Hope Air CEO Mark Rubinstein with a Cessna 182 in Oshawa, Ont. on July 15.Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail
The organizer: Mark Rubinstein
The pitch: Keeping Hope Air flying in Ontario
Mark Rubinstein didn’t know much about Hope Air when he was approached to head the charity in 2019.
It didn’t take him long to become familiar with the critical role the Toronto-based organization plays in the health care system. “I just became very passionate about the cause,” said Mr. Rubinstein, 66, who had a long career in media and marketing before moving into the non-profit sector in 2014.
Founded in 1986, Hope Air helps Canadians living in more than 500 remote communities get to medical appointments. As well as offering air travel, the charity covers the cost of accommodation, meals and ground transportation from the airport. Last year Hope Air provided approximately 25,000 travel arrangements for around 3,000 patients and 1,500 caregivers.
Hope Air concentrates on people in need and most of its clients have a family income of around $35,000. The patients’ medical appointments range from treatments for diabetes to chemotherapy, advanced surgeries, cardiovascular care and mental-health counselling. Mr. Rubinstein said the charity seeks to ensure that “there are no barriers of cost or distance when it comes to being able to reach health care.”
Most of Hope Air’s funding comes from provincial grants and donations. However, the charity has run into a funding shortfall in Ontario where it can’t meet the soaring demand for its services since the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic ended. Mr. Rubinstein has asked the provincial government for $2.5-million in each of the next three years, and the charity will cover the rest of its costs through donations. The government has yet to respond and Mr. Rubinstein said Hope Air will soon have to cut back or even cancel its operations in the province.
Without Hope Air, he said hundreds of families across Northern Ontario will have to cancel their treatments or go into debt to cover the travel costs. “Either way it creates terrible outcomes,” he said.
Despite the frustrations, Mr. Rubinstein remains passionate about Hope Air and the vital service it provides. “We talk about a universal health care system in Canada, but there’s nothing universal about it if you can’t afford to get to it,” he said.