VANCOUVER – A Liberal government would convene a First Ministers meeting within 60 days of being sworn in to launch work on new funding arrangements, and system-wide reforms to secure the future of health care in Canada, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced today.
“The Liberal Party has made a clear commitment to universal public health care – and we will get to work right away as a strong partner to guarantee that health care is there when we need it,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “We’re going to turn the page on five years of weak leadership in health care by convening all the First Ministers on this vital issue within the first 60 days of a Liberal mandate.”
In an open letter to Canadians, Michael Ignatieff committed to a sustained 6% annual increase in health care funding as a foundation for crucial reforms, with two core priorities that will improve the quality of health care service and contain costs in the long term:
- Home care – to reduce hospital costs and increase the quality of health care; and
- Drug coverage – to increase accessibility and reduce the cost of prescription drugs
“The Health Accord negotiated by Paul Martin’s Liberal government expires in 2014,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “There’s no time to waste – we need to work with the provinces and territories right away on a new funding arrangement that will allow for reforms like enhanced home care and more comprehensive, affordable drug coverage.”
The Liberal Platform also makes concrete commitments to new measures that will contribute to the health of Canadians including a Family Care Plan, a Canadian Health Promotion Strategy, a National Food Policy to promote healthy eating, and a Brain Health Strategy.
“Mr. Harper’s record on health care speaks for itself – he hasn’t put a dime of new spending into health care above the commitments Paul Martin made in the 2004 Health Accord, and he’s not once met the First Ministers on the subject of health care in five years,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “That’s the record of a government that doesn’t care about Canadians’ health and isn’t serious about a federal role in our health care.
“Stephen Harper’s budget said that health care funding was ‘subject to change’ and he hasn’t made any commitment to health funding beyond two additional years,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “With $11 billion in new cutbacks and billions in new spending on corporate tax cuts, jails and fighter jets, Stephen Harper’s poor choices place long-term sustained funding for health care at serious risk.”
Background
The Liberal Commitment to Health care Reform
Under Liberal leadership, the federal government will be a strong partner in the Canadian health care system, changing course after five years of disengagement under the Harper government.
The Liberal Platform lays out a substantive agenda for health care, and a Liberal government would begin working on it immediately with provincial and territorial governments.
A Liberal government would convene a meeting of First Ministers – the Prime Minister and the premiers of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories – in its first 60 days. The purpose of the meeting would be to launch work on new federal-provincial-territorial arrangements for health care funding, and system-wide reforms that will contain costs and improve service to Canadians.
Provincial and territorial premiers recognize the need for collaboration on system-wide health care reforms to begin now, not three years from now. The 2004 Health Accords were the culmination of four years of discussions, built around the landmark 2002 Romanow Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada.
A Liberal government will strengthen public health care
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has committed to sustaining the 6% “escalator” for ongoing federal funding beyond 2014, when the Health Accord that was put in place by the previous Liberal government expires.
That significant level of sustained, stable funding will provide the foundation for system-wide reforms. The agenda put forward in the Liberal Platform prioritizes two areas for reform: home care services and drug coverage.
Reforming home care and drug coverage is crucial for providing quality services to Canadians, no matter where they live. Better drug coverage and better home care services will also help contain costs for the system, by reducing overall drug costs and easing demand for costly spaces in hospitals.
The Liberal Platform also puts forward several other important initiatives that will improve the health of Canadians, including a National Food Policy, a Canadian Health Promotion Strategy, a Canadian Brain Health Strategy and rural health care. The early First Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to set direction for collaboration in these areas as well.
The neglectful and risky Conservative approach to health care
Stephen Harper has not held a First Minister’s meeting in over two years – and he has never held a First Minister’s meeting to discuss health care. This is inexcusable for great national issues like health care that require a Prime Minister who is willing to lead.
While Canadians are facing long wait times, rising costs of prescription drugs, an aging population, increasing obesity and diabetes, and limited access to long-term care centres and home care, Stephen Harper maintains that health care is not a responsibility of the federal government.
In Budget 2011, the Conservatives explicitly stated that their commitment to health care funding is “subject to change.” Subsequently Jim Flaherty has stated that he will only commit to the Canada Health Transfer escalator for two more years after the 2004 Health Accord expires.
The Conservative platform also places health care at significant financial risk. Stephen Harper has committed to $11 billion in unidentified cuts to the federal budget at the same time as future health care funding is being renegotiated.
Stephen Harper has also made major spending commitments for 2014 and beyond: $6 billion annually in corporate tax cuts, $10-$13 billion in U.S.-style mega prisons, and at least $30 billion on F-35 stealth fighter jets starting in 2015 – exactly when the Health Accord will need to be renewed. These open-ended, high-priced and ill-advised spending commitments place at risk the federal government’s ability to adequately fund the Canadian health care system in the future.
