Health coalitions call on premiers to protect public health care in the face of two-tier threat
Charlottetown, PE — Public health care advocates rallying outside the premiers’ Council of the Federation meeting are demanding Canada’s premiers stop the spread of American-style, two-tier health care before it takes root nationwide.
Alberta’s Bill 11 is at the centre of their concern. The law lets doctors decide, patient by patient, whether to bill someone directly or bill the public system — opening the door to a parallel private tier where care depends on ability to pay rather than medical need. Health coalitions warn this is a direct violation of the Canada Health Act, and if left unchallenged in Alberta, it will spread province by province.
Warning signs are already visible across the country: hallway medicine and stalled long-term care projects in British Columbia; illegal private clinic fees in Nova Scotia; seniors in Ontario charged thousands of dollars out of pocket for cataract and joint replacement surgeries; and mounting pressure on public systems in New Brunswick, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Quebec.
As public health care advocates, we are witnessing chronic underinvestment creating gaps and wait times, while privatization interests are exploiting that frustration to push for-profit care — care that, in practice, means higher costs, worse outcomes, and a two-tiered system that abandons the sick and vulnerable to their ability to pay.
Our coalitions are calling on premiers meeting in Charlottetown to publicly reject two-tier health care, and on Prime Minister Mark Carney and Health Minister Marjorie Michel to enforce the Canada Health Act. Today, July 22, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM AT, defenders of public Medicare will rally against two-tier health care at the Queen’s Wharf, at the bottom of Queen Street.
Canadians built a public health care system because care based on need — not wealth — is a foundational value. Health coalitions across the country are united: that system is worth defending, and it can be fixed through investment and accountability, not cuts and privatization.
Quotes
Jason MacLean, Chair, Canadian Health Coalition: “Danielle Smith’s Bill 11 is a direct attack on public health care in Alberta and the rest of Canada and must be stopped. Premiers need to join us in telling Prime Minister Mark Carney to uphold the Canada Health Act that requires health care be provided based on medical need, not on the ability to pay. Bill 11 breaks this federal law. If allowed, it will lead to longer wait times and force people to pay twice for health care. Our health care system can be fixed with investments and accountability, not with cuts, privatization and profit-making.”
Mary Boyd, Chair, PEI Health Coalition: “Roy Romanow reminded us that health care belongs to the people of Canada. We pay for it with our taxes. It seems the premiers of our provinces have not heard this. Instead, they listen to private investors who are in health care delivery for one thing only – profit. We must end the practice of our premiers running to the private sector when problems arise in health care, instead of listening to the real owners of the system. Governments have been told many times that the best way to have a healthy health care system is to put the money into the public system where it belongs. Research shows that this is the best and only way to assure equality and accessibility.”
Chris Gallaway, Executive Director, Friends of Medicare: “By pushing forward with implementing Bill 11 our provincial government in Alberta is rapidly bringing two-tier American-style health care into Canada, including creating a private insurance market for medically necessary health care services. By September, Albertans will face a system of legislated queue-jumping for surgeries, in direct contravention of the Canada Health Act. The urgency of addressing this threat to our universal Medicare cannot be overstated. There is no more time to waste. We need leadership from our federal government including a clear commitment that they will protect the right of Albertans – and all Canadians – to equitable access to universal, comprehensive, public health care.”
Bea Bruske, President, Canadian Labour Congress: “Public health care is one of the things that defines us as Canadians, and it’s under threat. Across the country, we’re seeing governments open the door to privatization and two-tier health care. Alberta’s Bill 11 is the clearest example. It moves us toward an American-style health care system where access to care depends on the size of your wallet. More than ever, we need a strong public health care system we can count on. Medicare is not just a government program, this is what makes us Canadians. And that’s worth protecting. That’s worth investing in. And that’s worth fighting for.”
Linda Silas, RN, President, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions: “Canada’s nurses know first-hand just how important public health care is. When access to care is determined by income, patients wait longer, outcomes worsen, and pressure on the public system intensifies. If left unchecked, Alberta’s Bill 11 sets a dangerous national precedent that will deepen inequities and accelerate the erosion of public health care across Canada. We urge the federal government to enforce the Canada Health Act and protect public health care as a human right – not a profit-making commodity.”
Natalie Mehra, Executive Director, Ontario Health Coalition: “We remind our political leaders, when they are talking about the economy, that health care is an economic issue. When a senior is charged $9,000 for their cataract surgery, as is happening in the private clinics in Ontario, or $20,000 plus for a joint replacement surgery in Alberta, there is no economy left for that patient. They use their savings and they go into debt at a time in their life when they can’t replace the money. As provinces like Ontario and Alberta abrogate the Canada Health Act with impunity — and the federal government does nothing — the same suffering that led to the creation of public Medicare in Canada in the first place returns.”
Geneviève Lamarche, Coordinator, Coalition Solidarité Santé: “In Quebec, we’ve been fighting against two-tier health care for decades. As private for-profit health organizations have been taking a bigger place in our health care system, accessibility has only worsened. If private care was the solution, we would know already. All studies and pilot projects show the opposite: private care leads to longer waiting times in public services, a rise in avoidable deaths, increase in health care costs per capita. Public health care is Canada’s best asset. Americans envy our health care system. Let’s not allow investors and speculators to turn illness into a market where health stands as an obstacle to their profits. We deserve better.”
Cherie Payne, Executive Director, British Columbia Health Coalition: “British Columbia has delivered real progress — from the new Cowichan District Hospital and Royal Columbian’s acute care tower to free contraceptive coverage and expanded midwifery — but hallway medicine, ER closures, and stalled long-term care projects in Delta, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Kelowna, and Fort St. John show the job isn’t done. Premier Eby must stop the drift toward privatization and invest in the public system that actually cares for British Columbians.”
Noah Schulz, Provincial Director, Manitoba Health Coalition: “The Manitoba Coalition is demanding immediate action from the federal government to defend public health care. We cannot allow two-tier, American-style health care to take root in Alberta and expand across the country. Instead of more privatization, longer waits, and further gaps in access, we must invest in public health care to expand what is covered and who can access it. The health of our country depends on it.”
Jennifer Benoit, Provincial Coordinator, Nova Scotia Health Coalition: “The Nova Scotia Health Coalition demands Premier Tim Houston defend and strengthen Canada’s public health care system without compromise — halting illegal private clinic fees, investing in public-sector capacity, and ensuring no Nova Scotian is ever billed for medically necessary care. Public health care is a right, not a marketplace, and anything less fails the people of Nova Scotia.”
Renée Boudreau, Co-Chair, New Brunswick Health Coalition: “The New Brunswick Health Coalition believes that health care is a public good — not a business opportunity. We urge Premier Susan Holt and the Government of New Brunswick to invest in strengthening our public health care system and reject the expansion of two-tier health care. No one should profit from another person’s illness or desperation. When people are sick, they are at their most vulnerable. They need timely, high-quality care based on need, not on their ability to pay. Every dollar diverted to private, for-profit care weakens the public system that serves us all. The solution to long wait times and staffing shortages is not privatization — it is sustained investment in our public health care system, better support for health care workers, and a renewed commitment to universal access.”
Jessica McCormick, President, Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour: “Working people in Newfoundland and Labrador have seen first-hand the wastage and extra costs associated with creeping privatization within our public healthcare system. Alberta’s Bill 11 is a dangerous blueprint for a two-tier system that would force families to choose between their health and their financial survival. We call on our Premier to join us in opposing any scheme that undermines the Canada Health Act and to reinvest in the public healthcare system which is the foundation of a fair, just, equitable, and healthy province for everyone.”
Andrew Longhurst, Senior Researcher, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: “Alberta’s Bill 11 opens the door to a large private health insurance market, including the U.S. insurance industry. If the federal government fails to defend the Canada Health Act from the onslaught of the private insurance industry, it not only spells the end of public Medicare as we know it, but it puts our Canadian sovereignty at risk. The private health insurance industry is one of the most powerful lobbying forces in the U.S., and it is responsible for that country having the highest health care spending with the worst health-related outcomes among high-income countries.”
