Call for nominations: Nell Toussaint Award for Universal Health Care

The Canadian Health Coalition has established the annual Nell Toussaint Award for Universal Health Care to be awarded during Black History Month. The award will recognize the contributions of a Black individual or Black-led organization that epitomizes Nell’s determination to end systemic racism in health care and advance universal public health care in Canada.

The inaugural recipient of the Nell Toussaint Award for Universal Health Care was Kerian Burnett, a Nova Scotia migrant worker from Jamaica who got cancer and fought to win access to Medicare. Nominations are now open for the 2026 Nell Toussaint Award for Universal Health Care.

Who was Nell Toussaint?

Nell Toussaint championed everyone having access to public health care in Canada, regardless of their immigration status. Born in 1969 in Grenada, Nell grew up in Trinidad, where she dreamed of being a flight attendant. When she moved to Canada in her twenties, she lived in Montreal then Toronto. She worked as a caregiver for children, cleaned homes and did domestic work, and worked in factories.

Nell experienced discrimination in the workplace and unscrupulous consultants, leading to her losing status to be in the country. She tried repeatedly to regularize her immigration status. When she was diagnosed with diabetes, she was denied timely access to public health care because she did not have the right kind of immigration status.

Even though Nell was sick and at risk of being deported, Nell decided to challenge the denial of health care to irregular migrants like herself in Canadian courts. Unsuccessful in the courts, Nell did not give up. She took her case to the United Nations. In 2018, in a historic decision, the UN Human Rights Committee found that Canada had violated Nell’s right to life and had discriminated against her by denying her access to health care, a decision that put her life at risk and caused irreversible harm. The committee called on Canada to ensure access to essential health care regardless of immigration status.

When the Canadian government refused to recognize the UN committee’s decision, Nell went back to court. Canada tried to have her case dismissed but an Ontario Superior Court rejected that attempt. Notably, the judge in the case denounced Canada’s response to Nell’s claim for perpetuating prejudicial stereotypes about migrants. The judge ruled her challenge should proceed.

Sadly, Nell passed away on January 9, 2023, not living to see the court decision. But Nell’s family, supported by human rights and migrant advocates and the Canadian Health Coalition, continues her legal fight, dreaming of a Canada with universal health care.

Call for nominations

The Nell Toussaint Award recognizes Black individuals and Black-led organizations that advance the end of systemic racism in health care and promote universal, accessible and comprehensive public health care in Canada.

Nomination deadline: December 31 of each year. 

Eligibility:

• Candidates must be nominated.
• Nominators can be colleagues or people who have benefited from or been inspired by the nominee’s work.
• Nell Toussaint Awards Committee members are not eligible to nominate. Nominees for the group award can include Black-led grassroots organizations, non-profit organizations, or charities.  
• Self-nominations of individuals or groups will not be accepted.

Nomination process and selection criteria: To nominate an individual or group, please email your nomination to the Canadian Health Coalition’s Tracy Glynn at tglynn@healthcoalition.ca before the deadline. Information to include in your nomination:

• A nomination letter (maximum 2 pages) that includes (1) your name and contact information, (2) the name of the person you are nominating and  (3) the reasons for nominating that person for the prize, including information about the nominee’s sustained efforts towards advancing universal, accessible and comprehensive health care in Canada, including the impact and duration of the nominee’s activities.
• Supporting documentation, such as letters of support, media coverage, publications, awards, etc.

Selection committee: The Nell Toussaint Awards Committee will be composed of the Canadian Health Coalition Chair, staff and interested board members. The committee will review submissions and select the prize winner. 

Notification of results: The Canadian Health Coalition will inform all nominators of the results of the annual competition electronically before the public announcement of the award. The name of the award recipient will be announced publicly.

For more information: Contact Tracy Glynn, National Director of Projects and Operations of the Canadian Health Coalition, at tglynn@healthcoalition.ca.