Public Values Contributor

News about privatization and the fight to preserve public services, resources, spaces and enterprise

Ontario set to sell Thornhill hospital to private for-profit US-based conglomerate

Oct 152012

Sale directly opposes strategy outlined in province's Action Plan for Health Care.

Seidman-Carlson: Now is the time for the Minister to put words into action. TORONTO, ON, September 24, 2012: Ontario nursing professionals are calling on the Health Minister to reject the proposed sale of Shouldice Hospital to a large for-profit conglomerate.

Members of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) have consistently called on governments of all political stripes to affirm their commitment to the Canada Health Act and the fundamental principle of a single-tier, not-for-profit health care system.

That's why RNAO is asking its members to write to Health Minister Deb Matthews to block the proposed sale of Shouldice Hospital, which is based in Thornhill. Centric Health, a rapidly growing health products company, recently announced its intention to purchase the hospital, well-known for the treatment of hernias. Centric is controlled by US-based Global Healthcare Investments and Solutions (GHIS), one of the largest private, for-profit health care companies in the world.

University education in Canada no longer affordable for most — study

Oct 152012

Education

Tax credits and debt relief programs don't help students pay the bills.

Shaker: The tuition fee burden across the country has been increasing faster than incomes since 1990 OTTAWA, ON, September 11, 2012: Average tuition and compulsory fees for Canadian undergraduate students are estimated to rise almost 18 percent over the next four years, from almost $6,200 in 2011-12 to over $7,300, says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

The study looks at trends in tuition and compulsory fees in Canada since 1990, projects fees for each province for the next four years and examines the impact on affordability for median- and low-income families using a Cost of Learning Index.

"Since 1990, with very few exceptions, the tuition fee burden across the country has been increasing faster than incomes. Between 1990 and 2011 the average annual increase in tuition fees and ancillary fees in Canada was 6.2 percent — nearly three times greater than the rate of inflation," says Erika Shaker, co-author of the study and director of the CCPA's education project.

Concern over McGuinty’s pension super-fund proposal grows

Oct 152012

Public services

Legal challenge may be imminent if Ontario Liberals proceed with takeover of retirement savings plans.

Grimaldi: Sole benefits for actuaries figuring how it works, investment bankers controlling the fund TORONTO, ON, September 26, 2012: Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) have the power to stop a government takeover of their pension plans, thousands heard on two telephone town hall meetings.

"This government can be swayed if there are enough people going in to see them," OPSEU Region 2 Vice-President Mike Grimaldi told callers. "There are already splits in Cabinet on this."

Some 18,000 OPSEU/NUPGE members joined four telephone calls held September 20 and 24 to learn more about the McGuinty government's plan to pool dozens of pension plans to create a single super-fund controlled by private-sector managers.

"The only people who are going to benefit from this are actuaries who are going to figure out how this works and a bunch of investment bankers who are going control the fund," said Grimaldi.

Teachers and education support staff taking Ontario Liberals to court over Bill 115

Sep 202012

Education, Public services

Legislation removing collective bargaining rights seeks to make itself above the law.

Coran: “Premier McGuinty should not expect that our members or the workers of Ontario to sit idly while the government strips them of their basic and fundamental labour rights.”

September 15, 2012: Following the passage of Bill 115, which strips educators of their collective bargaining rights, three of the province’s teacher and education support staff unions have indicated their intention to challenge the legislation in court.

“Instead of focusing on strengthening schools, communities and the economy, the Liberals have chosen to attack people’s charter rights,” said Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario President Fred Hahn. “We are challenging Bill 115 because the rights of Ontarians are protected by the Constitution, even if the Liberals don’t want them to be.”

“Bill 115 isn’t about balancing the budget. It’s not about fixing the economy. It won’t benefit students or schools,” said Hahn.

“The passing of Bill 115 represents one of the darkest days in the history of workers’ rights in recent memory,” said Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) President Ken Coran. “This government has now passed a law that tramples on the rights of education workers in Ontario, and it appears that Premier McGuinty will be targeting other workers in the near future.”

Coalition calls for reversal of Ontario Northland Railway decision

Sep 202012

Transportation

Jobs, economy and safety in the North depend on it.

The Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains recommends reconnecting Sault Ste. Marie to Sudbury.

SAULT STE MARIE, ON, September 18, 2012: In a few short days, the passenger train we know as the Northlander will be history, a victim of decades of short-sighted government policies that have not recognized that a fundamental necessity of a sustainable economy and culture is the ability to move people and goods efficiently, effectively and safely year-round, according to the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains.

Rail is the most efficient, effective and safest means of transportation for people and freight travelling medium to long distances especially in a region that has a tough winter.

The Northlander is a traditional passenger train that, with the decline in rail in Canada, has become a unique transportation service that has supported the economy of North Eastern Ontario for numerous decades but has been touted by the government as too costly for the number of patrons utilizing the service.

Ontario PCs propose massive health care privatization — coalition

Sep 202012

Health, Public services

Conservatives attempt to claim increased accountability through undemocratic, self-selecting hospital boards.

Mehra: The claims in the PC Party's White Paper about health spending are manipulative, and frankly, dishonest.

TORONTO, ON, September 10, 2012: Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak should be required to answer tough questions resulting from the release of the PC Party's White Paper on Health Care, say Ontario Health Coalition leaders. Among the coalition's key observations:

The PC Party White Paper repeatedly uses manipulative and incorrect assertions about health spending in Ontario. In fact, Ontario funds health care at almost the lowest level in Canada: 8th of 10 provinces.
It recommends a system in which there is no democratic governance over any facet of health care of the regional health systems. It calls for the expanded influence of undemocratic, self-selecting hospital boards.

A Matter of Trust—OPSEU fights back against proposed pension changes

Sep 202012

Pensions

Ontario fails to tax corporations effectively, looking to ordinary citizens for bailout.

TORONTO, ON, September 10, 2012: A new way to fight back against proposed pension changes by the Ontario Liberal government is now online. The website A Matter of Trust aims to inform Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) members about what the government has proposed to do to their retirement savings but also provide a place for members to voice concerns and find tools to speak out.

Pensions remain one of the biggest concerns for working and soon-to-be-retired people. Right now, in Ontario, Premier Dalton McGuinty and Finance Minister Dwight Duncan are looking for ways out of Ontario’s financial trouble. Instead of looking to corporations to pay their fair share of taxes, they’re looking to members of Ontario’s larger jointly-sponsored pension plans to bail out the government.

Cloaked in talk of making pension funds more efficient and successful, the Liberals are considering the creation of a pension superfund worth $25 billion to more than $100 billion. The government wants to get rid of the joint member-employer trustee structure, appoint its own people and spend people’s retirement savings.

Teachers best-positioned to save public education system — Salutin

Sep 202012

Education

Union bargaining brought about all the important education reforms.

Salutin: Unions are imperfect vehicles but they’re somewhat democratic, like elections, and give teachers a way to speak.

September 13, 2012: In light of the recent legislation depriving teachers of their collective bargaining rights, Rick Salutin argues in The Toronto Star that effective teaching is nothing more than people doing their jobs. “Effective teaching” cannot be analysed, compartmentalised and applied uniformly in all classrooms. Salutin sees correlations between the current trend in privatizing public education and the Liberal education bill, yet disagrees with one union’s decision to abstain from extra-curricular activities as it doesn’t put teachers where they need to be: with their students.

“Who will save our schools, and public education?

Not Premier Dalton McGuinty, who’s bought into the common obsession that the money “just isn’t there.” So he freezes public sector wages, pulling even more money out of the economy, assuring there’ll be even less in taxes to spend on programs, leading to the same death spiral that Europe is following. I know high-school kids who understand this better than Dalton, but maybe it’s because they can still take economics and business courses — although his stress on standardized tests in the “basics” is undermining all that.

New guide helps municipalities sort out the facts about P3s

Sep 202012

Public services

Critical concerns raised regarding protection of public services.

Loxley: Due to the major concerns raised about P3s, the safest approach for municipalities is to forego privatization and continue to follow the conventional public sector procurement model.

Regina, SK, September 10, 2012: A new guide encourages municipal officials to show caution in considering the use of public-private partnerships to finance public infrastructure projects. The conclusion of John Loxley, the guide’s author and economics professor at the University of Manitoba, is clear: “Municipalities need to be wary of P3s. They are not the best option.”

The reference document “Asking the Right Questions: A Guide for Municipalities Considering P3s” raises critical concerns about the protection of public services and provides essential information to assist municipalities in making sound decisions in the best interest of their citizens.

“Infrastructure projects implemented under P3s are not advantageous for municipalities or their citizens,” stated national Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) president Paul Moist. “After they read this guide, mayors and city councillors tempted to rush headlong into pro-privatization initiatives will agree with us that P3s do not offer all the benefits touted by promoters of that model.”

Chicago teachers refuse “best we can do” excuses

Sep 202012

Education

Concessions now only mean more concessions later, says CTU.

Karen Lewis, CTU President: We would like to have a fair compensation package that includes acknowledgement of our teachers' experience and their educational attainment. That’s number one.

September 2, 2012: Teachers in Chicago face their own challenges now that the schooldays have grown longer. Reductions in raises mean that longer hours are not covered. Seniority, experience and education are not recognised as impacting wages. Health insurance costs have risen. Lee Sustar explains how this happened in The Bullet.

“Can the scrappy band of outsiders that now heads the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) lead the kind of high-stakes fight that most labour unions have ducked? That question looms large – not just for the city's teachers, students and their parents, but for the entire labour movement. Because while both private- and public-sector unions are taking a pounding across the U.S. with layoffs, pay cuts and pension rollbacks, the CTU is gearing up for a showdown with America's most politically connected mayor, Rahm Emanuel – and it will come to a head in September.

At a time when most union officials are shamefacedly selling concessions as ‘the best we can do,’ Chicago teachers are defiant…”

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