Skip to content

Barlow says health care an election issue in Newfoundland & Labrador


Corner Brook

Barlow will be in Corner Brook on Tuesday December 2.

This coming week, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow will be speaking alongside CUPE president Paul Moist at public forums in St. John’s (on Monday) and Corner Brook (on Tuesday) focused on defending and expanding public health care.

Today, Barlow and Moist write in the Corner Brook Western Star, “Everyone in Newfoundland and Labrador should receive the same high-quality, publicly delivered health care available to all Canadians. But for that to happen, Newfoundland and Labrador needs stable and adequate funding from the federal government. Last spring, that funding was unilaterally cut. And everyone in Newfoundland and Labrador should be asking Members of Parliament – and candidates in the upcoming federal elections – what they are doing to stand up to protect health care.”

They highlight, “The federal Conservative government [has] imposed a plan for health care that will mean $36 billion less for Medicare over the next 10 years. Over time, the federal government’s share of health care spending will shrink to a small fraction of its original 50 per cent contribution — down to 18.6 per cent by 2024. For Newfoundland and Labrador, this will mean a cut of $491 million for the health care services all Nova Scotians depend on. This is not acceptable.”

And they comment, “What we’re missing is real federal leadership to protect our public health care system. For Newfoundland and Labrador, this starts with MPs. The role of MPs is to stand up on behalf of their constituents. We are asking all Newfoundland and Labrador MPs to uphold this responsibility and stand up for the health of the people they represent. They must be loud voices in urging the federal government to get back to the table and get back on board to support public health care for Newfoundland and Labrador and all of Canada.”

Today, Toronto-based Council of Canadians health care campaigner Michael Butler is in St. John’s offering a workshop to help local residents build their capacity to talk door-to-door about why we need to make public health care an election issue. Door-to-door canvassing plays a critical role in helping to pressure MPs and candidates to take meaningful action on health care.

The federal election is expected to take place on October 19, 2015.

For more information about our campaign to defend and expand public health care, please click here.