Defend Public Healthcare

The suggestion that Ontario has a deficit because its public sector is too large does not bear scrutiny. Consider the following.  Public sector employment has fallen in the last three quarters in Ontario.  Since 2011, public sector employment has been pretty flat, with employment up less than 4 tenths of one percent in the first half of 2015 compared with the first half of 2011. This contrasts with public sector employment outside of Ontario which has gone up pretty consistently and is now 4.7% higher than it was in the first half of 2011. Private sector employment has also gone up consistently over that period. In Ontario, it has increased 4.3% since the first half of 2011, while in Canada as a whole it has increased 4.9%. As a result, public sector employment in Ontario is now shrinking as a percentage of the private sector workforce.  In contrast, in the rest of Canada, it is increasing. Moreover, public sector employment is much higher in the rest of Canada

Ontario hospital workers are much less absent due to illness or disability than hospital workers Canada-wide.  In 2014, Ontario hospital workers were absent 10.2 days due to illness or disability,  2.9 days less than the Canada wide average – i.e . 22% less.   In fact, Ontario hospital workers have had consistently fewer sick days for years. This is also true if absences due to family or personal responsibilities are included. Statistics Canada data for the last fifteen years for Canada and Ontario are reported in the chart below, showing Ontario hospital workers are consistently off work less. Assuming, Ontario accounts for about 38% of the Canada-wide hospital workforce, these figures suggest that the days lost due to illness of injury in Canada excluding Ontario are about 13.6 days per year ([13.6 x 0.68] + [10.2 x 0.38] = 13.1). In other words, hospital workers in the rest of Canada are absent from work due to illness or disability 1/3 more than Ontario

New Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)   data   paints a picture of rapid change in nursing in Ontario, especially for Practical Nurses (called "RPNs" in Ontario and "LPNs" elsewhere) .   Here is a summary of the most interesting data from those charts concerning Ontario.     Note: The rapid increase in the Ontario RPN workforce (52.3% increase since 2005, and 5.6% in 2014) The rapidly increasing ratio of RPNs to RNs: Working RPNs are now at 38.1% of the number of working RNs in Ontario, up from only 27.3% only a decade ago While growth is much less marked, the RN workforce does continue to increase in Ontario – 9.2% since 2005 and 1.6% in 2014 alone The very rapid increase in RPNs who graduated from college within the last ten years The declining average age of RPNs and the increasing age of RNs The percentage of “full time” employment (as defined by the employer) increased for RNs but was fairly

Funding increase hits new low: The Ontario government plans health sector spending growth of 1.2% this year compared with the interim spending estimate for 2014/15.   This deepens the trend to cut health care funding increases. ($000s) 2005-6 2006-7 2007-8 2008-9 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012–13 Actual 2013–14 Interim 2014–15 Plan 2015–16 Health and Long-Term Care 32,947 35,655 38,118 40,734 43,054 44,414 46,491 47,571 48,933 50,173 50,771 % Increase 4.0% 8.2% 6.9% 6.9% 5.7% 3.2% 4.7% 2.3% 2.9% 2.5% 1.2% The average increase over the last four years is 2.2%.  Over the previous six years, funding increases averaged 5.9%, well more than double the more recent average.  This year's plan of 1.2% is a new low.  In 2011, the then Auditor General noted that various factor