I'd rather have seen them jack up prices for out-of-pocket customers instead of this -- using literal kids (and seniors) as pawns by preventing their access to healthcare in a dispute with the government is downright inhumane and despicable.

I've worn glasses since the third grade. Much like the student in the article, I couldn't see what the teacher was writing on the board. Luckily, once I brought this to my parents' attention, I was able to get my eyes checked, got a prescription, and glasses within a short timeframe. If this kind of dispute had been going on at the time, I can only imagine the impact of being unable to receive care would have been wholly negative: worse performance at school, increased stress &/ feelings of inadequacy.

And for the elderly, this absolutely sucks too. Imagine your vision is deteriorating and you can't get treatment? There goes any hope of being able to drive, limiting one's ability to live independently.

Fuck Ontario for paying optometrists so poorly under OHIP, but moreso, fuck the Ontario Association of Optometrists for throwing the vulnerable under the bus in response.