The Hastings and Prince Edward County Board of Health has prevented striking public health nurses from seeking arbitration. The reason? Not enough money in their coffers to offer a fair wage. This is a repeat of the Conservative government’s 2019 mandate to limit pay increases to 1 per cent and prevent bargaining by the Ontario Nurses’ Association.

The Ontario Supreme court this past year declared that the prevention of bargaining was illegal. It set an 11 per cent wage increase with additional monies due for what was lost in the past.

Many may not be aware that the provinces have a history of not using all of the transfer payments from the federal government earmarked for health care. Instead, they siphoning the money off for other things deemed more important. This became apparent when the provinces were demanding more health care money earlier this year from the federal government and were mandated to use these additional funds for health care only. The provinces fought it, until no monies would be released if the agreement was not followed.

Which brings me to the Ford government. They withheld a large sum of health care money to put in their reserve coffers, the purpose being for a coming recession…which did not materialize. While health care during the pandemic was suffering and doctors and nurses were leaving, burning out or just plain falling down tired, monies did not go to any increases in pay for nurses.

The public health care nurses are being held hostage when the actual culprit is the lack of funding for healthcare by the provincial government.

Now CUPE has joined in the strike.

Vaccinations are becoming available soon, but the public nurses will not be there to give them. New mothers and babies who need help are not being tended. Sexual health clinics cannot stop the spread of disease. Visits to homes for those in need cannot happen.

The Board of Health is only a small number of individuals holding us all hostage to their “line in the sand”. Is this a war?

When will they ever learn? Spend our tax dollars on our needs. Get our health care monies from where they are being withheld – the provincial government.

Barbara Dahlmam
Prince Edward County