Ottawa Valley healthcare workers took part in a rally Tuesday protesting funding cuts listed in the provincial government’s latest economic statement.
Members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, or CUPE, rallied outside the office of MPP Billy Denault in the hopes of bringing about a change.
Leona Haley, the Chairperson for the Renfrew County Health Coalition, was pleased with the number of people that attended to make their voice heard by the provincial government.
Michael Hurley, the President of CUPE’s Council of Ontario Hospital Unions, was in attendance alongside various workers from all over eastern Ontario to call for proper funding for hospitals.
According to Hurley, thousands of nurses and PSWs are expected to lose their jobs and hundreds of acute care beds are expected to disappear as a result of budget cuts if something doesn’t change.
Hurley said this was the last of 11 protests CUPE has held in the days since the province’s funding announcement.
(Written by Steve Berard)
