COUNCIL OF CANADIANS, NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH COALITION, NOVA SCOTIA FEDERATION OF LABOUR
Instead of asking about more privatized health care, the forum held by the Canadian Medical Association should present real solutions for strengthening our existing public system, advocates say
Kjipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia – Public health advocates are picketing outside the Halifax stop of a cross-country tour hosted by the Canadian Medical Association and the Globe and Mail today. They will be there to oppose the event’s focus on finding a greater role for the private sector in easing the pressures on Canada’s health care system.
Members and supporters of the Council of Canadians, Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, and Nova Scotia Health Coalition are gathering outside the event at the Halifax Convention Centre beginning at 11am to distribute informational leaflets and engage the participants in conversation.


Photos taken outside the event. Photo credit: mo phùng
“We’re out here today because we think these consultations are misleading the public. Instead of asking how we can invest more resources into our strained public health care system, these consultations are reviving outdated and dangerous ideas that will only move us further along the path to U.S.-style, two-tier health care. We’ve heard this debate countless times before, and the evidence has been clear all along: privatized health care would do nothing to solve the current crisis,” says Robin Tress, Co-Executive Director of the Council of Canadians.
“It’s no secret that our public health care system is in dire straits. Long wait times and staffing shortages are taking a toll on both the health system and the public. But we can’t fix these problems by adding on for-profit care. Private, for-profit health care costs more and delivers less. Investing in the public health care system will always be the safest and most sustainable option,” adds Alexandra Rose, Provincial Coordinator of the Nova Scotia Health Coalition.
“We’re deeply concerned about the privatization creep we’re seeing in our province. More privatization means siphoning away even more precious resources and personnel from the public system, gutting our already reeling system even more,” says Danny Cavanagh, President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour.
This is the fourth and final event in the national tour organized by the CMA and hosted by the Globe and Mail. Previous events were held in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.
“These events have consistently given a platform to spokespeople from private, for-profit health care companies while marginalizing other voices. If the CMA is really serious about improving health care access, it needs to offer Canadians meaningful options for reforming the system,” Robin Tress adds.
“That must include a conversation about why Canada has some of the lowest health care spending among our peers. And it must include ways to strengthen the existing public system, including through expansions like a national pharmacare program.”
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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Donya Ziaee, Communications Officer, The Council of Canadians
media@canadians.org, 613-404-2004