Sample
letter to your MPP
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<DATE>
<MPP’s Name>
<MPP’s Title>
<MPP’s Address>
<MPP’s Address>
Re: Trillium Drug Program –
Keep it Public
Dear ____________________,
As you may be aware, the
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is in
the process of contracting out delivery of Ontario's
Trillium Drug Program to the private
sector.
The Trillium Drug Program
provides vital drug coverage for
approximately 200,000 Ontarians who face
extremely high drug costs. Trillium clients
include people with arthritis, cancer,
cystic fibrosis, heart disease, HIV/AIDS,
multiple sclerosis, respiratory diseases and
other serious health problems. This is
exactly the kind of public health service
that the McGuinty Liberals promised to
protect in the last provincial election.
Privatizing the Trillium
program is a bad idea.
Contracting out means a private, for-profit
corporation will decide whether Trillium
clients get the drugs they need. It will
undercut the Minister’s direct control and
accountability for the quality and level of
service clients receive.
Contracting out also
threatens the security of clients’
confidential health and income tax
information, which will be put into the
hands of the private operator.
In December, Ontario’s
Auditor General found private drivers’
licence issuers guilty of thousands of
security breaches, including the loss or
theft of 56,000 licences, licence plates and
other permits.
Adding to urgency of this
issue – and the risks to Trillium clients –
is the fact that the Ministry is rushing to
meet an unrealistic hand-over date of June
30, 2006. With even potential vendors
expressing skepticism and a staff turn-over
rate of at least 95% when the program is
privatized, this timeline guarantees major
service disruptions.
All of this may explain why
the Ministry carried out no formal
consultation with Trillium clients, client
groups or health care providers before
issuing its RFP in December, 2005.
There is an alternative.
The Trillium Drug
Program is run by skilled, dedicated
employees. The program is already
launching a new automatic application
renewal system. It can be run
efficiently within the
Ontario
Public Service.
Keeping the program public is
the only way to ensure clients are treated
fairly and their personal information is
kept secure.
I am therefore writing to ask
you to help protect the Trillium Drug
Program and its 200,000 clients. In
particular, I ask that you:
1)
Raise the serious problems
with the Ministry’s privatization plan with
your caucus colleagues, Health Minister
George Smitherman and Premier Dalton
McGuinty
2)
Demand an immediate halt to
the Trillium privatization until:
i)
there has been full
consultation with the program’s clients,
client groups, health care providers and
Trillium staff, and
ii)
the serious problems raised
by the plan have been addressed
3)
Support the call to keep the
Trillium Drug Program public.
I would appreciate hearing
back from you about this matter, the steps
you have taken and the response you receive
from your caucus colleagues, the Minister
and the Premier.
Thank you very much for your
attention to this important issue.
Sincerely,
<Your Name>
<Your Mailing Address>
<Your Mailing Address>
