Ontario Health Coalition-Harper Given Failing Marks on Health Care: Health Coalitions Release Report Card

Ontario Health Coalition Media Release
February 8, 2007

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- Health Ministers from across Canada will gather in Toronto this Thursday and Friday (Feb. 8-9) for a national meeting on wait times.

Today the Canadian Health Coalition released a report card giving Harper failing grades for his health care strategy. Despite Harper's key election promise to reduce wait times, there has been virtually no progress on any of the major health files, as follows:

- Grade D: Harper is not enforcing the Canada Health Act's protections for equal access. Open 2-tiering created by private clinics is spreading across the country.

- Grade F: Harper has refused to move forward on a national pharmaceutical plan while 3.5 million Canadians have no drug coverage. In fact, federal health minister Tony Clement did not attend a press conference this fall for the interim report of the First Ministers' Task Force on Pharmaceuticals struck out of the 2004 Health Accord, though he is the co-chair of the committee.

- Grade F: Harper has shelved the Wait Times Strategy proposed by federal Wait Times Advisor Dr. Brian Postl. Postl's report was released on Canada Day weekend minimizing news coverage. His contract ended and his report has been shelved.

- Grade F: Harper has not created a federal health human resources supply or coordination strategy despite studies finding that 1 - 4 million Canadians have no family doctor. Shortages of nurses, doctors and health professionals, and inter-provincial poaching are reducing the effectiveness of provincial health strategies.

However, the coalitions gave Harper high marks for photo ops and pilot projects. The report card is at: http://www.healthcoalition.ca/HarperReportCard.pdf