Voir version française ci-dessous ===================================================== Standing Together for Medicare: A Call to Care The following statement came out of the Canadian Health Coalition - Canadian Labour Congress Conference on the Future of Health Care, October 12, 2001 Click Here to Dowload a Printable Copy (PDF format) ===================================================== The peoples of Canada believe that health care is a fundamental right of every human being without distinction of race, gender, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, political belief, economic or social condition. Organizations representing millions of Canadians will mobilize to defend this right and to ensure that the following principles shape the future direction of the health are system: 1. The recognition of the highest attainment of health as a fundamental right throughout life and the necessity of preserving public health through active measures of promotion, prevention, and protection including such determinants as housing, food safety, income, education, environment, employment and peace. 2. The recognition of health care as a public good in which the few must not profit at the expense of the many. We affirm the need for a system of public health care which is organized on the basis of public administration, public insurance and the delivery of services on a public, not-for-profit basis. 3. Opposition to any commercialization and privatization of health. Therefore the federal government must negotiate a general exclusion of health services and health insurance from all trade agreements. 4. The need for the federal government to fully assume its responsibilities in respect to health, particularly by restoring and increasing federal transfers to levels sufficient to secure the integrity and enforcement of the Canada Health Act, 1984. 5. The reaffirmation of the original vision of a truly comprehensive public health care system for Canadians providing a continuum of services. The next steps are the expansion of the public system to include a universal system of home and long-term care services and pharmacare. 6. The need to move away from a fee-for-service model towards a community-based, multi-disciplinary approach to the management, organization and delivery of services and care. Levels of services must be sufficient so that the burden of care does not fall on families, mainly women. 7. An accountable health care system through democratic participation and governance at all levels. 8. The recognition that health care workers are critical to the effective operation of the health care system and that decent wages, working conditions and training opportunities are essential to high quality care and the retention of health care workers. Regardless of where we live, it is now imperative to reaffirm the social values we all share. These values must guide our collective choices for future social services and public health care. They are incompatible with the commercialization of all public services sought by the international trade agenda. We believe these values must be adhered to by all governments in Canada, even though jurisdiction is largely a provincial or territorial matter. Therefore, the principles of the Canada Health Act should be enshrined in the laws of each province and territory. We come together to commit to direct political action to ensure that governments throughout Canada protect and expand health care based on the foundation of the Canada Health Act, 1984. What stands between Medicare and its destruction are the peoples of Canada. Future generations are depending on our vigilance. ----------------------------------- ENDORSEMENTS (154) ----------------------------------- Alberta Friends of Medicare Alberta Teachers Federation ALERT PEI Alliance of Seniors to Protect Canada's Social Programs Alliance for Public Accountibility Annapolis Valley-Hants Community Action Program for Children Association des enselgnantes et des enselgnants francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick Association of Allied Health Professionals of Newfoundland Association of Ontario Health Centres Brewer, General and Professional Workers Union/NUPGE BC Lightkeepers British Columbia Coalition of People with Disabilities British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union/NUPGE British Columbia Health Coalition British Columbia Nurses Union British Columbia Persons with AIDS Society Campaign 2000 Canadian Alliance of Community Health Centre Associations Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs Canadian Association of School Social Workers and Attendance Counsellors Canadian Association of Social Workers Canadian Association of University Teachers Canadian Auto Workers Canadian Breast Cancer Network Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work Canadian Crossroads International (Ontario) Canadian Environmental Law Association Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions Canadian Federation of Students Canadian Health Coalition Canadian Housing and Renewal Association Canadian Labour Congress Canadian Pensioners Concerned Canadian Religious Conference Canadian Teachers Federation Canadian Treatment Action Council Canadian Union of Brewery and General Workers/NUPGE Canadian Union of Public Employees Cape Breton Save our Health Care Committee Carleton University Graduate Students' Association Chatham-Kent District Labour Council Childcare Resource and Resource Unit, University of Toronto Common Front for Social Justice of New Brunswick Communications, Energy & Paper Workers Union of Canada Community Health Services Association (Saskatoon Community Clinic) Community of Kinkora (PEI) Council of Canadians Council of the Saskatchewan Association of Licensed Practical Nurses Council of Senior Citizens' Organizations of British Columbia Council of South Asian Seniors Congress of National Seniors Organizations Congress of Union Retirees of Canada Development & Peace Diocese of Charlottetown Disabled Women's Network (DAWN Ontario) Earth Action Education Wife Assault Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario Faith and Justice Coalition (Kingston) Faith Partners (Ottawa) Family Service Canada First Call: BC Child & Youth Advocacy Coalition General Fools Improvisational Theatre Company Green Campus Society (University of Regina) Halton Social Planning Council (Ontario) Health Sciences Association of British Columbia/NUPGE HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic (Ontario) Hospital Employees Union INFACT Canada International Association of Fire Fighters International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE local 942) Inter Pares Jewish Women International of Canada Lakehead Social Planning Council Lantern Christian Life Centre Le Regroupement Les Sages-Femmes du Québec Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union/NUPGE Manitoba Medicare Alert Manitoba Nurses Union Manitoba Teachers Society Medical Reform Group Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic National Action Committee on the Status of Women National Anti-Poverty Organization National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation National Union of Public and General Employees National Council of Women of Canada National Farmers Union (PEI) New Brunswick Health Coalition New Brunswick Nurses Union New Brunswick Government Employees Union/NUPGE New Brunswick Public Employees Association/NUPGE Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees/NUPGE Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association North Bay Network for Social Action North End Community Health Centre (Halifax) North Island AIDS Coalition Society Northwest Women's Centre (Thunder Bay) Nova Scotia Citizens Health Care Coalition Nova Scotia Federation of Labour Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union/NUPGE Nova Scotia Nurses' Union Nova Scotia Orchard Valley Branch/Federal Superannuates National Association Ontario Association of Food Banks Ontario Association of Social Workers (Eastern Branch) Ontario Coalition of Senior Citizens' Organizations Ontario Federation of Labour Ontario Health Coalition Ontario Liquor Board Employees' Union/NUPGE Ontario Nurses' Association Ontario Public Service Employees Union/NUPGE Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation Ottawa-Carleton Child Poverty Action Group Ottawa Child Poverty Action Group Ottawa Health Coalition PEI Health Coalition PEI Licensed Nursing Assistants' Association PEI Nurses' Union PEI Teachers' Federation PEI Union of Public Sector Employees/NUPGE Polaris Institute Presentation Leadership Team (Nfld) Project Genesis Public Service Alliance of Canada Public Service Union Caucus of New Brunswick Reach for Unbleached Registered Nurses Association of Onatario Rights and Democracy Saskatchewan Federation of Teachers Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union/NUPGE Saskatchewan Health Coalition Saskatchewan Union of Nurses Sault Ste. Marie Diocesan Social Affairs Office Seniors' Action and Liaison Team (Edmonton) Service Employees International Union Sisters of St. Martha of PEI Social Planning Council of Winnipeg Social Policy Research Unit, University of Regina Sommerset West Community Health Centre South Asian Women's Centre Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees Toronto Health Coalition Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape Toronto Women's Health Network United Church of Canada United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW Canada) United Nurses of Alberta United Steelworkers of America Vancouver Women's Health Collective Women's Health Interactive Women's Health in Women's Hands Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada Working Group on Women and Health Protection ** If your organization would like to endorse this statement please let us know by email (info@healthcoalition.ca), telephone (613-521-3400 Ext. 311#) or fax (613-521-9638). ---------------------------------------------------------------- "The public has an abiding sense of the values of fairness and equity and do not want to see a health system in which the rich are treated differently from the poor. The Forum supports this view and supports necessary changes to our system only if we preserve the essence of medicare - universal coverage based on need, without financial barrier, portable across the country, to a comprehensive array of publically administered health care services¨. National Forum on Health, 1997 Debout, ensemble, pour l'assurance-maladie: un appel aux soins ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ L'Énoncé qui suit provient de la Conférence sur l'avenir des soins de santé qui a eu lieu le 12 octobre dernier à Ottawa. La conférence avait été organisée par la Coalition canadienne de la santé et le Congrès du travail du Canada ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Les peuples du Canada croient que les soins de la santé sont un droit fondamental de tout être humain, sans distinction de race, de sexe, d'âge, de capacité physique, d'orientation sexuelle, de religion, de croyance politique ou de condition sociale. C’est pourquoi des organismes représentant des millions de Canadiennes et de Canadiens ont décidé de se mobiliser pour s’assurer que les principes suivants seront respectés dans l’organisation future de notre système de santé : 1. La reconnaissance de la santé comme un droit fondamental durant toute la vie et la nécessité de préserver la santé publique par des mesures actives de promotion, de prévention et de protection, incluant les actions sur les déterminants de la santé que sont le logement, la sécurité des aliments, le revenu, l’éducation, l’environnement, l’emploi et la paix. 2. La reconnaissance que les soins de santé sont un bien public pour lesquels on ne doit jamais permettre à quelques-uns de s'enrichir au détriment de la majorité. Nous affirmons donc la nécessité d'un système intégralement public, géré et financé publiquement, dont les services sont rendus sur une base publique et sans but lucratif. 3. L’opposition à toute forme de marchandisation et de privatisation des services de santé. C’est pourquoi le gouvernement fédéral doit négocier une exclusion générale des soins et des services de santé dans toutes ses ententes commerciales internationales. 4. La nécessité que le gouvernement fédéral assume pleinement ses responsabilités en matière de santé particulièrement en restaurant au niveau adéquat ses transferts aux provinces et en les augmentant en vue de préserver l'intégrité de la Loi canadienne de la santé de 1984 et pour s’assurer de son application. 5. La réaffirmation de la vision élaborée lors de la mise en place de l’assurance maladie, soit un système complet et continu de soins de santé. Dans l’immédiat, les étapes à réaliser sont l’expansion du système public pour inclure les soins à domicile, les soins de longue durée et l’accès aux médicaments. 6. La nécessité de remettre en question le paiement à l'acte pour favoriser une approche communautaire et multidisciplinaire dans la gestion et l’organisation des services de santé. Le niveau de services disponibles doit être suffisant pour éviter que la charge de prendre soins des personnes malades ou ayant des incapacités ne soit assumée par les familles et les femmes. 7. La nécessité démocratiser les soins de santé par la participation des citoyennes et citoyens à tous les niveaux du système de santé. 8. La reconnaissance que les travailleuses et travailleurs de la santé sont indispensables au bon fonctionnement du système de soins de santé et qu’en ce sens, des salaires décents, de bonnes conditions de travail et de formation sont des éléments essentiels à la qualité des soins et à la rétention des travailleuses et travailleurs. Peu importe où nous habitons, il est impératif de réaffirmer les valeurs que nous partageons. Ils sont incompatibles avec la commercialisation de tous les services publics proposée par le programme sur le commerce international. Nous croyons que ces valeurs doivent être partagées par tous les gouvernements du Canada, étant donné que la responsabilité des soins de santé relève principalement des provinces et territoires. À cet égard, nous réclamons que les principes de la Loi canadienne de la santé soient enchâssés dans la législation de chacune des provinces et territoires. Nous nous sommes réunis afin d’exprimer notre engagement à entreprendre un combat pour que tous les gouvernements du Canada protègent et élargissent l’accès aux soins de santé en respectant les principes énoncés dans la Loi canadienne de la santé de 1984. Nous sommes convaincus qu’à notre appel les peuples du Canada empêcheront la destruction de notre système de soins de santé et que notre vigilance profitera aux générations futures. ---------------------------------- ENDOSSEMENT (154) ---------------------------------- Alberta Friends of Medicare Alberta Teachers Federation ALERT PEI Alliance de la fonction publique du Canada Alliance for Public Accountibility Alliance of Seniors to Protect Canada's Social Programs Annapolis Valley-Hants Community Action Program for Children Association of Allied Health Professionals of Newfoundland Association canadienne des professeurs d'université Association canadienne des travailleuses et travailleurs sociaux Association des centres de santé l'ontario Association des enselgnantes et des enselgnants francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick Association des syndicalistes retraités du Canada Association internationale des pompiers BC Lightkeepers Brewer, General and Professional Workers Union/NUPGE British Columbia Coalition of People with Disabilities British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union/NUPGE British Columbia Persons with AIDS Society Campaign 2000 Canadian Alliance of Community Health Centre Associations Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs Canadian Association of School Social Workers and Attendance Counsellors Canadian Breast Cancer Network Canadian Crossroads International (Ontario) Canadian Environmental Law Association Canadian Housing and Renewal Association Canadian Pensioners Concerned Canadian Treatment Action Council Canadian Union of Brewery and General Workers/NUPGE Cape Breton Save our Health Care Committee Carleton University Graduate Students' Association Centre canadien de politiques alternatives Childcare Resource and Resource Unit, University of Toronto Coalition canadienne de la santé Coalition de la santé de l'Ontario Coalition de la santé d'Ottawa Coalition de la santé de Colombie-Britannique Coalition de la santé de la Saskatchewan Coalition de la santé de l'île-du-Prince-Édouard Comité canadien d'action sur le statut de la femme Common Front for Social Justice of New Brunswick Community Health Services Association (Saskatoon Community Clinic) Community of Kinkora (PEI) Conférence religieuse canadienne Congress of Union Retirees of Canada Congrès du travail du Canada Conseil Canadien de la réadaptation et du travail Conseil du travail du District de Chatham-Kent Conseil oecuménique des chrétiennes du Canada Council of Canadians Council of the Saskatchewan Association of Licensed Practical Nurses Council of Senior Citizens' Organizations of British Columbia Council of South Asian Seniors Development & Peace Diocese of Charlottetown Disabled Women's Network (DAWN Ontario) Droits et démocratie Earth Action Education Wife Assault Église Unie du Canada Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario Faith and Justice Coalition (Kingston) Faith Partners (Ottawa) Fédération canadiennes des syndicats d'infirmiPres et d'infirmiers Fédération canadienne des enseignantes et des enseignants Fédération canadienne des étudiantes et étudiants Fédération des enseignantes-enseignants des écoles secondaires de l'Ontario Fédération du travail de la Nouvelle-Écosse First Call: BC Child & Youth Advocacy Coalition Fraternité international des ouvriers en électricité General Fools Improvisational Theatre Company Green Campus Society (University of Regina) Groupe de travail sur les enjeux pour les femmes de la loi fédérale sur la santé Halton Social Planning Council (Ontario) Health Sciences Association of British Columbia/NUPGE HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic (Ontario) INFACT Canada International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE local 942) Jewish Women International of Canada Inter Pares Lakehead Social Planning Council Lantern Christian Life Centre Le Regroupement Les Sages-Femmes du Québec Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union/NUPGE Manitoba Medicare Alert Manitoba Nurses Union Manitoba Teachers Society Medical Reform Group Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic National Farmers Union (PEI) National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation National Council of Women of Canada New Brunswick Government Employees Union/NUPGE New Brunswick Health Coalition New Brunswick Public Employees Association/NUPGE Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees/NUPGE Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association North Bay Network for Social Action North End Community Health Centre (Halifax) North Island AIDS Coalition Society Northwest Women's Centre (Thunder Bay) Nova Scotia Citizens Health Care Coalition Nova Scotia Nurses' Union Nova Scotia Orchard Valley Branch/Federal Superannuates National Association Ontario Association of Food Banks Ontario Association of Social Workers (Eastern Branch) Ontario Coalition of Senior Citizens' Organizations Ontario Federation of Labour Ontario Liquor Board Employees' Union/NUPGE Ontario Nurses' Association Ottawa-Carleton Child Poverty Action Group Ottawa Child Poverty Action Group Organisation Nationale Anti-pauvreté Presentation Leadership Team (Nfld) Polaris Institute PEI Licensed Nursing Assistants' Association PEI Nurses' Union PEI Teachers' Federation PEI Union of Public Sector Employees/NUPGE Projet genése Public Service Union Caucus of New Brunswick Reach for Unbleached Registered Nurses Association of Onatario Saskatchewan Federation of Teachers Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union/NUPGE Saskatchewan Union of Nurses Sault Ste. Marie Diocesan Social Affairs Office Seniors' Action and Liaison Team (Edmonton) Service Employees International Union Services à la famille Canada Sisters of St. Martha of PEI Social Planning Council of Winnipeg Social Policy Research Unit, University of Regina Sommerset West Community Health Centre South Asian Women's Centre Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique Syndicat canadien des communications de l'énergie et du papier Syndicat de la fonction publique de la Nouvelle-Écosse/SNEGSP Syndicat des employé-e-s de la fonction publique de l'Ontario/SNEGSP Syndicat des employés d'hôpitaux , C-B Syndicat des infirmieres/infirmiers de la Colombie-Britannique Syndicat des infirmieres et infirmiers du Nouveau-Brunswick Syndicat des métallos au Canada Syndicat des travailleurs canadiens de l'automobile Syndicat national des employées et employés généraux et du secteur public Toronto Health Coalition Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape Toronto Women's Health Network United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW Canada) United Nurses of Alberta Vancouver Women's Health Collective Women's Health Interactive Women's Health in Women's Hands *** Si votre organisation aimerait endosser cet énoncé, veuillez nous le laisser savoir par courriel à info@healthcoalition.ca, par téléphone au (613) 521-3400, poste 311 ou par télécopieur au (613) 521-9638. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Les gens ont une préoccupation constante à l'égard des valeurs d'égalité et d'équité et ils ne veulent pas que le système de santé réserve un traitement différent aux riches et aux pauvres. Le Forum partage ce point de vue et appuie les changements apportés à notre système dans la mesure où on préserve l'essence des soins de santé - l'accès universel selon les besoins, sans considération financière, dans tout le pays, à un éventail de services de santé administrés par des organismes publics. Forum national de la santé, 1997