Find your Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP)

1. Find your riding/electoral district by visiting the Elections Ontario website and searching via your Postal Code. 

2. Scroll down to "Member of Provincial Parliament" - the name of your MPP will appear as a link below.

3. Click the name of your MPP - this links to their Legislative Assembly of Ontario page which includes contact info. 

 

Send a Letter

 

Using the message below as a template, write to your MPP. The Legislative Assembly of Ontario page has both their email and mailing addresses, so decide what will be best for you.

 

Letter vs. Email: If you are sending a letter, include the date and address information. If you are sending an email, just begin "Dear Ms./Mr./Minister [NAME]"

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Personalize: Your MPP wants to get to know the interests of their constituents and is more likely to read a personalized communication carefully than something they think they've already seen. Use a template to start your letter and add details about how this issue impacts you and your community. 

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Template Letter

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August 30, 2021

Ms./Mr./Minister [NAME], MPP
[NAME OF RIDING]

[CONSTITUENCY OFFICE ADDRESS]

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Dear Ms./Mr./Minister [NAME],

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My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am one of your constituents in [NAME OF RIDING]. I work as a [NAME OF YOUR ROLE] at [NAME OF YOUR WORKPLACE].

 

Ontario is experiencing a severe shortage of medical laboratory technologists (MLTs) - I am writing to urge your support of the Medical Laboratory Professionals' Association of Ontario's Call to Action proposing an investment of $6.2 M over 4 years to address this issue, available for review at mlpao.org/actnow.

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There are currently just 6203 practicing medical laboratory technologists (MLTs) in Ontario. 41% are eligible to retire within 2-4 years. COVID-19 has accelerated shortages, with 87% of medical laboratory professionals experiencing burnout and 42% contemplating leaving the field or retiring early. There is currently a need for 466 MLTs, exceeding new MLTs entering the job market (291) by a large margin.

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Along with over 40 hospitals, laboratories, and medical professional associations, we are calling on our members of provincial parliament to address this urgent health human resources crisis. 

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Medical laboratories impact all aspects of patient care, from emergency rooms to family medicine to mental health. According to the CDC, 70% of medical decisions rely on laboratory results. We are an essential and often unrecognized part of the healthcare system. 

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Although this issue might seem large, investment in a few key areas will make a big difference. Clinical placements are a large barrier to increasing seats in programs; rural and remote areas of the province are most impacted by these shortages. Laboratory Externship Programs, a Northern Health Program for Laboratories, and research into simulation learning will start us moving forward. 

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Working short-staffed is impacting us in the lab—we are exhausted. We care deeply about our patients and do everything we can do get the job done. However, further reduction could begin to impact our ability to function and provide timely results. My colleagues and I are afraid turnaround time delays, lengthening hospital stays, and re-scheduled appointments could affect quality of care. 

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Will you join me in supporting this call at Queen’s Park? We have fought hard through COVID-19. We need assistance now to make it through the next year and beyond to the next pandemic.  

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Thank you for your time.

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Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[ADDRESS + POSTAL CODE]
[PHONE NUMBER]