Health-care workers announce counter protest to convoy in Toronto

A group of concerned health-care workers is planning to hold a demonstration in downtown Toronto on Saturday at the same time as a planned trucker convoy protest to send a message that access to health care should never be compromised.

"We want to ensure that health-care services remain available to anyone who needs them and to defend the right of health-care workers to show up for work in their hospitals and clinics free of harassment. We want to keep our streets open so that sick people can safely get the help they want and to reassure them that health-care workers stand with them," organizers said.

Vanessa Wright, a nurse practitioner and one of the organizers of the counter-protest, said that in addition to nurses, doctors and other health-care workers, she is hoping that others will join and stand in solidarity with them.

She said they want to send a message that the right to health care access should be respected.

"Our patients show up for us, and we have to show up for them too," Wright said.

The trucker protest will be held at Queen's Park, a few metres away from some of the city's busiest hospitals. On Friday, Toronto police closed roads surrounding the Hospital Row on University Avenue to ensure that staff and patients can safely access them.

Dr. Andrew Boozary, the executive director of social medicine at University Health Network (UHN) and is also one of the organizers of the counter-protest, said it is unacceptable that health services are being impacted because of the convoy.

"We've heard vaccine clinics having to shut down. And we've heard of different primary care clinics and health care clinics not being accessible for those who need it most. So this is something that I think in terms of getting the message of seeing people being able to occupy with messages of hate, but health-care workers having to have fear about going to the hospital or their workplace if they can be identified as a health worker. It is just something we couldn't reconcile as a group," Boozary said.

He noted that their demonstration also hopes to put a spotlight on Ontario's surgery backlog that has left many people suffering.

"We want to ensure that this remains peaceful, and it moves along so we can get care to people who need it most. Because right now…healthcare has been pushed and strained very, very thin," Boozary said.

"Nobody's hoping for there to be disruption, or hate, or harassment of health workers, let alone most importantly, for patients and families who are trying to access care."

While the trucker protest will call for the end of vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions, Boozary said their demonstration will draw attention to the majority of the population who stepped up throughout the pandemic and followed public health measures.

When asked about the counter-protest, UHN President Dr. Kevin Smith said he is pleased that they are standing up for their co-workers and patients but said there's no need for more protesters in the downtown core.

"So, you know, really, again, I appreciate the sentiment. But bringing more people to that very congested part of the city, when we are already really experiencing challenges with traffic and with access, it is very much a mixed perception," Smith said.

Ahead of the protest, some downtown hospitals sent out a memo to their staff telling them not to wear any clothing that would identify them as health-care workers when they report for work.

Boozary called the move demoralizing but understood that hospitals are just trying to protect their staff, patients and their families.

Smith explained the move, citing stories he heard from his colleagues in Ottawa, where a trucker protest continues, that some of their health-care staff were harassed.

"While we respect the constitutional right for people to demonstrate peacefully, it really is unfortunate that it is having a negative impact on exhausted health-care workers and very ill patients," he said.

Smith hopes that this weekend's protest will be peaceful and short so hospitals can resume services on Monday and patients can get the care they need.

He added that if the protest gets extended like the one in Ottawa, contingency plans are ready.

"We are doing the very best we can. We obviously have fallen behind because we've had to cancel a great deal of activity because of the need to treat our COVID patients," Smith said.

"We have a command centre for critical care that involves ambulance services as well. We also have the opportunity to look at the potential to shift patient activity elsewhere."