FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OTTAWA - Horizon Ottawa is demanding answers after four healthcare workers with decades of experience were laid off last week without explanation during a global pandemic. According to media reports, they were given no explanation for their termination. When pressed for answers, management said they were “restructuring.”
“Community Health centres are mandated to serve vulnerable populations such as the homeless, seniors, refugees, new immigrants and low-income individuals. We are shocked to hear that the largest CHC in Ontario is firing frontline medical staff without cause” said Sam Hersh, Board member of Horizon Ottawa. “No worker should be treated as disposable.”
The staff were terminated with no warning or explanation, leaving the clinic understaffed. PQCHC subsequently announced that appointment times for a complex patient population will be reduced. Even more puzzling is CEO Christopher McIntosh’s attempt to frame these moves as somehow beneficial to patients.
“Patients in our communities are the ones who will suffer the most from such inept management” said Hersh. “Some of these patients are victims of war who will risk being re-traumatised by having their long relationship with a care provider abruptly severed and putting their care in jeopardy.”
Horizon Ottawa is demanding that the PQCHC Board take action and investigate the actions of the CEO as well as the Director of Integrated Healthcare, who also had a role in the firings, and the impacts of these actions. If the Board refuses, we are asking that the Minister of Health and Long Term Care do the review themselves instead. We also call on current patients at PQCHC to blow the whistle if their services are in fact reduced by their community health center as a result of management’s actions.
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For media inquiries:
Sam Hersh
613-663-7018
[email protected]
City Staff have released their Feasibility Assessment on the proposed Bubble By-law for review by council next month. The memo echoes some of our concerns about the by-law, including infringing on Charter rights and opening the city up to legal challenges. It sparked additional concerns for us at Horizon Ottawa and the Defend Dissent Coalition.
“Tewin” is a proposed development near the village of Carlsbad Springs. The developer and partial landowner for the site is Taggart, one of the city’s largest developers and a major donor in the 2022 municipal election.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
03 March 2025
OTTAWA - Osgoode Ward Councillor George Darouze was elected as MPP for the riding of Carleton last Thursday, leaving his council seat vacant. Horizon Ottawa is calling on Mayor Sutcliffe and Ottawa City Council to call a by-election at the special meeting expected for this Wednesday to allow Osgoode Ward residents to democratically elect a new councillor.
In 2006, former Councillor for Orléans Bob Monette won a by-election with only 10 months until the next municipal election, but in November of 2021, council opted to appoint Cathy Curry to the vacant Kanata North seat less than two months after Jenna Sudds won her federal race. They chose not to hold an election because the 2022 election was only a year away, a by-election would cost too much to be deemed worth holding, and the ward would be without a councillor during the 2022 budget discussions.
Horizon Ottawa says the excuses from 2021 don’t hold up in the current context. This time, there is more than a year and a half before the next municipal election in October of 2026. This leaves plenty of time to elect a new councillor who can represent the interests of Osgoode residents in next year’s budget decisions, double the time that was needed in 2006 and six months more than in 2021.
Council’s main reason for appointing a councillor for Kanata North instead of holding a by-election in 2021 was the cost, but Horizon Ottawa says this is not a valid excuse. Appointing a councillor was the wrong call last time around, and it shouldn’t happen again, said Tom Ledgley, Coordinator for Horizon Ottawa. “Mayor Sutcliffe must call a by-election for Osgoode Ward and allow residents to choose who represents them.”
Some councillors who supported an appointment in 2021 wanted assurances that the selected person would be “non-partisan” and not run in the 2022 election with an undeserved incumbent advantage. They were right to have these concerns – Cathy Curry was re-elected in 2022 and Horizon Ottawa has observed that she is one of the most conservative members of council.
The Municipal Act says cities may not hold by-elections after March 31st of a regular election year, which is still 13 months away. The Mayor and Council technically have the power to appoint a replacement for George Darouze, but doing so constitutes a dereliction of duty and would show residents that democracy is not a priority.
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For Media Inquiries:
Tom Ledgley
[email protected]
613-663-7018
