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STRATFORD VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 21
21 FREE
MAY 30, 2025
Jennifer Anderson
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New report calls for end to for-profit staffing agencies; MPP Rae pushes back
AMANDA MODARAGAMAGE Times Reporter
A new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, with the support of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), recommends that Ontario significantly boost hospital funding, phase out for-profit staffing agencies, and invest in preventative health care. The report, Hollowed Out: Ontario Public Hospitals and the Rise of Private Staffing Agencies, links an increase in agency use to what it describes as chronic underfunding of public hospitals over the last decade. Between 2013-2014 and 2022-2023, Ontario hospitals are said to have spent $9.2 billion on what the report refers to as “for-profit staffing agencies” – costs that, according to the authors, can be up to three times higher than employing in-house staff. However, Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae pushed back on the report’s conclusions. He said the Ontario Hospital Association has officially called on the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives to withdraw the report, citing what they describe as inaccuracies in the data. “When referencing the $9.2 billion figure spent on agency staffing, CUPE fails to disclose that this figure encompasses a variety of purchased services as well as agency staffing costs,” Rae said. He also noted that the increase in agency workers in hospitals has been relatively modest – rising from 1.5 CONTINUED TO PAGE 3
(AMANDA MODARAGAMAGE PHOTO) The Stratford Festival's red carpet was rolled out Monday May 26, as theatre lovers gathered for the official launch of the Stratford Festival’s 73rd season. There was no shortage of sparkle—actors from the musicals popped champagne, and the energy carried well into the evening with an after party in the Festival Theatre lobby. See more photos on page 14.
Grand Trunk community hub could cost between $43M and $126M
CONNOR LUCZKA
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
“It isn’t a feel-good story, but that’s how much things cost,” consultant Joe Svec said after hitting the ad hoc Grand Trunk renewal committee with a price tag between $43 million and $126 million. Svec, along with colleague Rock Wang, provided their findings at the May 20 committee meeting. The two represented Svec Group, a consulting firm which works with both the public and private sectors to deliver large community projects that fulfill what municipalities need, while grounding the project in what builders are actually able to provide. The two costs Svec presented represent “bookends” for
the price of the Grand Trunk’s community hub, centred around the “superstructure” of the old locomotive repair shop. It doesn’t include the surrounding land of the 18-acre property, which will be developed separately. The $126 million option would be to construct the various components of the community hub within the superstructure. Because of the lack of a roof and the high costs of installing a custom roof for such a large, outdated building, the spaces would be built as structures within a structure, which presents a significant cost challenge. Because the existing building would impede any developer’s process, the city and any partner it has would have to pay exorbitant construction premiums.
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