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Ontario NDP town hall sheds light on health care disparities and privatization concerns

MANITOULIN —A town hall hosted by the Ontario New Democratic Party (ONDP) in Algoma-Manitoulin has brought the dire state of Northern Ontario’s healthcare system into sharp focus. On Sunday January 12, the meeting, attended by healthcare professionals, policy advocates and community leaders, painted a stark picture of physician shortages, inadequate paramedic coverage, and systemic underfunding—all exacerbated by provincial government policies seen as paving the way for healthcare privatization. 

Dr. Dannica Switzer, a rural generalist physician, opened the discussion with sobering statistics. “In Northern Ontario, we’ve seen a 21 percent increase in physician shortages from 2021 to 2023. Over 400 doctors are needed—200 of them rural family physicians—and we’re short more than 180 specialists, including psychiatrists, pediatricians and emergency medicine doctors,” she explained. 

Dr. Switzer described how these shortages disproportionately affect rural and Indigenous communities. “Northern Ontario accounts for 90 percent of the province’s landmass but only six percent of its population, with most residents concentrated in a handful of cities. When it comes to rural communities and fly-in Indigenous reserves, the challenges are even greater. Healthcare access here is not just a question of equity—it’s a matter of survival.”  

Paramedic services in the region are also at a breaking point. “There are nights when only one crew is available to serve multiple communities, forcing patients to wait hours for transport,” Dr. Switzer said. “This delay can mean life or death for emergency cases. We’ve even seen volunteer firefighters and OPP officers stepping in to assist, which adds strain to already overburdened first responders.” She also highlighted the disparities that women face saying that systemic bias against women’s health is well documented. OBGYNs are the lowest paid specialized medicine and given lower proportion operating room time.

Kadean Ogilvie, CEO of Lady Dunn Health Centre in Wawa, highlighted the strain on small hospitals like hers. “Our facility operates at 35-40 percent occupancy with patients who don’t require acute care but have nowhere else to go. The lack of long-term care beds means our emergency services and acute care units are being used as stopgap solutions,” he said.  

Ms. Ogilvie pointed to the systemic challenges highlighted in a recent Auditor General’s report. “Northern Ontario residents have shorter life expectancies, higher rates of hospitalization due to injury, and limited access to affordable housing and transportation. Indigenous, racialized, and marginalized groups bear the brunt of these disparities. It’s a vicious cycle that keeps these communities at a disadvantage.”

Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, delivered a blistering critique of the Ford government’s healthcare policies. “The claim that Ontario is spending more than ever on healthcare is a lie,” Ms. Mehra said. “On a per-person basis, public hospital funding in Ontario is the lowest in the country. Emergency rooms are closing at unprecedented rates, and hospitals are being driven into deficits, all while over $1 billion a year is funneled into for-profit clinics and staffing agencies.”  

Ms. Mehra warned that these moves threaten the foundations of public healthcare, which was hard-fought and won by previous generations. “One generation ago, Canadians ensured healthcare was a right, not a privilege. Now, we’re seeing seniors charged thousands for surgeries, patients being forced to pay deposits for cataract procedures. This is the direct result of underfunding public healthcare while shifting resources to private, for-profit entities.” 

Algoma-Manitoulin MP Carol Hughes emphasized the urgent need for action on healthcare. “Our healthcare system is in crisis, and rural communities in Northern Ontario are bearing the brunt. This impacts physicians, healthcare providers, municipalities, and most importantly, patients,” she said.  

Ms. Hughes criticized both federal and provincial governments for failing to uphold universal access to public healthcare. “Successive Liberal and Conservative governments have allowed the privatization of healthcare by redirecting public dollars to private services, eroding the public system. Health transfers must be increased, those funds must stay within the public system, and the Canada Health Act must be enforced,” she stated.  

She also rejected privatization as a solution. “Paying higher fees to private clinics only worsens the crisis by reducing our capacity to deliver care to patients through the public system.”

Carole Ann McGuinn of Evansville, who has more than a decade of experience in healthcare advocacy work, had this to say:

“Our hospitals are underfunded, and the current model is flawed. It doesn’t account for the seasonal populations who access our services in ways that strain the system. Their contributions reflected here because their health card dollars are tied to their home addresses.”

Ms. McGuinn believes that community health hubs and family health teams are part of the solution—not just for addressing wait times, but also for alleviating the overwhelming burden on our hospitals. These localized health hubs are better equipped to respond to the unique needs of our communities because they’re in tune with the people they serve.  

“Gender-affirming care, cultural fluency for Indigenous populations, and trauma-informed practices are also key components to social determinants of health, which are clear indicators of not only individual well-being but also the health of entire communities. The misdiagnoses faced by people who live at the intersection of multiple marginalizations—whether they are racialized, disabled, or part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community—are staggering. The quality of care is failing the most vulnerable in our society, and that needs to change.” 

Dr. Switzer also argued that retaining healthcare professionals is key. “We need manageable workloads, supportive work environments, and financial incentives to keep experienced providers in the system. Recruitment alone won’t solve this crisis.” 

Ms. Ogilvie called for tailored equitable resource allocation and approaches to serve Northern communities. “We need long-term care solutions and a better-coordinated system that considers the unique challenges of rural and Indigenous populations.” 

France Gelinas of the NDP sent in a video statement saying “when thousands of people cannot gain access to primary care, when our hospitals are full to overcapacity, when women cannot give birth in their communities anymore because the obstetric department is closed when our emergency department keep closing. We are facing a crisis. But in Northern Ontario, we are resilient we know how to face crisis. There are models that work. Look at the group health centre in Sault Ste. Marie, at the community health center, at Indigenous Primary Healthcare, at nurse practitioner-led clinics, at family health teams that help get people access to primary care that means that they don’t need to go to the emergency department as often. That means our hospitals are not as busy. But let’s face it, small rural hospitals like Lady Dunn in Wawa hasn’t received meaningful base budget increases  in close to over a decade.”

Ms. Mehra also prioritized the need for a reversal of privatization trends. “The government must restore funding to public hospitals and stop subsidizing private clinics. The current trajectory is unsustainable and inequitable.”

Jody Wildman, mayor of St. Joseph Island, underscored the growing burden on municipalities. “We’re being asked to fill gaps in healthcare funding, but we don’t have the resources to do so,” he said. “This isn’t just a healthcare issue—it’s about ensuring the dignity and well-being of our communities.”  

Ms. Wildman also criticized the Ford government’s approach to social programs. “This government is starving public services so people start questioning their value. It’s a deliberate strategy to pave the way for privatization.”

The town hall concluded with a resounding call for change. “Public healthcare is not just a policy—it’s a commitment to equity and human dignity,” Ms. Mehra said. “The communities of Northern Ontario—and marginalized groups across the province—deserve better.”

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