OPSEU/SEFPO

A Message from the chair

Ontario’s health care crisis: Why privatization is a lose-lose ‘solution’

By Ed Faulknor

Chair of OPSEU/SEFPO Retired Members Division

There can be no doubt whatsoever that we are facing a health crisis right now. The long waits in ER’s, the code red ambulance scenarios, and the number of medical staff off ill or leaving the medical profession, are all proof that the crisis is getting worse; not better.

We need a fix, and we need it soon, but the Provincial government in Ontario seems to think the answer is to open the door to privatization, in many different areas.

We must not jump in this direction because of the immediate need for change.  There are so many things wrong with privatization, but the two basic concerns are that it allows only those who can afford it access to care, and it allows corporations to make a profit from the delivery of health care.

In the first case, the Canadian health care system was created on the premise of universal health care.  If that is changed to a variation of a two-tier system where the rich can jump queue, the blatant equity concerns are obvious. Neighbourhoods in low-income areas will be the first to suffer; untreated health concerns will skyrocket and the cost of health care will rise. The concept of needing medical insurance will appear and create a new layer of bureaucracy, making access to care more difficult and more expensive.

As for corporations getting a piece the health care funding pie – which are taxpayers’ dollars – this directly threatens quality of care and service. Whenever profit is a concern, quality of care and service are sacrificed. This will only result in lower paid staff and less staff to care for the patients, because shareholders always come first. You only need to look at what happened during the early days of the pandemic, where most of the outbreaks and deaths happened in for-profit Long-Term Care homes.

Mr. Ford shoved Bill 7 down our throats to help make room in hospitals, by moving seniors out to places they do not wish to go to. You can bet most of them are the expensive, for-profit places that have vacancies because the average individual can’t afford them.

Extensive studies have shown that for-profit care results in greater mortality and lower quality of service. On top of that, privatization will only exacerbate the problem of demoralized, overworked, and underpaid staff.

What we need is more public money from both Federal and Provincial coffers to shore-up our ailing heath care system; not the knee-jerk reaction of privatization.

Smokey Thomas delivers heartfelt goodbye in final presidential address

Convention  April 7, 2022 – 5:05 pm

By Craig Hadley

After 15 years at the OPSEU/SEFPO helm, President Warren (Smokey) Thomas delivered his final address to over 2,000 attendees. At times, Thomas had to gather himself, as emotion overwhelmed him. His gratitude and appreciation was forefront as he reflected on the union’s success over those years.

Under his leadership, OPSEU/SEFPO’s membership more than doubled to over 180,000. The President graciously thanked members, staff and labour allies for helping turn OPSEU/SEFPO into Ontario’s best public sector union and proudly expressed his confidence that it will continue to grow.

With the list of Thomas’s accomplishments simply too long to list, his fondest memory was OPSEU/SEFPO’s “We Own it” campaign.  It raised awareness of the value of public service and directly staved off the privatization of numerous workplaces across Ontario. As successful as the campaign was, he was quick to point out that fighting privatization is an ongoing battle which will likely intensify as governments wrestle with mounting debts accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s a bittersweet day, as OPSEU/SEFPO’s longest serving president passes the torch to a new leader while leaving behind a legacy of labour advocacy second to none.

OPSEU/SEFPO welcomes new leadership: JP Hornick and Laurie Nancekivell

April 8, 2022 – 2:03 pm

Toronto – JP Hornick has been elected as the new President of OPSEU/SEFPO marking the first change in the union’s presidency in 15 years.

Hornick is the Coordinator of the School of Labour at George Brown College, a long-time OPSEU/SEFPO leader and a women’s rights, equity, LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist. She ran for President on a platform of change, deep renewal, and building a bigger and more inclusive union.

“I am confident that we can build a bigger and more inclusive tent that engages all members and renews our union,” said Hornick. “I will work for a transparent and truly democratic union – where equity is a practice and not a buzzword or performance, and where everyone’s voices are heard and contributions valued.”

Hornick will succeed Warren (Smokey) Thomas, the union’s longest-running President, who held the position since 2007. Under her leadership, Hornick plans to foster connections within the union and strengthen relationships with social justice movements across Ontario.

“I know the power of the labour movement is in working with social justice movements for deep change,” added Hornick. “That’s when we are at our most powerful – when we are part of a bigger struggle for justice.”

Laurie Nancekivell has been elected as OPSEU/SEFPO’s First Vice-President/Treasurer and will serve alongside Hornick. Nancekivell, a Child and Youth Worker by trade and Director’s College graduate, has served on OPSEU/SEFPO’s Executive Board for 10 years.

“As OPSEU/SEFPO First Vice-President, I will ensure our union’s environment is one where diverse thoughts and opinions can be shared freely,” said Nancekivell. “And as Treasurer, I will serve our members with integrity and transparency.”

Hornick and Nancekivell were officially sworn in at the close of OPSEU/SEFPO’s Convention on Saturday, April 9.

Daniel Blaikie’s NDP MP Private Members Bill C-225 An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985, [pension plans and group insurance plans]

 The Private Members Bill C-225 will:

1. Amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and the CCAA to require companies to bring any pension plan fund to 100% before paying any secured creditors,
2. Amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and the CCAA to require companies to pay any termination or severance pay owing before paying any secured creditors,
3. Prevent a company from stopping the payment of any retirement benefits during any proceedings under the BIA or CCAA.

Current priority of creditors in bankruptcy/insolvency

1. The Crown (taxes, CPP/EI remittances)
2. Farmers, fishermen and aquaculturists
3. Suppliers of unpaid good (repossess those goods)
4. Unpaid wages and pension contributions that have been deducted
5. Secured creditors
6. Unsecured creditors (a lender or any entity to which a company or individual owes money for services provided. Unfunded pension liabilities fall into this category.)

Priority of creditors in bankruptcy/insolvency after passage of C-225:

1. The Crown (taxes, CPP/EI remittances)
2. Farmers, fishermen and aquaculturists
3. Suppliers of unpaid good (repossess those goods)
4. Unpaid wages and pension contributions that have been deducted
5. Termination or severance pay, unfunded pension liabilities
6. Secured creditors
7. Unsecured creditors

Editor’s Note: This Legislation may never see the light of day as it is a private members bill but it is the kind of legislation that we need to protect the pensions of all workers.

OFL Responds to throne speech: “Ford government is out of ideas, out of touch’

(TORONTO) – The Ontario Federation of Labour is panning the Ford government’s 2022 Throne Speech as “out of ideas and out of touch.”

Just one day after hundreds of frontline workers protested Ontario’s health care and cost-of-living crises, Ford failed to deliver a single measure that would bring relief to Ontario workers and families, says the OFL.

“Ontario’s emergency rooms are shutting down, and working people are struggling to make ends meet,” said Patty Coates, OFL President. “If Ford thinks a month’s-old budget is the solution, he has utterly failed to grasp the scale of the crises facing our province.”

Tuesday’s Speech from the Throne repeated the vague promises Ford made in his pre-election Budget, which he released almost four months ago, but the inadequate spending commitments fail to keep up with surging inflation, Ontario’s population growth, and the growing needs of Ontario’s seniors.

“This is a promise to underfund our health care when Ontarians need it most,” said Coates.

“What Ford put on our plate today is stale warmed-up left-overs,” added Coates. “On its first day back, this government is admitting it is already out of ideas, and clearly out of touch.”

The OFL joined workers, patients, and advocates on Monday to demand the immediate repeal of Bill 124, Ford’s wage suppression legislation that has driven thousands of nurses from their profession and exacerbated a longstanding staffing crisis in Ontario health care.

The OFL also demanded ten permanent employer-paid sick days, a $20 minimum wage, universal WSIB coverage, higher ODSP and Ontario Works rates, affordable housing, greater investments in public services, and other measures to address the cost-of-living crisis.

“Ontario workers know what would make their lives easier, but Ford refuses to listen,” said Coates. “We have no choice but to keep fighting for the Ontario we need, and we won’t stop until we get it.”

The Ontario Federation of Labour represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca  and follow @OFLabour on Facebook and Twitter.

For more information, please contact: 
Rob Halpin
Executive Director
Ontario Federation of Labour
rhalpin@ofl.ca | 416-707-901

Furious at the “grotesque” ageism and violation of human rights, advocates respond to Ford government’s planned regulations to push elderly patients out of hospital

September 15, 2022

Toronto – The Ford government has released its regulations under the euphemistically titled More Beds, Better Care Act (formerly Bill 7) today. The regulations are the details under the legislation to provide new powers to push elderly patients and people with chronic care needs out of hospitals, overriding their right to consent. The hammer that the government intends to use to coerce patients to leave hospital is a charge of $400 per day, or $2,800 per week. According to the Minister’s statement yesterday, hospitals will be “required” to charge patients waiting not only for long-term care, but also for home and community care, the exorbitant fees. Patients can be sent up to 70 km away from the hospital in southern Ontario. In the North, the limit is 150 km, however, if there are no beds available within 150 km, they will be allowed to move patients further away than that*, according to government documents. Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra expressed total outrage at these plans in a press conference today livestreamed and available here: https://www.facebook.com/ontariohealth/videos/1262453651238649

Key Facts:

• The chief function of the new law is to give new powers to:
  • Assess a patient without their consent
  • Share that patient’s personal information with an array of health provider companies (for and non-profit) without their consent
  • Fill in the applications for the patient without their consent
  • Admit a patient into a long-term care home without their consent, including a long-term care home that is far away, has a bad record for care, is not of the patient’s choice, does not meet their language needs, etc.
• In the documents describing the changes by the government, they have expanded the scope of the new law to also cover patients waiting for home and community care as well as long-term care. They did not shrink it despite widespread public opposition. They expanded it. This may result in patients being pushed out of hospital into retirement homes, home waiting for home care that may not materialize, or other facilities or places.
• The government documents also make it clear that in the North the 150 km limit is not really a limit, as if there are no beds available, they can push the patient out to a community further away. Since there are no beds available (there are 38,000 people on the LTC wait list) this will happen.

If a patient refuses, they will be charged $400 per day or $2,800 per week.

Fact checker:

• Ontario has the fewest hospital beds left of any province in Canada. The downsizing of Ontario’s hospitals is not “normal”. It is extreme, in fact the most extreme in the country. Now, patients – and specifically the frail elderly and those with chronic care needs – are being treated as though they are taking up resources wrongly. This is ageist and immoral. Those patients have the same human rights as all patients. They are not “taking up” resources, they need care. They have nowhere appropriate to go, not of their choice, but as a result of policy choices, continued by the Ford government, not to rebuild our public hospital capacity.
• Hospitals are not only “acute care” facilities. They have always provided a range of care including chronic care (complex continuing care), palliative care, rehabilitation beds and more. Those services are of equal importance to acute care and it is not in the public interest to allow them to be cut and routinely discounted.
• Ontario has funded its hospitals at the lowest rate in Canada for years in a bid to force downsizing. (Virtually every service cut from public hospitals is privatized.) Here is hospital funding by provinces as a proportion of provincial GDP and per person. The Ford government continued this when it got into office. Nothing has been done to restore hospital capacity to something approaching reason.
• There is a staffing crisis, commensurate to the hospital staffing crisis, in long-term care and in home care, where these patients are likely to be forced. Despite repeated demands – with concrete recommendations – to get the Ford government to take real action on the staffing crisis the government has downplayed the situation, refusing to call it a crisis, tried to distract, and ultimately held a lot of PR announcements with very little real action. There are a significant number of actions the government could take to deal with the crisis but it has chosen not to spend the money and is now, instead, violating the rights of mostly elderly patients to deal with the crisis that they still are not addressing.
• Not all so-called Alternate Level of Care (ALC) are waiting for long-term care. In fact, the minority of ALC patients are waiting for long-term care. A significant block of ALC patients are waiting for hospital beds – complex continuing care (chronic care), rehab, mental health beds and others. A small number are waiting for home care. (Most patients waiting for home care are discharged home, where that care may or may not ever happen.)
• Hospitals also provide long-term care beds and have done so for decades. There are significant numbers of closed hospitals and closed hospital beds all across the province that still exist and could be opened if they were funded and staffed. In fact, last year public hospitals built four fast-track long-term care facilities on hospital land. The choice not to address the problems by expanding services are policy choices — not necessities — and they reflect the values and priorities of the government and those who lobbied behind the scenes to create the new law and its regulations. Those values and priorities do not accord with the values and priorities of the majority of Ontarians.
• Any claim that cultural needs etc. will be taken into account is nonsense. Generally, cultural homes have longer waits than those that do not offer those services. Patients will be forced into the only available beds, which are the ones that are far away or to which people do not want to go, often for good reason.
• The claim that the forced moves are temporary and patients will find their way to a LTC home of their preference is also extremely manipulative. Crisis admissions from hospitals always take precedence. The forced move is very likely the last move of the patient’s life.
• Across Canada and internationally we have just seen the devastating effects of isolation from families and loved ones for residents in long-term care during the pandemic. Countless elderly residents failed; they lost health status permanently; they suffered enormously from depression, loneliness, desperation and inadequate care, and many died. This is, we fear, the consequence of this policy for the hundreds, and ultimately thousands of elderly people who will be subjected to this abhorrent coercion.

* The specific language used by the government in their Field Guidance to Home and Community Care Support Services Placement Co-ordinators is:

“However, if in these regions there is no suitable LTC home in the applicable radius, or if there are extremely limited vacancies in the available homes within the geographic boundary, the next closest home or homes to the patient’s preferred location(s) can be selected.” [I.e. Beyond the 150 km radius.]

The Fake Choice Between Saving the Planet and Raising the Living Standards of Working Families

Andrew Jackson / March 08, 2022

There is little doubt that rising prices are of serious concern to many working Canadian families, especially those in insecure and low-paid jobs. Inflation was running at 5.1% year over year in February, double the increase in average weekly wages over the same period.

War in Ukraine is now adding fuel to the fire of rising energy and food prices, which risks sparking a popular revolt.

The Right-Wing Response

Populist right-wingers like Conservative leadership hopeful Pierre Poilievre and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney are seeking to turn the issue of rising prices to their political advantage. They are supporting an expansion of oil and gas production and new pipelines to counter rapidly rising prices and calling for the suspension of pending increases in the federal carbon tax, a clean fuel standard, and other clean energy regulations.

The right-wing are claiming that environmental measures to deal with the climate crisis are a major cause of inflation. But we do not face an unpalatable choice between saving the planet and lower living standards. Progressives must come up with a serious alternative.

Policy to reconcile our economic and environmental goals must work to rapidly reduce demand for fossil fuels rather than increase supply through new energy mega-projects which will only accelerate planetary collapse, as highlighted by the most recent IPCC report.

Moreover, it would take years for new fossil fuel projects and infrastructure to have an impact upon global supply and to lower prices.

Shifting Our Reliance

The war in Ukraine has further highlighted the vulnerability to peace and human security posed by over-dependence on fossil fuels controlled by non-democratic states like Russia and Saudi Arabia.

An alternative response must be to dramatically reduce our national and global economy’s reliance on carbon-emitting fuels through massive investments in energy conservation and renewables.

From this perspective, rising fossil fuel prices are actually a good thing, at least to a degree. They function like an increase in carbon taxes to reduce demand and increase investment in energy efficiency and alternatives. This transition can create many new jobs.

Further, high oil and gas prices are massively boosting the profits of the oil and gas industry. These can be drawn upon to fund non-polluting technologies and to meet mandated reductions in emissions which companies have hitherto claimed are not affordable without subsidies.

Soaring corporate profits can also be taxed to fund public investments in the energy transition and to cushion the impacts of higher prices on lower-income working families through tax credits like the GST credit, the Canada child credit and the Canada workers benefit. These benefits should be increased and made available to more families. Just as the proceeds of carbon taxes are recycled to households in most provinces, so should excessive corporate profits.

Paying for the Transition

Many right-wingers, notably Pierre Poilievre, claim that we cannot afford major new public investments or larger tax credits since interest rates have to rise to combat inflation. This will increase the cost of government deficits and public debt. The Liberals, too, are saying the cupboard is bare.

But the Bank of Canada recognizes that rising prices are not so much the product of excess demand in the economy as of specific sectoral impacts of the pandemic which will fade over time. They are unlikely to increase interest rates too far, too fast.

Further, the federal government should and can ensure that financing costs for the needed energy transition as well as affordable housing are cushioned from higher interest rates. We should expand public investment banks like the Export Development Corporation to extend low-cost credit and/or equity to desired investments. These banks could be financed in part by the Bank of Canada subject to agreements between the Bank and the federal government.

Effectively there would be two interest rates – a general one, and a preferred one. Only the former would be manipulated to maintain a reasonably low inflation rate, while essential investments would be protected. Alternatively, commercial and private and investment bank lending could be more closely regulated, for example, by limiting mortgage credit for market housing or by setting different reserve requirements for different kinds of financial assets.

Inflation and rising energy prices are clearly a problem, but they should not be allowed to derail the needed transition away from fossil fuels.

Andrew Jackson is senior policy adviser at the Broadbent Institute.

“They aren’t nursing ‘homes’, they are institutions.

They aren’t long-term ‘care’ facilities, they are institutions.

End the euphemisms. These are institutions.”

Gabrielle Peters, 2020

What does inflation mean for the cost of living and everyday goods in Canada? Here’s what you need to know.

Over the past few months, the term “inflation” has been unavoidable. From rising prices at the grocery store and buying gas to paying for rent and mortgages, it’s gone from being an economic concept to one that’s felt with every purchase. There can hardly be a household in Canada that hasn’t already felt staggered by inflation’s effect on most aspects of daily life.

But what, exactly, is it? Why is inflation driving up the cost of living in Canada and how does raising interest rates solve the problem? Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know about the big I.

What is inflation and how is it calculated?

Inflation is a decline in the value of money – hence why $100 doesn’t go as far today as a decade ago.

The country’s main measure of inflation is the Consumer Price Index, which Statistics Canada calculates every month. CPI is comprised of a basket of goods and services, weighted by how people actually spent their money. For example, housing costs account for about 30 per cent of CPI, because the typical household allocates a large portion of its budget toward those costs; on the other hand, clothing and footwear is generally a smaller expense, accounting for 4 per cent of CPI.

Statscan tracks how the price of all goods and services in the CPI basket change over time, and ultimately how that factors into the overall inflation rate. A lot of factors affect prices – how difficult a product is to find, the cost of labour and the raw materials used to make it, and competition among the places selling it, to name a few.

According to the Bank of Canada website, policies that stimulate economic growth can also cause inflation. For example, when people have more money, their demand for products and services can rise, and that can pull up prices.

CPI shouldn’t be confused with a cost-of-living index. Such an index measures the cost of maintaining a standard of living. Also, because the CPI basket is based on average household spending, it doesn’t always reflect an individual’s experience. For example, the escalating price of meat might not be relevant to vegetarians.

Which items have been most affected?

Gas prices: Gasoline prices fell slightly in April, although were up 36 per cent from a year earlier. Average national prices are now hitting close to $2 a litre and likely to push higher.

Groceries: Households paid nearly 10 per cent more for groceries in April – the steepest annual gain since 1981. Over the past year, the price of pasta has risen nearly 20 per cent, fresh fruit by 10 per cent and coffee by around 14 per cent.

Meat: The price of meat was up 10.5 per cent in March compared with the same month in 2021, with prices for fresh or frozen beef up a staggering 14.1 per cent. Meanwhile, a recent study from Dalhousie University found that meat alternatives – like faux burger patties or plant-based “chicken” nuggets – remain an average of 38 per cent more expensive than meat.

Household appliances: Refrigerator prices have jumped 23 per cent over the past two years, while washing machines and dishwashers have risen 11.5 per cent.

Lunch: Buying a soup and sandwich now costs nearly $18 on average, up 24 per cent, according to data from digital payments company Square. A hamburger costs $10.86 – up 26 per cent. And an average salad costs $12.63 – up 25 per cent.

New homes: Canada experienced a 25.7 per cent drop in the number of homes sold over the last year and a 3.8 per cent slide in housing prices between March and April, the Canadian Real Estate Association said. The average home price last month totalled $741,517. Economists say, however, that Canada’s housing market is cooling and predict that home prices will fall as much as 20 per cent this year.

Additional home costs: Shelter costs rose 7.4 per cent in April, the highest in nearly four decades, due in part to sharply higher prices for energy to heat homes. Rents rose 4.5 per cent in April, with larger gains in Ontario and British Columbia. Inflation is also picking up in pandemic-hit sectors. The cost of restaurant meals rose 5.4 per cent over the past year, up from 4.7 per cent in February. Traveller’s accommodation prices soared 24.4 per cent on an annual basis, while air transportation jumped 8.3 per cent in March alone.

What will bring inflation down?

Time and interest rates are considered the biggest weapons to slow inflation. The Bank of Canada has been moving aggressively to rein in inflation by hiking interest rates. In April, the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to 1 per cent – the largest increase at a single decision since 2000. It usually raises rates by a quarter-point. Several more rate hikes are expected over this year, including at its next decision on June 1, and into 2023.

The Bank of Canada aims to keep inflation close to 2 per cent to keep a stable currency, but the rate has now exceeded the bank’s target range of 1 per cent to 3 per cent for a full year. That streak is expected to last a while longer with the central bank expecting inflation to average more than 5 per cent in 2022.

The above is excerpt from a Globe and Mail article written in May of 2022 and supplied to Autumn View by Leony deGraaf Hastings Financial Advisor of deGraaf Financil Strategies 905 632-9900, www.dgfs.ca   

10 Ways To Help A Grieving Friend During The Holiday Season

Caregivers deal with lots of anticipatory grief and loneliness, even during the holiday season. If you feel awkward not knowing what to say around your grieving friend, here are 10 ways to be more supportive:

1. Listen – They might be telling you what they need. It’s extremely hard and brave to ask for support. So, if someone asks or even hints about what they need, run with it. Be sure to take it as a huge compliment if they reach out to you.
2. Say their name – Don’t ignore the elephant in the room – talk about any memories you might have of their loved one. One of our greatest fears is that they will be forgotten.
3. Extend an invitation (over & over) – Including someone who is grieving in your plans is a terrific gesture. Sometimes they may not come to the first event, but they probably will join eventually in coming weeks or years. Don’t give up on them. It takes time and energy to grieve. Let them know that they are welcome to come and need not worry if they change their mind at the last minute. Also, welcome them to stay as long as they want and remind them that they can leave whenever they choose. Including and accepting someone who is grieving is a gift that enriches your friendship circle for many years to come.
4. No pressure – Everyone grieves in their own ways and on their own schedule. Hold space by listening and being there. It’s that simple. Judgements and negative comments such as “Get over it.” or “Are you still grieving?” or “Isn’t it time to see a therapist?” are NOT helpful. You too will understand – one day!
5. It’s the small details – Grieving is really lonely work, so provide support with simple gestures that are comfortable for both of you. Bring over a cup of coffee or a relaxation candle, offer to h