A Unifor delegation handed nearly 35,000 signed petition cards to Ontario Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins, asking him to hand the cards over to Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott at the October 18 federal and provincial health ministers meeting in Toronto. “We present these cards to you, and ask that you pass them on to Minister Philpott to underline the importance and urgency of health care funding,” Katha Fortier, Unifor Assistant to the President, said to Hoskins as she handed over several Unifor bags filled with postcards. Hoskins promised to pass the cards along.

“I want to thank you for your commitment to Canada’s health care system,” Hoskins said. “I think I might have even signed one of these cards.” Unifor health care members circulated the cards in support of four key demands: a national public drug program; sufficient federal and provincial funding for high-quality acute care, home care and long-term care; a senior’s strategy to care for our aging population; protection and enforcement of the Canada Health Act to ensure health care remains public for the public good. “Canadians treasure our health care system and want to continue to count on care that is provided to every person equally, regardless of their wealth or location,” said Fortier.