There are three more Ontario Conservative Party leadership debates coming up as listed below. A quick view history of some of the more notable of the candidates' contributions to the attacks on public health care services in Ontario. These facts might be helpful for signs, letters to the editor etc.

Jim Flaherty:
Just this past spring implemented budget "freezes" that are really cuts that have caused literally thousands of Ontarians to lose their homecare services. He worked with Tony Clement to arrange and announce the building of the first two hospital "Public Private Partnerships" in Canada. The plans are for for-profit hospitals in Ottawa and Brampton - owned, operated, built and designed by profit-seeking companies. Throughtout the leadership campaign he's said he embraces private - read, for profit - health care.

Ernie Eves:
Among so many other things, Eves cut almost $1 billion out of hospital budgets during his term as Minister of Finance - closing 9,000 critical, acute and chronic care hospital beds and laying off approx. 25,000 hospital workers including nurses. (We then spent millions trying to rehire them.) Eves loves tax cuts that give the most back to the wealthy. Recently slipped up and said that he'd like to enable people to "jump the queue" and get faster health care services if they can pay out of pocket for them (2 Tier Medicare). Realizing his mistake, he tried to backtrack.

Elizabeth Witmer:
Despite her "kinder, gentler" image, Witmer presided over the privatization of home and long term care as Minister of Health - handing over nursing home licenses and home care contracts to profit-seeking corporations convicted of massive fraud and sued for abuse and neglect of residents in the U.S. Was Health Minister through successive rounds of cuts to seniors' homecare.

Tony Clement:
Where to start? Clement has announced two private hospitals that will provide huge amounts to private developers at the expense of the next generation of taxpayers and will rob the public of control over critical hospital services. Wants to impose user fees and means testing for seniors for drugs and homecare. Loves "for profit" health care where the public pays the bills but public services are handed over to profit-seeking corporations. Favours user fees and delisting. As Health Minister, has presided over the firing of homecare CEOs who dared to complain about the thousands of elderly Ontarians who just got their homecare services cut again.

Chris Stockwell:
Has stated that he wants to charge OHIP premiums to Ontarians (another name for a regressive "flat tax" for health care, this means tax cuts for the wealthy and tax increases for poor and working people).

Tory Leadership Debates

Tuesday, February 12, 2002 | London
Hilton Hotel
300 King Street
London, Ontario
Reception at 6:00pm
Debate at 7:00pm

Monday, February 18, 2002 | Thunder Bay
Valhalla Inn
1 Valhalla Inn Road
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Reception at 6:00pm
Debate at 7:00pm

Tuesday, February 26, 2002 | Oakville
St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre
1280 Dundas Street West
Oakville, Ontario
Reception at 6:00pm
Debate at 7:00pm

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This page was updated in February 5, 2002