Issues

Issue - Health Care
	In the 2005 Budget, Paul Martin and his team unveiled $805 million over five years in new direct federal health funding The funding includes $15 million for wait times initiatives; $110 million to improve data collection of health performance information; $300 million for strategy to encourage health living and prevent control chronic disease The Liberals also want to implement the “Five in Five” approach. This is an initiative to achieve reductions over the next five years for waiting times in at least five key areas: cancer, heart, diagnostic imaging, joint replacements and sight restoration The Liberals will continue to enforce compliance with the Canada Health Act A doctor will be considered in violation if he/she provides the same medically-necessary service to patients on a privately-paid basis The Liberals will create a Canada Health Care Guarantee that seeks to cut wait times by sharing the costs of new centers of specialized care with provinces and territories The Guarantee also includes a fund of up to $75 million that will cover travel and accommodation costs to patients and their family if transferred to another province for timely care The Liberals will work with provinces and territories, the medical profession and patient groups to define reasonable and medically appropriate waiting times, and to identify the places where they are unacceptably long A Liberal government will invest $100 million over the next five years to bring on staff 1,000 new family doctors The Liberals will provide new resources to help assess, train and place international medical graduates who want to work in Canada as family doctors, and increase residency spots in family medicine and medical health To prepare for public health emergencies, the Liberals have boosted vaccine stockpiles, increased a front-line health-care presence, and increased investment in federal laboratories Under a National Pharmaceuticals Strategy, the Liberal government would work with the provinces and territories to legislate a new drug coverage plan by 2006 The Liberals will develop a National Cancer Strategy, supported by a five-year investment of $300 million The money will be used in part to support the creation of a Terry Fox research institute, and to support the translation of research into clinical practice A Liberal government will also establish a Canadian Mental Health Commission, for collaboration on mental-health policy As for seniors, the Liberals have provided an additional $500 million to provinces and territories to push progress on home care and catastrophic drug coverage The Liberals vow to double the number of Aboriginal health-care professionals in 10 years; at present level, there are 150 doctors and 1,200 nurses In the 2005 budget, Martin’s Liberals promised $810 million for science research councils, research hospitals, Precarn, which specializes in advanced robotics, Genome Canada and other initiatives The Liberals will introduce a new program within the Employment Insurance Framework to provide two months of benefits to care for a seriously-ill loved one They will also begin consultations with provinces and territories and groups representing the self-employed to examine how these measures might be extended

	Harper has promised $260 million over five years to fund the existing Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control -- a network of major cancer stakeholders with a mandate to facilitate collaboration within the cancer-control community Harper vows a Tory Government will not initiate or support any legislation to regulate abortion Immediately compensate all individuals who contracted hepatitis C from tainted blood Allow for a mix of public and private health care delivery Improve access to natural and complementary health products and supplements. Introduce a National Disability Act to promote access to medical care, medical equipment, education, employment, transportation, and housing for Canadians with disabilities Allow the parents of youth under 16 who register their children in programs that promote physical fitness to claim a federal tax credit on spending up to $500 per year per child Commit to spending at least one percent of total federal health funding annually on physical activity Increase the numbers of, and expand educational programs for doctors, nurses, and other health professionals Ensure all Canadians receive essential medical treatment within clinically acceptable waiting times, or can be treated in another jurisdiction, as required by the Supreme Court of Canada’s Chaoulli decision and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Push ahead with implementing the September 2004 federal-provincial Health Accord Ensure wait time reduction targets are established by end of 2006

	During the 2006 election campaign, Jack Layton said his party will focus on stopping the flow of public money into private health care Recognize publicly financed and delivered health care as a fundamental right of Canadian citizenship Layton has pledged to create a $1 billion annual transfer to the provinces to expand home-care services, which would allow seniors to stay in their own homes while receiving supervised care. It's estimated the program would affect 100,000 households. Layton said he would also phase in a $500-million plan to create as many as 40,000 long-term care spaces over four years Reduce prescription drug costs with a national bulk-buying program Prohibit public money from going to private-for-profit clinics, and make diagnostics such as MRIs medically necessary services Phase in a pharmacare program, starting with low-income Canadians and those facing massive drug costs Outlaw the practice of "evergreening" prescription drugs (evergreening refers to the practice of putting patent applications on slight variations of the same drug) Improve health-care services for First Nations; focus on closer-to-home solutions, rather than medical evacuations Include Aboriginal leaders in all meetings of federal, provincial and territorial health ministers Implement public and non-profit-based home care Establish more community-based clinics to deal with minor medical problems Restore ParticipAction, the national program that encouraged physical activity Promote proven alternative and traditional health practices Ban trans fatty acids in foods as they have done in a few European countries Ensure access to safe, therapeutic abortions Ensure the federal government address "Romanow Gap" by paying 25 per cent of provincial health care costs within two years Respond to Roy Romanow’s concerns about the potential effects of global and continental trade deals on Canada’s ability to keep health care public. Better recognize foreign credentials of health professionals Implement recommendations on nursing shortages, made by the Canadian Nursing Advisory Committee Pursue a major federal plan focusing on prevention through better nutrition, exercise, quality housing and a healthy environment Take a precautionary approach to the approval of food and drugs Establish a Royal Commission to look at how to protect the sustainability of medicare Restore independence to Health Canada in monitoring drug safety Help women qualify for maternity benefits by extending coverage to dependent contract workers and eliminating limits on maternity or parental leave that are based on use of sickness benefits.

	Create an independent health-care system, run by Quebec, preserving the concept of universal health care Make health prevention a priority Maintain universal health care Ottawa must correct the fiscal imbalance between the Quebec government and the federal government via a massive fiscal transfer from Ottawa to Quebec

	Oppose any steps that open the way to two-tier health care system Co-ordinate a national pharmacare plan with the provinces Include coverage for health care treatments such as chiropractic, acupuncture or herbal medicines Support a public health framework to reduce the use of psychoactive drugs through rehabilitation and prevention, especially for children Involve mental health clients and psychiatric survivors in research planning, policy development, program evaluation and other decisions that affect their lives and communities Help provinces increase the number of detox and treatment beds for drug and alcohol rehabilitation, create safe injection clinics, needle exchange programs and access for certified addicts to prescriptions for safe doses Explain licensing requirements for health professionals being considered for immigration before their entry Provide incentives to companies to reduce workplace stress and promote emotional health Increase taxes on tobacco products, alcohol and junk food Introduce mandatory labelling of all foods containing genetically modified organisms Ban the sub-therapeutic use of agricultural antibiotics and hormones Help provinces and municipalities implement urban agriculture and food share programs to reduce the cost of healthy food Target programs to reduce and eliminate systematic health inequities facing First Nation communities, new Canadians and other marginalized populations Commission Health Canada to do a nationwide study identifying the presence of carcinogens, neurotoxins, hormone disruptors, and the toxicity levels of Canadians Ensure clean drinking water for all Canadian communities by 2008 Initiate consultations with Canadians about end-of-life and quality-of-life issues Support the Children's Clean Air Act Prohibit reproductive cloning and require a Health Canada license for any organization or institution that performs genetic manipulation for commercial or scientific purposes. Ban all non-natural pesticides and insecticides by the year 2010 and provide alternatives for farmers Prohibit reproductive cloning and require a Health Canada licence for any organization or institution that performs genetic manipulation for commercial or scientific purposes Implement goal of increasing physical activity by 10 per cent over five years Invest $500 million over five years to address inactivity and obesity Introduce a national standard of daily participation in sport and physical activity in schools Support high-performance athletes by encouraging participation in sport, and by contributing to the provision of essential facilities, coaching and medical support Endorse and promote the Olympic Movement's Agenda 21 for Sport, which advocates sustainable sport and recreation management practices Support a nation-wide healthy lunch and snacks program from kindergarten through to Grade 12

Issue - Health Care