As Sarnia’s hospital and others across Ontario face budget cuts, the provincial funding for private clinics continues to grow.
Oct 01, 2026 • Last updated 3 hours ago •
Andrew Longhurst, left, and Michael Hurley were in Sarnia Sept. 30, sharing findings from a new study on the health system in Ontario. Longhurst is affiliated with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and authored the study. Hurley represents CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, which sponsored the research. (Tyler Kula/ The Observer)
According to a new study, as Sarnia’s hospital deals with financial constraints, funding for for-profit clinics in Ontario has increased.
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The anticipated benefit of shorter wait times following Queen’s Park’s expansion of private clinic investment in 2023 has not materialized, Andrew Longhurst from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives noted.
In fact, he explained that median wait times for eight out of twelve publicly funded priority procedures in Ontario-like MRI scans and cataract surgeries-have been increasing over the last eight years.
“When you’ve spent $4.1 billion over eight years (on private health care) and wait times are going up, we’ve got a serious problem,” Longhurst said.
“This is a serious policy failure.”
Longhurst’s report titled Not adding up: Surgical and diagnostic privatization in Ontario analyzes data sourced from the Canadian Institute for Health Information along with information obtained through freedom of information requests from Ontario Health and the Health Ministry.
The funding directed towards private clinics is growing faster than what public healthcare receives, he pointed out.
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<img class="embedded-image__image lazyload" src="https://ontariochronicle. ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1790899966_733_Funding-private-healthcare-in-Ontario-leading-to-longer-waits-study. jpg" alt="Supplied" height="900" loading="lazy" width="1200"/
Meanwhile , payments made by OHIP to private clinics are significantly higher than costs incurred at hospitals , indicating that savings aren’t being realized , according to Longhurst. p >
Similar trends seen in Alberta and Quebec have also resulted in increased wait times , he added. p >
“It provides an opportunity certainly for the provincial government to rethink its approach,” Longhurst said , suggesting more investment should go into public hospitals while increasing staff levels to maximize current resources. p >
“We need to look at the evidence,” Longhurst stated during his visit to Sarnia Wednesday as part of a provincial tour. p >
“These are objective data on wait times and Ontario’s waits are getting worse.” p ><img class="embedded-image__image lazyload" src="https://ontariochronicle. ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1790899966_814_Funding-private-healthcare-in-Ontario-leading-to-longer-waits-study. jpg" alt="Supplied" height="585" loading="lazy" width="780"/
Evidence indicates that for-profit clinics lead to poorer health outcomes due to lower staffing levels , along with documented cases where patients were billed illegally or had to pay out-of-pocket expenses for OHIP-covered procedures , he mentioned. p >
“The government has also said that never will Ontarians pay with their credit card , but only with their OHIP card,” Longhurst remarked. “What this information reveals… is that’s not the case.” p >
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Critically speaking , care provided for cancer patients suffers because those necessary surgeries can’t be performed at private clinics , noted Michael Hurley , president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions which commissioned this report.
“It’s a pretty abysmal failure,” he remarked.
In 2026-27，the provincial government plans on raising base funding plus targeted hospital allocations by four percent，which falls short compared to six percent needed annually just to keep service levels stable amid population growth，aging demographics，inflation，and system improvements as highlighted by this report.
Bluewater Health is currently cutting costs including non-union positions while working toward eliminating its deficit under guidance from the provincial Health Ministry.
“The cupboards are bare when it comes to public hospitals,” Longhurst stated，“but there seems always another funding announcement around every corner for private companies.”
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In 2026-27，the provincial government plans on raising base funding plus targeted hospital allocations by four percent，which falls short compared to six percent needed annually just to keep service levels stable amid population growth，aging demographics，inflation，and system improvements as highlighted by this report.
Bluewater Health is currently cutting costs including non-union positions while working toward eliminating its deficit under guidance from the provincial Health Ministry.
“The cupboards are bare when it comes to public hospitals,” Longhurst stated，“but there seems always another funding announcement around every corner for private companies.”
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