Health care: outcry is not ‘whining’

Re: “The MUHC can and must do better” (Opinion, May 19) and “It’s time to stand up for the MUHC” (Allison Hanes, May 15)

I take exception to the categorization of our angry public outcry against the Couillard government’s draconian budget cuts of the MUHC as anglo “whining.”

The opinion piece by Geoffrey Chambers and James Shea appears, by implication and timing, to be a veiled criticism of Allison Hanes’s outstanding call-to-arms to save the MUHC.

Their assertions that only “hard-nosed, fair-minded bargaining” will win the day reflect a naive take on the dynamics of social change. Without systematic public pressure in the media — and yes, even peacefully on the streets — no amount of “productive debate” will force this government to change course.

The MUHC can only be saved if politicians believe they’ll pay the price at the ballot box, and that requires public outcry — loud and clear. Stephen Orlov, Montreal