300 rally for hospital funding in Kenora

About 300 people rallied at Kenora's Lake of the Woods District Hospital today in an effort to pressure the province to increase spending for Ontario's hospitals.

The noon-hour rally, organized by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), was timed to coincide with a series of meetings at the hospital, which brought hospitalstafffrom across the province to Kenora.

"Lake of the Woods hospital is undergoing an operational review, which is usually code for it's being forced to take a look at its budget with a view to making some deep cuts," said Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), an arm of CUPE. "We're here today to call on the provincial government to fund Lake of the Woods Hospital, and all Ontario hospitals, properly."

Hurley said OCHU is calling for a five per cent increase in hospital funding.

Ontario hospitals, he said, have undergone eight years of budget cuts. However, Hurley noted that some good news for the province's hospitals may be coming in Thursday's Ontario budget.

"We're certainly very hopeful of that," he said, adding "we intend to keep pushing."

ACUPE rally will take place in Subury on June 8. Another rally is planned for Ottawa in October, and more rallies will take place in southern Ontario in the coming months, as well.