Hi everyone, sorry for my short hiatus; the last couple days of the tour were intense and then I moved back home to Ottawa! Firstly, here are the links to some of our media exposure in Brantford, Ontario:
Pharmacy Protest Hits City
Pharmacy Students Protest Subsidy Ban
On May 14 (Friday), we headed to Belleville for what would turn out to be an eventful day. First off, we main-streeted on a (relatively) busy street, and got quite a bit of attention from passersby. A couple of students even got into a heated debate with a man who was against the big pharmacy chains. Then, we headed to Kelly's Pharmacy (Guardian) where we were greeted by pharmacy staff, who thanked us for our efforts for the past two weeks and pumped us up for our meeting with Education Minister and Belleville MPP Leona Dombrowsky (Prince Edward-Hastings). Once we got to her office, we set up outside and began our usual chants, complete with our signs and white labcoats. Local Belleville pharmacists also joined in. It was decided that four of us would go in to meet Dombrowky--Rahim Ismail, Rahman Hussain, Nadeem Remtulla, and myself. Once we got inside, Dombrowsky expressed that she had wanted to talk to all the students (it seemed like a ploy to get the students in from outside, so that they wouldn't attract media attention!) However, we maintained that we were representatives of the students and would voice their concerns. Leona Dombrowsky was quite pleasant to talk to and listened to all of our concerns. She refused to talk to practicing pharmacists but seemed genuinely interested in speaking to students. The entire exchange lasted about half an hour and after one student, Rahman Hussain, explained the issue in simple terms with an analogy, she thanked us for coming and stated that we had enhanced her understanding of the complicated situation! We were impressed with ourselves but left with a somewhat cynical view of the world--these MPPs, who don't even properly understand the situation, are in charge of the future of our professions and the healthcare of Ontarians?! It's unbelievable.
The next day, according to the schedule, we were due to be in London to canvas in Deb Matthews riding. However, we found out that the Liberal Party was holding a policy convention in Collingwood at a Blue Mountain Resort, so we headed there to do what we do best--make some noise and cause some ruckus!! Once we got there, we sat on the bus for about an hour as the organizers negotiated with security to let us out and protest. Finally, they gave us a spot in the parking lot and we were told we had to stay within that compound (there were no other protesters, which was unexpected). So we stood in the parking lot, yelling at the building where the MPPs were meeting. A couple of Liberal aids (wearing red sweaters and Liberal badges) came out and taped us for about an hour, but then went back in. We got a bit of attention from passersby, but to our disappointment, no media came out and worst of all, we didn't get to speak to any MPPs. So we yelled for a couple of hours in the parking lot, and got back on the bus. It was a bit of an anticlimax for the last day of the tour. However, the security guard told us that he had gotten a phone call from a bodyguard inside, asking him who we were, so I guess we were loud enough to be heard inside!
All in all, the tour was a great experience. I learned a great deal about media relations and politics, and had a great time getting to know my fellow students and future colleagues. A big thank you to everyone who followed along with my blog and for your encouraging comments. It's been confirmed that Ontario has delayed the drug reform for about a month--congrats to everyone involved in the campaign...don't stop fighting and let's show them what we're made of!!!
Signing off,
Zenah
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment