Vote for health care priorities

Please go to www.votehealthontario.ca and vote on your health care priorities.

The following I received from the Ontario Health Coalition:

Over the last two months, approximately 700 Ontarians submitted their key health care concerns and issues during June and July. We collated these submissions and now we are asking people to vote on their priorities.
With the upcoming provincial election on October 6th, NOW is when we can make a difference! If thousands of Ontarians vote at www.votehealthontario.ca we can insist that political parties make clear commitments on the issues that matter to us.

By voting on what you believe to be key health care issues, you are contributing to a democratic process that identifies the top health care concerns of Ontarians for which politicians have to make clear commitments leading into the provincial election.

For all of us who want to ensure that care is there, in our local communities, when we need it — please vote on the issues identified by you and your  community:  take the Ontario Health Care Challenge!

It takes just a few minutes. This is how we can make it happen, and this is how we can protect and improve health care for all!

“The goal of this website is to make it impossible for candidates in the upcoming election to ignore health care issues. By having Ontarians define for themselves the key health care issues, we are providing a democratic forum that, if thousands participate, can really making a difference,” said Natalie Mehra, director of the Ontario Health Coalition. “Politicians will have to listen up and respond by making clear commitments to safeguard healthcare if they want to be elected.”

This is the first phase of a three phase project.

Phase 1: The public had until early August to visit www.votehealthontario.ca and input their key health care issues/experiences (eg. Cancelled surgery or can’t find family doctor). The issues were displayed on the website as people submitted them. This phase was crucial to the effectiveness and democratic nature of the Ontario Health Care Challenge.

Phase 2: Throughout August, we invite Ontarians to vote for their priorities at www.votehealthontario.ca. The results will be tallied and priorities identified by the public will become an election pledge.

Phase 3: In September the Coalition will ask Ontarians to take the challenge to help make their priorities the key health care election issues. They will be able to see how many people in each electoral riding have taken the challenge. If thousands of Ontarians join in, we can make sure that the political parties are compelled to make clear commitments on these issues leading into the election.