The Council of Canadians and the Canadian Union of Public Employees are touring Saskatchewan, the heartland of medicare, from September 13 to 17 to raise awareness of the creeping privatization of public health care. With the provincial government proposing new legislation and policies that put private providers ahead of patients, the tour serves to remind Saskatchewanians of the legacy of Tommy Douglas and the egalitarian model of health care.
“The Saskatchewan government has been increasingly privatizing hospital services, ignoring reports that show public-private partnerships cost more for lower quality care,” says Michael Butler, Health Care Campaigner for the Council of Canadians and keynote speaker on the tour. “Despite the negative experiences of other provinces, the government has also proposed pay-for-access MRIs. Unless we prescribe a change of direction, our public health care will not be very healthy.”
In 2005, 85% of Canadians named medicare as the top defining characteristic of their country. Now, after a decade of Harper government neglect and cuts, it is time for Saskatchewan to reclaim medicare as one of its proudest and most enduring achievements.
EVENTS
Prince Albert
Sunday, September 13, 12:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Keep Health Care Public Festival
Kinsman Park, 50 28 St W
Speakers: Tom Graham, President, CUPE Saskatchewan; Michael Butler, Health Care Campaigner, The Council of Canadians
Yorkton
Monday, September 14, 7:00 p.m.
Town Hall
Gallagher Centre, 455 Broadway St W
Speakers: Tria Donaldson, CUPE; Michael Butler, Health Care Campaigner, The Council of Canadians
Battleford
Tuesday, September 15, 7:00 p.m.
Town Hall
Battleford Legion, 262 22 St
Speakers: Tria Donaldson, CUPE; Cheryl Stadnichuk, CUPE; Michael Butler, Health Care Campaigner, The Council of Canadians
Weyburn
Wednesday, September 16, 7:00 p.m.
Town Hall
Weyburn Legion, 150 3rd St NE
Speakers: Tria Donaldson, CUPE; Michael Butler, Health Care Campaigner, The Council of Canadians
Regina
Thursday, September 17, 7:00 p.m.
Town Hall
Italian Centre, 2148 Connaught St
Speakers: Sandra Azocar, Friends of Medicare Alberta; Simon Enoch, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Saskatchewan; Michael Butler, Health Care Campaigner, The Council of Canadians
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For more information, please contact:
Michael Butler, Health Care Campaigner, The Council of Canadians, 416-414-1684
