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... the provincial government would not have sole control over the testing of drinking water and the upkeep of the facilities. The president of OPSEU, Leah Casselman, says the whole tragedy in Walkerton could have been avoided if the Harris government had not downloaded responsibility for water quality control to the municipalities in the first place. Safe drinking water must be a provincial responsibility, said Casselman.
Tragically, the Harris government has been anything but responsible. Theyve cut the Ministry of Environment budget by 42 per cent, laid off 900 staff, and told those who are left that they cant perform surprise inspections because its too expensive. This is the price you pay for a tax break. Casselman goes on to say, The fact that the government has now put the Ontario Clean Water Agency in charge of the Walkerton water facilities is an admission that the safety of our water must be a provincial responsibility. Control and accountability for the quality of water should remain with a government agency.
OPSEU represents 580 staff at the news Ontario Clean Water Agency and another 1100 at the Ministry of Environment. The cuts to the Ministry have meant that testing cannot be enforced, even with the new agency. Doug MacDougall, OPSEU chair of the Ministry of Environments Employees Relations Committee says the agency will fail because of a lack of funds. It takes expert and qualified staff, not just the governments deep desire to get out of a political crisis, to enforce this new regulation.
The Harris government should immediately hire more staff on a permanent basis and bring back the specialized water inspection teams that used to inspect all water treatment plants in the province. Since the Ontario Clean Water Agency is still in its infancy, it remains to be seen how effective it will actually be. Again, now that 7 people are dead and many others are still recovering for the effects of e-coli, not to mention the fact that the people of Walkerton have been without fresh, clean water for over 8 months, the hope is the government will come see the need for their intervention on such an important issue. In what is sure to be another hotly and contested issue in Ontario, the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Diane Cunningham, announced a new and frightening development in the post-secondary education system in the province. Private universities will be allowed to set up shop in Ontario starting in the very near future and will be allowed to offer degrees for many different disciplines.
The Post-secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act contains the legislation which would allow these changes to take place in the education system. The legislation has yet to be passed in the legislature, but plans are already being made as if it had been. This has made some Ontarians wary because it shows the signs of a two-tier education system (and not unlike the two-tier health system that many citizens fear is just around the corner). This act basically says if you have the money to pay for a degree, you can probably get one.
Cunningham is pleased with the announcement, saying that it will help alleviate the predicted influx of university students when both OAC and Grade 12 students begin University in the same year. That is expected to happen in September 2002 and it is also expected that the private universities will be up and running at that point to help accommodate the large volume of students. Our government is promoting excellence throughout the post-secondary system by giving students the opportunity to choose privately funded institutions, said Cunningham. Todays announcement is an important step forward in improving quality of education in our colleges and universities. This news does not sit well with members of OPSEU, which has 6500 members working as support staff in colleges and universities around the province.
President of the Union, Leah Casselman, says if more money was put in to Universities and college today, there would be no need for private facilities. Essentially, the post-secondary system in Ontario is a good public system, hampered by chronic under-funding. There is also a worry by the union that private universities, while not funded by the government, would be allowed to use OSAP loans as tuition, which would essentially mean they are getting money from the government and profiting from public funds. OPSEU believes that if a student decides to attend a private institution, then they should foot the bill completely. Our challenge is to ensure that post-secondary education survives in Ontario as a public system, answering to the people of Ontario, Casselman adds. Since the new private universities have not opened their doors at this point, it is hard to tell how detrimental they might be to the education system in the province of Ontario, but if predictions are right, people with money will be able to buy a degree without having to go through the stringent processes most publicly-funded universities abide by.
One of the last issues on privatization hits very close to the private health care nerve. Air ambulances will soon be privatized, much to the dismay of the 80 highly trained paramedics who use the crafts in their rescues. Ministry of Health officials met with paramedics in September of 2000 and gave them a week to decide if they will resign or stay on with a private company. Salaries and safety concerns are reasons why many of the paramedics have decided to leave. Ive already signed the severance package and Ive told them Im leaving, said Darryl Taylor, a paramedic for 15 years and unit steward for OPSEU Local 628 at the Sudbury air ambulance base.
The privatization is expected to take place in October of 2001 with all of the 35 full-time, permanent paramedics opting for the package, rather than working for a private company. Once again, the provincial Tories gave no reason for their need to privatize air ambulances, but this has many people worried. Air ambulances are a crucial part of the health-care system, especially in rural areas. If these can be privatized, can the health-care system be far behind? There are concerns from people in various job-related positions around the province as to what privatization will mean for them. It would seem that there isnt very much the Mike Harris Tories wouldnt privatize at this point.
Water treatment, correctional services, post-secondary education, public television, liquor stores and air ambulances have all been touched by the privatization fever that the Ontario provincial government has been implementing. What other service is next? Will there be private welfare firms doling out money and then taking your house if you dont pay it back? Will there be two lines in the emergency room; One for the wealthy who can swipe their credit cards and one for the others who will use their health cards? Since these services have felt the pressure, you can be sure that it wont be long before other important and crucial services in this province feel the pinch. In essence, if private corporations are going to be running all the services that the province of Ontario used to run, why bother having a provincial government?
Maybe some day soon well all be electing a CEO and not a premier. Bibliography 1. Redditt, Wayne. Interview. High Grader Magazine Summer 2000 2.
Scanlon, Barry. Press Release. OPSEU Website Sept. 7, 2000 3. Dawe, Brian. Interview. High Grader Magazine Summer 2000 4.
Daniels, Mary Lou. Press Release. OPSEU Website Dec. 03, 1999. 5. Casselman, Leah. Press Release.
OPSEU Website May 26, 2000. 6. MacDougall, Doug. Press Release. OPSEU Website Aug. 08, 2000 7. Cunningham, Diane. Interview.
Ministry Website (Hansard) October 2000. 8. Casselman, Leah. Press Release. OPSEU Website June 23, 2000. 9.
Taylor, Darryl. Press Release. OPSEU Website Sept. 21, 2000.
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Research essay sample on Post Secondary Education Health Care System
