On Tuesday September 7, the Ontario Health Coalition hosted a launch for Power in Coalition in downtown Toronto. It was a lively discussion around the possibilities and challenges of coalitions. Speakers included Amanda Tattersall, author of Power in Coalition and Natalie Mehra the Coordinator of the OHC (see photo).
Discussion focused in on the key strength of the OHC – the fact it build a multi-scaled coalition structure that operated both across the province through meetings of provincial community organizations and unions, as well as locally though now fifty local health coalitions doted across Ontario. Mehra underlined the importance of this structure – as it has repeatedly enabled the coalition to build a mass movement.
This is in contrast to the struggles of many progressive coalitions in Canada which have declined in recent years (such as movements around women’s rights, poverty and privatization) – despite the passionate support for social justice in Canadian society more generally. Coalitions offer real hope for rebuilding progressive power in Canada, but as the speakers emphasized – these coalitions need to build their power carefully and sustainable. The Ontario Health Coalition, featured in Chapter 4 of Power in Coalition provides some ideas for how this can be done.
