On Friday May 26th and Saturday May 27th, more than a thousand voting stations will be open across Ontario, including in this region. Since the beginning of April, the recently formed Grey Bruce Health Coalition has been working to organize this grassroots referendum in communities throughout Grey and Bruce counties. At 41 different locations from Tobermory to Kincardine, Port Elgin to Holstein, Owen Sound to Thornbury polls will be open from 9 am to 5 pm on both days. Polls will be staffed by local volunteers and are open to residents 16 years of age and older. Voters will be asked to pledge that they will not vote twice in this poll.  

The OHC referendum question is straightforward: Do you want our public hospital services to be privatized to for-profit hospitals and clinics? “Yes” or “No”. Those who prefer to vote online are able to do so at PublicHospitalVote.ca. 

To operate the polls efficiently and effectively on the days of the vote, the Coalition is still in need of many volunteers. A list of communities still needing volunteers is attached. Those interested in volunteering are asked to contact Brenda Scott or Norah Beatty.

Once the polls close on the 27th of May, the sealed ballot boxes will be transported to a central location for counting. The counting will take place on Sunday, May 28th under the direction of independent members of the community. Scrutineers and members of the media will be able to watch the count if they choose. 

Given the size of our region, counting will take place in two different locations. 

Ballots from Meaford, Thornbury, Clarksburg, Owen Sound, Rockford, and Eugenia will be done at 107 Kiowana Beach Rd., Meaford, ON. The contact person for this count is Norah Beatty. 

Ballots from the rest of Grey Bruce will be counted in Chesley, ON. (The specific location is to be confirmed on Tuesday). The contact person for this count is Brenda Scott. 

The local results for Grey Bruce (a combined total for paper ballots and online votes) will be released on the 29th.

On the 31st of May, all of the ballots collected provincewide, including those from Grey Bruce, will be delivered to Queen’s Park where Ontario Health Coalition leadership will conduct another press conference. 

For further information or comment please contact: 

Brenda J. Scott and /or Norah Beatty

Co-Chairs: Grey Bruce Health Coalition

Note: The GBHC is an affiliate of the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), a non profit, nonpartisan organization representing over 400 local volunteer coalitions in Ontario. This organization has been advocating for public healthcare in Ontario for over 40 years.

source: media relase