By Anna Mehler Paperny
TORONTO (Reuters) – Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, is planning to expand its use of private providers to perform public health services, a senior government source said on Monday.
Premier Doug Ford was expected to announce the expansion at an appearance Monday morning. It comes as Ontario and other Canadian provinces struggle to provide healthcare as hospitals strain and wait lists for non-urgent procedures, lengthened during the pandemic, stay long.
Ford and his ministers have insisted the province’s health insurance program will continue to cover healthcare. But critics and public health advocates have argued expanding the use of private providers is a step towards privatizing the public health system and risks cannibalizing a healthcare workforce already facing a shortage.
Health sector vacancy rates are the highest they have been in years.
“As a first step to immediately shorten wait times, the government is expanding surgeries and procedures at existing community clinics using their existing personnel, ensuring no impact on the broader system,” the government source told Reuters, adding that “specific measures will be in place to protect staffing and stability in hospitals.”
(Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
