Priority #4: Revitalizing Universal Public Health Care

With the expiry of existing Federal Health Accords which underwrite Medicare looming in 2014, Canadians face a daunting choice: whom do you trust to protect and reinvigorate our cherished universal public health care system for a new generation?

As the party whose founding leader Tommy Douglas first proved Liberal-Conservative cynics wrong by demonstrating in Saskatchewan that universal public health was not just a moral imperative but also a viable mechanism to deliver quality, affordable health services to Canadians on a national scale, New Democrats believe that the next Parliament must work aggressively build the broad consensus necessary to bring the Provinces and Federal Government together in pursuit of a balanced funding formula capable of preserving our most important national program and a core element of our national identity.

A core element of our legacy as New Democrats remains our enduring responsibility as past architects and present guardians of public health care. I’ll work tirelessly to protect your access to Medicare by pursuing innovative solutions like preventive health, seniors’ homecare and bulk purchasing of generic pharmaceuticals to defray exploding drug costs – the largest, fastest growing discretionary line item in every single Provincial health budget – an initiative which even conservative think-tanks confirm could save more than $10 billion annually. Our plan to create tax incentives to train thousands of new doctors and nurses will help address Canada’s shocking deficit of family doctors.

I’m deeply committed to the fight for sustainable, quality universal healthcare, and if returned to Ottawa I’ll work with all parties to preserve the vital institution of universal public health care for the next generation of Canadians.