Close to 50 people turned to the streets in support of public health care, a privilege that leaders fought hard to bring Canadians half a century ago.
“The Harper government is determined to kill medicare,” said Jacqui Gingras, NDP candidate for North Okanagan Shuswap.
Gingras joined doctors, nurses, support staff, members of the public and Hospital Employees’ Union members in front of Vernon Jubilee Hospital Tuesday to protest.
Public health care is under the knife, with cuts to federal health care transfers over the next decade to the provinces equalling $36 billion, which means $5 billion less for B.C., said Gingras.
“Today, I stand together with all of you as a defender of our public health system,” said Gingras, who reminded the crowd of what people like Tommy Douglas fought to bring us.
Cuts looming locally are to laundry services at VJH.
Outsourcing of such services is being sought as a cheaper way to provide services.
But Jody Berg says it won’t save money and it will just hurt local economies.
“Those are good family jobs we are losing to private care, which of course the government would love to have but we need,” said Berg, HEU regional vice president of a neighbouring Interior region.
An estimated 15 jobs will be lost in Vernon, Kelowna will lose 17 and throughout the entire Interior it is an estimated 176 jobs, according to Berg.
