Ontario Health Coalition
Day of Action at the Ontario Legislature
on Wednesday, May 14
Save Our Local Hospitals, Stop the Cuts & Closures
The goal is to pour on as much pressure as we can inside the Legislature to get the Ford government to finally take action to stop the closures & cuts to our local hospitals’ vital services. Everyone is invited to please come out if you can to make a strong show of solidarity and support. It will be a super interesting and fun day, and it will be felt and seen by the government.
We will be welcomed from the floor of the Legislature, hold a press conference inside the Main Legislative Building, join Question Period, hold meetings with politicians and their staff, and do a visible action at the top of hospital row.
Communities with major service closures will be bringing in as many people as possible. (Eg. emergency department closures, all inpatient beds closed, entire hospitals under threat of closure, closure to all inpatient acute care services etc.) We are asking all of our members and supporters to come out and join to make a show of strength and really pour on the pressure to stop these vital service closures and cuts.
Wednesday, May 14 Itinerary
9 – 9:30 a.m. Arrive at Queen’s Park security
9:30 – 10 a.m. Briefing in Committee Room 351, start to go through security to fill the Public Galleries in the Legislature
10 a.m. Members’ Statements in Queen’s Park – we will be up in the Galleries where we will be recognized, petitions to be read
10:30 a.m. Question Period – we will watch the Premier, Health Minister and/or other MPPs answer questions about the issues from the Galleries in the Legislature
11:45/12 p.m. Lunch & meetings with politicians and their staff
12:45 p.m. Press conference in the media studio of the Legislature- with the local communities impacted speaking, everyone who comes will be able to watch in the media studio
1:15 p.m. 1:45 p.m. Visible action at the corner of University & College at the top of “Hospital Row”
We will be finished and ready to leave between 1:45 and 2 p.m.
For anyone who is planning to attend: We need your name and the town/city you are from. This is for security and also so you can be welcomed into the Legislature. It is critically important! RSVP as soon as possible by emailing back in response to this email (to info@ontariohc.ca) with your name and town. If you are bringing buses or carloads, please send us the names/towns of anyone else who is attending. This is a requirement for Queen’s Park security and they need 24 hours notice at minimum so we need to get your RSVP by Monday, May 12 at noon.
If you can’t come but are going to watch on the Legislative Assembly website, please also let us know but specify (joining virtually) and we will send you the links to the livestream of Question Period and the press conference. If you send us your name and town we will arrange to have your virtual presence recognized also.
Please note: it is much more powerful if people can come in person and we have a LOT of people in the Legislature that day! So, please do come in person if you can.
Directions:
By public transit: go to Queen’s Park station on the Yonge-University subway line.
Note for those coming south from Sheppard station: Line 1 Yonge-University: There will be no subway service between Sheppard-Yonge and College stations, starting 11:59 p.m., Monday, May 5 due to planned track work. Shuttle buses will operate.
By road: There is street parking on Hoskins Ave. near Queen’s Park Circle. There is also parking on Grosvenor Street near Queen’s Park Circle. Joining Grosvenor, there is street parking on Surray Place and Grenville Street and also a parking lot at Women’s College Hospital and a parking building almost next door to the east of it. There are also parking lots behind Mount Sinai Hospital, an underground at University Health Network (Toronto General Hospital/Peter Munk Cardiac Centre) and on Elizabeth Street behind Toronto General Hospital/the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre.
Thank you everyone! I am looking forward to seeing you there.
With warmest regards,
Natalie Mehra
Executive Director
