It’s hard to believe that we are already in April! The Canadian Health Coalition (CHC)’s Ottawa office has been very busy since the new government took office, talking about what we want in the new Health Accord and calling for strong commitments to preserve and improve public Medicare for all.
The CHC was invited to comment in the media about the lack of resources earmarked for health care in the 2016 Federal budget, especially ahead of a new Health Accord. In order to
protect, strengthen and expand our public health care system we need financial investments to make that happen. You can read our press release on this here.
On March 31, to mark the second anniversary of the expiry of the Health Accord, the CHC partnered with our allies in the provincial and territorial health coalitions and wrote to the federal Health Minister Jane Philpott. Together we called on the federal government to recommit and enforce the Canada Health Act, to stop the privatization of public services, and to take a strong leadership role in expanding public health care to cover medicines and seniors’ care.
Put the heart back in health care!
The Canadian Health Coalition was in Vancouver January 20-21 and took part in an interactive display staged in front of the meeting of Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial health ministers. With hearts and banners carrying messages of hope for health care from people across the country, public health care advocates called on the ministers to put the heart back in health care.
The events received considerable media coverage and CHC board member and Friends of Medicare’s Executive Director Sandra Azocar handed a basket of paper hearts to Minister Philpott on behalf of the organization.
Public health care advocates left Vancouver expecting progress on priorities after the Health Ministers’ meeting. You can read the press release issued at the end of the event here.
Health care advocates take over Parliament Hill
123 public health care advocates were on Parliament Hill on January 26th and met with 140 Members of Parliament, asking them to preserve and improve public health care for all through a new Health Accord. Advocates were asking MPs to commit fair federal funding to provinces and territories for health care costs to attach that money to meeting new national standards. Advocates also called on the federal government to enforce the Canada Health Act, create a national public drug plan and a home and continuing care strategy.
In the evening, we were invited as special guests to a well-attended all-parties’ parliamentary reception hosted by the NDP’s Health Critic MP Don Davies to talk about the new Health Accord.
Click here to view a video slideshow from this extraordinary day on Parliament Hill.
Safety concerns over paid plasma clinic
In March 2016, the CHC wrote to Minister Philpott to express our strong opposition to the opening of a for-profit clinic that pays clients to donate plasma in Saskatchewan.
We believe that the introduction of a pay-for-plasma clinic in Canada poses a serious safety risk to our blood supply.
You can read our letter to the federal Health Minister here and the press release from our April 12 2016 Ottawa press conference on this issue here.