CUPE takes stand against privatization in Prince Albert

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“I can see right now that we’ve been doing good,” said Helen Sawatsky, President of CUPE local 4777.

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“What we want is to have the public let the government know that they won’t tolerate (increasing privatization), and they want healthcare to be public and owned by us.”

The privatization of many public sectors in Saskatchewan has become a contentious issue for residents.

President of CUPE Saskatchewan Tom Graham made an appearance to help rally new and old supporters.

He also spoke about other privatization issues in Saskatchewan, such as the introduction of private MRI clinics in Saskatoon and Regina.

These MRI clinics operate in the province on the basis that clinics would be required to provide a scan to a patient on the public waiting list, but Graham considers this a mistake.

“If there’s room for more MRI’s why aren’t they being put into the public center?” said Graham.

Private surgery clinics in Saskatoon and Regina also weigh heavily on his mind.

“They get the day surgeries on the claim that you can’t do them in the public sector, but you can because now a lot of our public surgery theatres are empty,” he continued. “I’ve heard that most of the staff at these private clinics have been poached from the public sector, which adds to the problem.”

Michael Butler, national health campaigner for the Council of Canadians in Toronto, flew all the way to Prince Albert for the event.

“We are increasingly seeing the health care in our province eroded,” said Butler, surveying everyone who had come out for the event.

“It’s sad in the home of Medicare that…the services we depend on for quality care are being reduced in the name of ideology and not evidence.”

Cuts to Saskatchewan’s healthcare loom.

The Health Accord, which set out to provide stable federal health care funding, was not renewed in 2014. Because of this, Saskatchewan stands to lose $1.1 billion in funding from 2017-2027.

“It’s a race to the bottom,” Butler said. “This isn’t the type of province we want, this isn’t the type of leadership we want.”

Health care is a, “fragile accomplishment,” Butler admitted.

“At the end of the day health care is political,” he said. “It’s about values and choices and we’re here to represent the values and choices that affect everyday people.”

ssterritt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit