Photo: (l-r) Rick Turner, Bill Sundhu, Barbara Nederpel, Anita Strong.
The Council of Canadians Kamloops chapter is lobbying federal party candidates to support public health care.
Yesterday, chapter activist Anita Strong and allies met with Bill Sundhu, the NDP candidate for the federal riding of Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo. Today, there will be a meeting with Steve Powrie, the Liberal candidate for that riding. They had hoped to also meet with Cathy McLeod, the Conservative MP for the riding, but she was reportedly too busy to meet with them.
These meetings are part of the Canadian Health Coalition’s National Spring Constituency Lobby for Public Health Care.
Other Council of Canadians chapters participating in this week of lobbying include Northwest Territories, Charlottetown, Saint John, Sudbury, London, South Niagara, Prince Albert, Vancouver, Comox Valley and likely St. John’s and Kelowna. Council of Canadians health care campaigner Michael Butler met with Liberal MP Judy Sgro in Toronto yesterday.
The chapters are asking MPs and candidates if they will:
Implement a first-dollar coverage, universal, public pharmacare program with the provinces and territories
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Enforce the standards in the Canada Health Act, including the ban on extra-billing and user fees, and enforcement of reporting requirements -
Commit to a continuing care strategy that integrates home, facility-based long-term, respite & palliative care
Our position is:
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No to inequality and privatization -
Yes to a 10-year accord with annual six percent increases, as well as pharmacare, continuing care and dental care -
Yes to at least 25 percent federal funding -
Yes to public solutions -
Yes to a single accord that strengthens our public system
This lobbying week is part of an overall effort to make health care a major issue in the October 19th federal election.
For more on our campaign to defend and expand public health care, please click here.
