Feb 23, 2026
CUPE Staff
Health care workers represented by CUPE held a rally outside local Ontario PC MPP Dave Smith’s office in Peterborough in response to funding cuts by the provincial government.
The government’s fall economic statement shows a plan to cut hospital funding by 10 per cent in real terms over three years by 2027-28 as projected spending fails to cover the six per cent annual cost inflation for hospitals, says CUPE.
The consequences of fiscal restraint are already being felt by staff and patients in hospitals across Ontario, as hundreds of jobs are being eliminated in North Bay, Hamilton, Ottawa, Niagara and the GTA as most hospitals face deficits and are cutting back on patient care.
“This government promised to clear surgical waiting lists and to end hallway medicine. 200,000 people are waiting for surgeries, and 73,000 patients are waiting longer than clinically recommended. 2,000 are on hallway stretchers waiting for beds and the government has now announced it will no longer report those numbers,” said Michael Hurley, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE), which represents 45,000 health care workers. “The PC funding plan through to 2027-28 will have devastating consequences for many people needing hospital treatment in Ontario.”
Read more at CUPE
See also:
Public solutions in health care
