FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March
1, 2006
Province should stop
drug program privatization to keep personal information
secure: OPSEU
TORONTO – The Ontario
government should stop its plan to privatize the Trillium
Drug Program and thereby keep the personal information of
over 200,000 Ontarians secure, the Ontario Public Service
Employees Union says.
The Trillium Drug Program
subsidizes prescription drugs for people who face extreme
drug costs related to HIV/AIDS, cancer, heart disease, and
other serious ailments. Ontario’s Ministry of Health and
Long Term Care announced Nov. 14 that it would seek a
private operator for the program, which spends $185 million
in public money each year.
“Privatizing the Trillium
program puts personal health record and income tax
information in the hands of a private corporation,” said
OPSEU president Leah Casselman. “A corporation – which is
accountable to its owners, not the people of Ontario – will
be making decisions on who gets life-saving drugs and who
doesn’t.
“You don’t have to look very
far to see what’s wrong with this idea,” Casselman said,
pointing to the 2005 report of the Ontario Auditor General.
The report by Jim McCarter found widespread problems with
the network of private operators who issue driver and
vehicle licences in the province.
“The best way to keep
personal information secure is to keep it under the direct
supervision of the Minister, inside the public service,” she
said.
Casselman also questioned the
government’s apparent hurry to privatize the drug program.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has set a date of
June 30, 2006 to hand the program over to a private
operator.
“Even prospective bidders say
that the timeline for this privatization is too short,” she
said. “This is a slapdash privatization of a critical health
care service.”
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For more information: Randy
Robinson (416) 448-7441; (416) 788-9134 (cell)
