfers to the provinces by Ottawa. B.C.'s share of that historic 10-year long reduction totals $5 billion.

I think we can all agree that less money for health care is not what is needed for our province. In fact, a Conference Board of Canada report released last August determined Victoria must invest $1.8 billion more than budgeted for health care between 2014 and 2017 just to maintain current service levels. With an aging population requiring more complex care, this deliberate underfunding of services by both federal and provincial governments is playing out in very ugly ways - and the signs are everywhere. Take the growth in private health care. For a third-year in a row, B.C. was fined for allowing illegal extra-billing of patients for services that are supposed to be without cost to all Canadians under the Canada Health Act. Later this June, a B.C.-based private hospital owner will push for the reintroduction of two-tier medicine into Canada at the province's Supreme Court. Then there's the impact on seniors' care. According to a poll conducted last September, many of B.C.'s frail elderly do not receive the attention they require.

Toronto Star Fri Mar 27 2015

Imagine you're a physician seeing a 6-month-old child in clinic. She has a fever and cough, she's working hard to breathe and her oxygen levels are falling. You know she needs assessment in the emergency room and requires transportation in an ambulance in case her condition worsens en route. Her family understands the urgency of the situation, but asks, "Could we take her there in our car?" Experiencing a medical emergency is an incredibly stressful experience for patients and their families. This stress should not be compounded by worries about getting an ambulance bill they can't afford. As physicians, we know the importance of the first few minutes of an emergency situation, and the crucial role of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in saving lives. And yet ambulance fees remain a significant barrier to people receiving necessary care across Canada.

One young mother recently spoke to the Saskatchewan press about receiving a bill of $7,000 after several ambulance trips were required for her severely ill daughter. Connie Newman of the Manitoba Association of Seniors Centres recently described to reporters the plight of an elderly woman who walked to the hospital in -40 C because she could not afford an ambulance. How often are people forced to choose the unsafe option of driving themselves or their loved ones to hospital simply because they cannot afford to pay? A recent CBC Marketplace survey revealed that 19 per cent of Canadians did not call an ambulance due to cost. Clearly, this is an issue that our provincial and territorial health ministers need to address. A look across our provinces and territories reveals a patchwork system for financing ambulance services. New Brunswick has recently removed ambulance fees for anyone who does not have private insurance coverage. All other provinces and territories in Canada - with the exception of the Yukon - charge ambulance fees. The burden of cost to patients is highest in the prairies: Manitoba charges up to $530 per trip, and Saskatchewan tacks on fees for interhospital transfers on top of the $245-$325 fee for an ambulance pickup from home.

26/March/2015

Staff at Almonte General Hospital represented by CUPE will rally at noon on March 27 at the office of local MPP Jack MacLaren (240 Michael Cowpland Drive, Unit 100, Kanata) as part of a campaign to protest the cuts to registered practical nursing staff at the hospital.10 registered practical nurse positions are being eliminated at the hospital to be replaced with personal support workers.Registered practical nurses complete a 2-year community college program. They are fully trained nurses and, among many other skills, can do physical assessment, wound care, manage IV's and dispense medications.Almonte Hospital is in the 4th year of a 5-year funding freeze, imposed by the provincial Liberal government. Ontario's Auditor General has estimated that hospitals need a 5.8% funding increase each year to meet their costs, which are rising faster than inflation due to the costs of drugs, medical technologies and doctors' salaries. The 4-year funding freeze has cut Almonte's budget by 24%. Ontario hospitals were already the most efficient hospitals in the country with the fewest beds and staff and the shortest lengths of stay going into the freeze."We are building an escalating campaign aimed to push the provincial government to fund hospitals like Almonte General properly. A community meeting in Almonte is planned for May", says Linda Melbrew, president of CUPE local 3022, which represents staff at the hospital.SOURCE Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (CUPE)For further information:Linda Melbrew, President, CUPE Local 3022, 613-314-5283; Michael Hurley, President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions/CUPE (OCHU), 416-884-0770

The Sudbury Star Thu Mar 26 2015

After months of talk about pending cuts to nursing and other staff positions at Health Sciences North, hospital administrators have released a document saying how they believe the hospital can cut $5.1 million from its budget without affecting patient care. The Ontario Nurses' Association has warned as many as 42 nursing positions -- equivalent to about 85,000 hours of nursing care--will be eliminated so HSN can balance its books. Until Wednesday, hospital officials would only say they didn't expect a single nurse to lose his or her job because the positions could be trimmed by attrition. Seven layoff notices have been issued to ONA members, but the hospital's official position is not one nurse will "be out the door." ONA Local 014 president Kelly Latimer spoke Tuesday night to more than 300 people at the Steelworkers Hall at a forum organized by the Ontario Health Coalition, which has a Sudbury chapter.

Cape Breton Post Fri Mar 27 2015

Every spring, we seem to get the same old song from the usual right-wing groups, such as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, and the Fraser Institute. They always look to play the blame game, pitting the public sector and its unions and the private sector against one another just in time for the spring budgets. The spin seems to be that people making a decent living with benefits in the public sector is a bad thing, and that those workers' wages should be brought down and their benefits and pensions slashed.

They completely ignore the real reason that wages are higher in the public sector - namely, that historical wage and benefit inequities for women and other equality seeking groups have been addressed much more thoroughly in the public sector. That's the real news story here: Equality seeking groups - including 51 per cent of the population (women) - continue to be dramatically underpaid and undervalued in the private sector. The other important questions they never seem to address are: What actually happens to the people who don't have those benefits, who don't have a pension? What happens when they retire, when they get sick, when they need dental work, have vision problems or other major health issues that are not covered by public health care? What happens to the folks who don't have a drug plan and can't afford their medication? Shouldn't we be having a conversation about how to ensure all workers make a decent wage, have a job with benefits and a pension they can retire on with some dignity ... in both the private and public sector?

Today’s provincial budget chips away at the incomes of hard-working public employees and their families while failing to increase revenues through progressive taxation, CUPE Alberta Treasurer Glynnis Lieb said. “The Premier is picking the pockets of public workers,” Lieb said. “Demanding wage concessions while eliminating health care tax cost-sharing means less money for our kids’ after-school activities and less money for groceries and rent.”

March 31, 2015

By Larry and Judy Haiven The Nova Scotia government and its four acute health care unions have finally resolved their dispute over which unions represent which workers in collective bargaining. The British Columbia model of “bargaining associations,” floated by the unions last summer, and rejected by the government then, will now be the order of the day. Was this the big victory for the workers that some commentators claim?

Will the groups of skilled workers with clout submit meekly, or will their anger and militancy redouble as the government attempts to balance the provincial budget on their backs?

Jan 20, 2016

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario — Ontario’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs is in Sault Ste. Marie tomorrow for one of six pre-budget consultations across the province. Michael Hurley the president of Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) presenting to the committee at 1:45 p.m. at the Delta Waterfront, has a direct message for the provincial government; “invest in hospital care before more patients in northern Ontario suffer.”

Trail Daily Times Thu Jan 21 2016

This week Canada's Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Philpott, will meet with her provincial and territorial counterparts in Vancouver. This is no ordinary get-together. In his mandate letter to the Minister, Prime Minister Trudeau tasked Philpott with "engaging provinces and territories in the development of a new, multi-year Health Accord with long-term funding agreement." This is a distinct change in tone from the previous federal government, which refused to meet with provinces to negotiate a new agreement after the accord ran out in 2014.

The top-down approach by the Harper government was greeted with two distinct reactions. There were those that saw the cancellation of the Health Accord as a step backward that would further reduce the federal portion of funding for health care, offloading costs to the provinces. Others criticized the past accord, billed as "a fix for a generation," because it didn't buy the intended change. While progress was made on wait times for certain services, other innovations in home care, primary care, prevention and health promotion, and the development of a national pharmaceutical strategy were not achieved in any meaningful way, with most of the increased funding getting absorbed into regular health budgets. Both of these perspectives hold merit.

Vancouver Sun Wed Jan 20 2016

Byline: Brian Day Source: Vancouver Sun

Over 60,000 B.C. residents have signed a petition against rising Medical Services Plan premiums. Organizers report that the wealthy pay the same fees as those earning $30,000. Their point is valid. But their anger would probably be tempered if the funds garnished from wage earners were being used efficiently. Few are probably aware of the Medical Services Commission (MSC), an unelected body responsible for spending the $4 billion-plus in MSP premiums and other taxes. Their mandate is "to facilitate reasonable access throughout B.C. to quality medical care, health care and diagnostic facility services for B.C. residents under MSP."

The Globe and Mail Thu Jan 21 2016

Provincial and territorial health ministers have agreed to begin talks on improving access to prescription drugs, and are asking the new federal government to join the discussions. The move, which gained the support of health ministers during a meeting in Vancouver on Wednesday, is the first step toward the possible inclusion of a national pharmacare plan in a new health accord, said Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins, who introduced the proposal. Mr. Hoskins, who has long pushed for more equitable access to pharmaceuticals, said the current negotiations on a new health deal provide a unique opportunity for governments to consider what a Canadian pharmacare plan might look like.

Such a plan might be a combination of public and private insurance, he suggested, that could start with an agreement among governments about what prescription drugs to cover. "I like to believe we have a generational opportunity to really create a visionary document," Mr. Hoskins said in an interview on Wednesday. While there is no guarantee that Canadian governments can agree on a national drug plan, he said, they need to try. "It would be unfortunate if we didn't take advantage of the opportunity and at least do the hard work to look at the possibilities and to have the courage to dream and to think of the bigger vision." A working group set up by the provinces will look at improving "equitable and appropriate access to pharmaceuticals based on evidence," according to a release issued after the closeddoor meeting.

By Toby Sanger, CUPE Economist

Make your voice heard by writing a letter to the Prime Minister and your Member of Parliament (MP)!

The Globe and Mail Thu Jan 28 2016

The Liberal government has made so many ambitious promises that a mixture of relief and surprise greets the discovery of promises it could have made, but did not. Take health care, an important area of social policy where the Liberals, being Liberals, made a host of smallish promises. However, several big promises the party did not make are as interesting and important as the ones it did.

For example, the Liberals did not promise a national pharmacare program, as did the New Democrats, and as advocated by Ontario's Liberal government. The Liberals did not promise, as do the NDP and health-care unions, to restore annual 6-percent increases in federal transfer payments to the provinces for health care. The Liberals did not mention by how much the transfers would rise, but it will be something less than 6 per cent. The final number will emerge from tug-of-war negotiations with the provinces.

Make your voice heard by writing a letter to the Prime Minister and your Member of Parliament (MP)! During the election campaign, DemandAPlan supporters sent more than 40,000 letters to candidates across the country. As a result, our call for a national seniors strategy was heard and you should be very proud of the role you played. Thank you! Now that we have a new government in Ottawa, DemandAPlan supporters, alongside the Alliance for a National Seniors Strategy, have an opportunity to once again work with all parties to bring about the change we need in health and health care. Your elected representatives need to be reminded that too many Canadian seniors are not getting anywhere near the care they deserve.

The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) Mon Nov 23 2015

There is nothing novel about providing some medical services in a private practice setting in Saskatchewan. Imaging services, such as X-rays and ultrasound, are already provided that way. What is novel is to legislate that these services will be privately paid for.

The Canada Health Act requires that medicare finance all "medically necessary" physician services. The intent of the act is that services be distributed on the basis of medical necessity rather than ability to pay. There is no doubt that the new Saskatchewan legislation will restrict access to services if private MRIs are not covered by medicare. Of course, enforcement of the federal Health Act is subject to ministerial discretion. The Saskatchewan government, when it drafted its legislation, was probably confident that the former federal minister would be discreet. It is highly doubtful that the new federal Liberal government will take the same view

Toronto Star Sun Dec 6 2015

After months of planning and false starts, Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins finally has all the proof he needs to push ahead at full speed with sweeping changes to the province's troubled home-care system. So what's holding him up? For weeks, Hoskins has been signalling he will release a "discussion document" outlining radical reforms, including scrapping the beleaguered 14 Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) that co-ordinate home-care delivery across the province.

He received even more evidence this past week that it's time to transform the system with the release of auditor general Bonnie Lysyk's annual report. Lysyk listed a wide range of mismanagement, poor oversight and horror cases in which patients failed to get services such as nursing, physiotherapy and personal support on time or in enough quantity to make a lasting difference in their health. In many instances patients had to wait almost a year just for an initial assessment. In recent days, Hoskins has been telling key health-sector players he will release his discussion paper "before the holidays."

December 5, 2015

The union representing 17-hundred staff at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton says a lack of provincial funding will result in more job losses. Domenic DiPasquale, the President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees local 786 — says the looming closure of a seven-bed mental health treatment unit at St. Joseph’s Healthcare is the beginning of a series of coming cuts to hospital services. DiPasquale fears a $26-million shortfall in St. Joseph’s budget could translate into staff reductions: “It’s a lack of funding from the government that is affecting the hospitals which creates this funding shortfall and the hospitals are advocating not due to the government’s lack of funding by closing programs which we do not accept as acceptable because it’s affecting our communities, it’s affecting the care that the patients that need these services”.