In 2014, the current health care accord – the deal that sets funding and health care service delivery agreements between the federal and provincial and territorial governments – expires and must be renegotiated. The federal government is ignoring the calls of the provinces and territories to work on a deal, and shockingly announced $36 billion worth of health care cuts which will come into effect after the next federal election in 2015. The provinces will be left to make the hard decisions about what to keep and what has to go, resulting in a patchwork of services available across the country.
We believe that everyone – provincial and territorial governments, First Nations and the federal government – should come together to ensure the 2014 Health Care Accord delivers better, more efficient, quality public health care that includes a national pharmacare program and better home care and long-term care for our aging population.
Private clinics are operating across the country offering health care services for a price, and the federal government is doing nothing to stop it. Federal and provincial governments need to work together to ensure a strengthened public health care system that provides timely, quality health care services to all Canadians, not just for those who can afford to pay.
All Canadians should have access to the same services and quality of care provided by a national, public system.
