The OUFP calls for the immediate resignation of Health Minister Sylvia Jones for the dangerous and offensive position taken regarding the Family Medicine crisis.

Please sign our petition at: PETITION LINK: Call For Immediate Resignation of Health Minister Sylvia Jones

On May 06, 2024 the Physician Services Agreement (the physician payment negotiation) entered into Arbitration between the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH).

We have learned through the publicly released details of the Ministry of Health’s Arbitration briefs that the government has no intentions on taking appropriate steps to address the family medicine crisis in Ontario. In fact, the Ministry of Health’s position to the worsening crisis in family medicine is to outright deny the existence of any crisis. Their comments state “there is no concern of a diminished supply of physicians,” and that “retention and recruitment is not a major concern.” This is a slap in the face to Ontarians, particularly the 2.3 million in Ontario who do not have access to a family doctor and for those who have recently or will soon lose their family doctor due to inadequate funding to keep clinics open, and increasing administrative burden. The Ontario College of Family Physicians projects that by the year 2026 that 1 in 4 Ontarians will not have a family doctor.

These comments are insulting and dangerous. They also signal that the Ford government is deliberately ignoring the healthcare needs of Ontarians, akin to denying them their basic right to access universal publicly-funded healthcare. As such, the OUFP urges the public to join in demanding the immediate resignation of Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones.

Our current state of our healthcare system is simply unacceptable. Ontario deserves better.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ramsey Hijazi, Dr. Alex Duong, and Dr. Vakar Khan

on behalf of
The Ontario Union of Family Physicians

To contact and discuss this release with OUFP, please contact us at www.OUFP.ca/#connect.