Members of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) held legally required peaceful protests outside of long-term care homes and hospitals in Ottawa on Monday. Their goals were to raise attention to unsafe working conditions and the threat of all-out healthcare privatization. These demonstrations are in response to a highly problematic proposed bylaw. Similar to Bill 124, this bylaw aims to prevent protests and other gatherings near hospitals and long-term care homes. Instructed by the Ottawa City Council, staff are expected to have the bylaw drafted by early next year. This choice follows weeks of escalating tension from anti-trans demonstration and counter-demonstration on Broadview Avenue, which hosts two public high schools and one public elementary school.
The OCHU brought out some 60 union members to Ottawa’s city hall to challenge the proposed bylaw. The union is telling the city that the bylaw violates workers’ rights to protest peacefully. This legislative initiative was sparked by a recent wave of protests. One particularly egregious incident was an anti-Israel demonstration outside the Jewish Community Centre and a nearby long-term care facility.
Concerns About Workers’ Rights
Michael Hurley, president of OCHU, said that fighting to protect the right to protest is a fundamental part of maintaining any democratic society. He stated, “In a democratic society, everyone should have the right to protest.” Hurley stressed that hospital workers often get deprived of basic rights. These include rights to organize, to strike, and the right to refuse unsafe working conditions.
He further noted, “We have told city council that we will take this issue forward to the Supreme Court if we have to.” The OCHU intends to challenge the proposed bylaw tooth and nail. They will challenge and undermine any strategy or tactic that threatens their hegemony.
Karin Galldin, the union’s attorney, expressed those sentiments fervently. Even more concerning, she pointed out, is that hospital workers often have a hard time speaking out, as current provincial legislation takes away their right to strike. “Hospital workers are disadvantaged in their ability to express themselves about their conditions of work by provincial legislation that prohibits them from striking,” Galldin remarked.
Alternative Solutions Proposed
In response to the Ministry’s efforts to make these protests illegal and hazardous with fines and police enforcement, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) proposed a safer alternative. They prefer public education campaigns and targeted traffic enforcement over repressive bylaws. Such approaches help identify where safety concerns exist, while not violating people’s constitutional rights.
The OCHU states that the right to protest is an essential tool for healthcare workers. This is particularly urgent given the fact that they cannot use strike as a form of leverage when negotiating with their employers. Galldin stated, “So, because health-care workers cannot employ the right to strike as a means of pushing dialog with their employers, the ability to protest or express themselves outside of hospital environments and health-care settings is of particular importance.”
Impact on Community and Workers
Several other municipalities across Ontario have brought forth proposed bubble zone bylaws. This is indicative of a larger trend to crack down on public protest. Hurley warned that these measures don’t address the underlying crisis impacting healthcare personnel. Rather, they merely stifle their capacity to lobby for improved terms.
“Health-care workers are all too familiar with the rising tide of hate and violence in society, but attacking our constitutional rights does nothing to protect us, families or patients,” Hurley asserted. The protests have shone a light on a brutal struggle to win basic workers’ rights. Beyond refugees and neocolonialism, they symbolize a broader fight for democratic liberties in the face of an oppressive healthcare system.
