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UPDATE Ask Your Candidate
Will you get candidates on the record to demand action on health care?
September 20 is Election Day in Canada with advance polling starting on September 10.
As we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen the importance of universal health care as a public good for all regardless of income, age, immigration status, or where we live. Unfortunately, our public health care system does not meet everyone’s needs. This is the result of years of underfunding and attack from private interests. We need a federal government who will commit to improving and defending the public health care system we all rely on.
Please click here to find information about some of the most important issues in health care this election, including a list of questions you can ask candidates.
TAKE ACTION
All Candidates Meeting on Seniors’ Issues
Join us and our partners on September 13th at 7PM for a virtual town hall meeting with federal candidates from the ridings of Vancouver Granville and Vancouver South. This event is jointly hosted by Jewish Seniors Alliance, Marpole Oakridge Family Place, South Vancouver Seniors Network, South Granville Seniors Centre, COSCO BC, and BC Health Coalition. Register here
BC Government Paid Sick Leave Survey
With the BC Government’s commitment to introduce a provincial paid sick leave program and federal election promises of implementing similar federal programs, what happens in BC could form the blueprint of a paid sick benefit for all Canadians. We strongly encourage all workers to participate in BC Government’s Paid Sick Leave Survey by September 14th.
OPINION All parties in this pandemic election should agree on one big issue – national pharmacare
“For many Canadians, these costs are such a burden that they avoid taking the medicines they need. A poll from the Angus Reid Institute last October found that one in four Canadian households struggles financially to fill prescriptions. The problem is more acute among women, racialized Canadians, Indigenous people and young people”.
Read this op-ed by Beatrice Bruske, Doug Roth and Linda Silas.
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PUBLIC HEALTH NEWS, UPDATES, & RESOURCES
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- Speak up for migrant rights this election! Migrants in BC and nationally face multiple barriers in accessing the public health care system. During the pandemic, they have been unable to access vaccines and COVID treatment. Let’s call for all the parties in this election to promise that all migrants must have access to universal healthcare immediately, regardless of immigration status. Read more HERE.
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- Make Revera Public MP Challenge. This non-partisan campaign urges all political leaders, and especially incumbent federal MPs and candidates, to join the growing movement to “Make Revera Public”, and to support the phasing out of all for-profit long-term care. Read more HERE.
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- Long-term care improvements would cost $13.7 billion, PBO says. PBO report says a range of potential reforms would compel governments to double spending. Read more HERE.
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- Toxic drug crisis, pandemic have left front-line workers struggling to cope. “The ripple of death is grim, and it will take decades for people impacted by this loss to heal. We are abandoned by all levels of government, who point fingers at one another, and we are burning out”. Read more HERE.
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- Telus Health ignored Alberta’s privacy laws when it launched Babylon app, reports reveal. Privacy commissioner says company still not complying with recommendations. Read more HERE.
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- Telemedicine needs to be integrated into cardiology training, experts recommend. A Canadian survey found that a significant proportion of cardiology trainees are uncomfortable with using telemedicine and feel that better preparation for new-tech medicine is needed. Read more HERE.