Chamber Reacts to Provincial Action to Reduce Surgical Backlog

(TORONTO– January 18, 2023) – Today, Rocco Rossi, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), released the following statement in response to the Ontario government’s announcement to utilize community surgical and diagnostic centres to reduce wait times for publicly funded surgeries and procedures:

“The backlog of surgical procedures and disruption of cancer care and diagnostics during the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact health outcomes, the health care system, and the economy. We welcome this announcement to tackle the backlog through innovative approaches, such as leveraging private sector capabilities, while maintaining public access.

“We encourage the Ontario government to ensure that this action does not impact staff capacity within hospitals. While initial action has been taken to attract and retain talent to the health sector, we continue to call for the creation and implementation of an integrated health human resources (HHR) strategy. Doing so will ensure the province has qualified HHR professionals to meet current and future needs, and patients have access to timely and quality care – when and where they need it.

“We look forward to ongoing collaboration with the Province and key health sector stakeholders to accelerate solutions that bolster health system capacity and resilience.”

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About the Ontario Chamber of Commerce
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) is the indispensable partner of business and Canada’s largest, most influential provincial chamber. It is an independent, not-for-profit advocacy and member services organization representing a diverse network of 60,000 members. The OCC’s mission is to convene, align and advance the interests of its members through principled policy work, value-added business services and broad engagement to drive competitiveness and economic growth in the province.

For more information, please contact:
Andrea Carmona
Manager, Public Affairs,
Ontario Chamber of Commerce
andreacarmona@occ.ca | Mobile: (647) 234-0255