Open Letter to the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Hon. Bill Morneau, P.C., M.P. Minister of Finance, the Hon. Jane Philpott, P.C., M.P. Minister of Health, and the Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Health

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, Mr. Morneau, Ms. Philpott, and the Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Health,

Universal public healthcare is fundamental to the Canadian identity, and is a mainstay of progress in our society. The recent Health Accord deal proposed by the Federal government puts our healthcare system at risk by offering an unacceptable reduction in overall funding. To settle for it would be to the detriment of every Canadian.

As laid out by the Canadian Health Coalition, "Public health care was originally agreed to on a 50-50 cost sharing plan between the provincial and federal government. Today the federal government only contributes 20 per cent and that will fall further to 18 per cent if planned cuts continue. Despite a change in government, the Trudeau government is sticking with the former Harper Government’s change to the Canada Health Transfer that will result in a $43 billion cut to public health care."

We need to re-invest in Canadian healthcare. With an aging population that needs home care services, and soaring demands for mental health services across the country, the Federal government should be using Canadian tax dollars to uplift our overburdened healthcare system and help it meet the needs of its citizens.

We are calling upon the Federal government to reconvene with the provincial and territorial governments and renegotiate a national Health Accord that guarantees Canadians a healthcare system that will meet their current and future needs. Canadian health experts tell us that this requires a commitment to a base annual increase of 5.2% to the Canada Health Transfer, and an agreement from the Federal government to match every additional dollar invested into seniors care and mental health care by the provincial and territorial governments, on top of the already proposed 11$ billion committed to mental health and seniors care. This is a resolution echoed not only by many provincial premiers and health ministers, but also vehemently backed by seniors care experts, mental health experts, and advocates across the nation.

Canada is a diverse and fast-growing society, and our healthcare system needs to grow with us. It is time to fight for healthcare.

Sincerely,

The Student Mental Health Advocacy Collective

Help us get the word out:

1) Show your support on social media with the hashtag #Fight4Health

2) Get your campus club and local organizations to share the letter on social media and with local and campus media

3) Encourage your local elected officials to support our call for an investment in healthcare

Use these images to help get the word out: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B4XuyPtj6kQdTlE3YjVNWjdvNlk?usp=sharing