National Issues / Federal-Provincial Relations

NATIONAL ISSUES / FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL RELATIONS EASY ACCESS LIST: Major National Issues / Federal-Provincial Relations Reports, Analyses, Backgrounders, Fact Sheets, Briefing Notes & Media Releases

On this page you can find a roundup of Ontario Health Coalition National Issues / Federal-Provincial Relations: Reports & Analyses Backgrounders, Facts Sheets & Briefing Notes Media Releases Reports/Analyses Backgrounders/Fact Sheets/Briefing Notes Media Releases

FACT SHEET, BRIEFING NOTE & VIDEOS: What is Public Medicare and how did Canadians achieve it?

(November 27, 2024) Fact Sheet The History of Public Medicare What is Public Medicare? Public Medicare is the public health care system in Canada which is funded through our taxes. When you see a doctor or visit the hospital for medically necessary services using your OHIP card, you are using Public […]

RELEASE: Left unchallenged, “create a crisis and privatize” provincial schemes will destroy public health care: Health Coalition called on Trudeau to step up and show real leadership

(February 7, 2023) Toronto – For decades the Ontario Health Coalition has been on the front line of the fight to safeguard public health care against privatization and to protect patients from extra-billing. Few have followed the behaviour of the private clinics in Canada more closely. Today, the Coalition warned that the unprecedented health care […]

RELEASE: Health Coalitions warn health funding without strings is not in the public interest: Federal health dollars must come with accountability and national standards

(December 16, 2022) As Canada’s premiers and the federal NDP ramp up the pressure on the Trudeau government, Health Coalitions across Canada are demanding that any increase in public health funding be used in the public interest and not be used to privatize health care. The Health Coalitions support the call for a long-term increase […]

RELEASE: Health Coalitions denounce for-profit deal by Canadian Blood Services that endangers Canada’s Blood Supply

(September 20, 2022) OTTAWA (the traditional and unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin people) – Canada’s provincial and territorial Health Coalitions and the Canadian Health Coalition call for the resignation of the leadership of the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) including the CEO and Board of Directors. This call comes after the appalling decision by CBS […]

RELEASE: Provincial Health Coalitions Put Federal Parties on Notice: Canadians Demand Real Action to Fix Long-Term Care

(August 19, 2021) (Canada-wide) – With a federal election called for September 20, provincial Health Coalitions across Canada are putting all federal political parties on notice. The federal government could have already set real national standards for long-term care in legislation or an emergency federal-provincial-territorial funding accord with sufficient funding attached to leverage real change. […]

EVENT: Demand Our Federal and Provincial Governments Set National Standards to Improve Long-Term Care

(April 22, 2021) Join the National Day of Action Tuesday, April 27, 2021 HOW YOU CAN JOIN: The Day of Action will roll across Canada through the different time zones. On Tuesday April 27 Join our Facebook livestream in Ontario at 12:00 p.m. here: https://www.facebook.com/ontariohealth Or join the Facebook livestream at https://www.facebook.com/Canadians4LTC to watch the rolling livestreams hosted by […]

RELEASE, BRIEFING NOTE & LEGAL OPINION: Advocates Representing More Than 1 Million Canadians Call For National Standards to Improve Quality, Accountability and Take Profit Out of Long-Term Care

(March 22, 2021) Click here for the legal opinion on national standards. The media release and briefing note can be found below. Legal Opinion on National Standards Media Release Ottawa/Across Canada – Today, advocates representing more than a million Canadians came together to demand that the federal government and provinces work together to establish national […]

RELEASE: Health Coalitions call for Federal Leadership to Defend Public Health Care

(January 25, 2021) (Ottawa) Seven health coalitions, representing concerned Canadians from PEI to British Columbia, are calling for stronger federal action on health care ahead of Monday’s opening of Parliament. Canada’s universal, public health care system requires federal vision and leadership. Health coalitions across Canada recognize the federal government’s extraordinary contribution of resources and support […]

RELEASE: Health Coalitions Call for Increased Federal Health Care Funding and Accountability

(December 10, 2020) Ottawa, December 10, 2020- Canada’s premiers are meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to request an increase to federal funding for health care. Health coalitions from across the country support the call for a long-term increase to the Canada Health Transfer (CHT). This funding must be accompanied by a robust accountability framework […]

RELEASE: Throne Speech: Premiers Should Not Play Partisan Politics with Health Care; Concrete Commitments Needed From Provincial & Federal Governments

(September 29, 2020) Health Coalitions across Canada were pleased with Throne Speech promises to expand public health care to create a universal comprehensive public pharmacare program and to set national standards for long-term care. However, concrete commitments are conspicuously absent. As reported in the speech, more than 9,000 Canadians have died in the last six […]

RELEASE: Victory for Patients Over Private Clinics in B.C. Court Challenge: Historic Victory Against Profit-Driven Health Care

(September 10, 2020) Toronto – A ten-year legal attack launched by one of the largest private for-profit surgical centres in Canada seeking to strike down key protections for single-tier health care has reached a critical juncture. Today a B.C. Court ruled on the case upholding the provisions in British Columbia law that protect our system […]

BLOG: On Canada Day let us celebrate & let us recommit to those fundamental values that so many of us share

posted July 1, 2020

(July 1, 2020) It is Canada Day and after such a challenging winter and spring, it is time to celebrate. One of our greatest achievements as a society is public health care for all. For all of the pain and grief that COVID-19 has caused, it has also reminded us all of our interdependence. Our […]

RESOURCES: What are our governments doing and how do they compare? COVID-19 federal and provincial support resources

(April 29, 2020) Click here for printable version of the comprehensive list found below. —— Here is a comprehensive list of Federal and Provincial Support available for individuals who are experiencing income loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you scroll down you will find information and contact information for the supports as they apply […]

RELEASE: Health Coalitions’ Joint Statement on COVID-19 and Public Health Care

(March 24, 2020) Please find below an urgent call upon governments at every level in Canada to build capacity in the public health care, expand equity, and resist privatization in the face of COVID-19 from Provincial, Territorial and National Health Coalitions representing more than a million Canadians. Printable version is attached below. Deeply concerned about […]

Open Letter

This letter calls upon our provincial, territorial and federal Health Ministers to uphold the Canada Health Act and stop private clinics extra billing and charging two-tier user fees to the patient for health care. Click here to read the letter in English and sign on. Click here to see the full list of organizations that […]

RELEASE: Ontario Election 2018 Health Care Resources

Click on each heading for Ontario election resources: **New Leaflet inside (note: if printing use legal size paper) Leaflet outside (note: if printing used legal size paper) Election Platform- top issues and “asks” for our political parties Media Release Provincial Election Platform release Health Care Questions for Candidates All Candidates’ Meetings Media coverage of Health […]

ACTION UPDATE: Pharmacare Ontario Tour

(February 22, 2018) Over the next few months, the Ontario Health Coalition will join the Canadian Labour Congress in the Ontario leg of a national tour to more than 25 communities. Featuring Canada’s foremost pharmacare experts and advocates, these important discussions will address why we need a prescription drug plan that covers all Canadians. Click […]

RELEASE & REPORT: The Elephant at the Health Ministers’ Meetings: How Will Provinces Cope with $31 Billion Cut

(October 18, 2017) New National Report Outlines the Huge Cost of the Failed Health Accord As Health Ministers from across Canada meet in Edmonton today, Canada’s Health Coalitions released a report showing the recent bilateral health schemes pushed through by the Trudeau government have come at a huge cost. The report “Health Accord Breakdown: Costs […]

RELEASE: Health Care Advocates Dismayed with Ottawa’s Divide and Conquer Tactics: Hopes for a Canadian Health Accord Dashed as Provinces Signs Deal

(March 10, 2017) Toronto/Ottawa/Edmonton: The Ontario, Quebec and Alberta governments, which had initially held out for better, were compelled to sign onto a bilateral health funding deal with Ottawa today. In the federal election, the Trudeau government promised to break with the high-handed approach of the previous Harper government and negotiate a new Health Accord […]

RELEASE: CIHI/Commonwealth Fund study on health: the good the bad and what’s missing

(February 16, 2017) In the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s spin-off report from the annual Commonwealth Fund International Health Survey of 11 countries released today, Canada fared pretty well. Though the Canadian Institute for Health Information led its media messaging with wait times, it should be noted that the study ranks Canada at or above […]

MEDIA CONFERENCE: Canada’s Health Coalitions Call for a United Health Accord Federal Government Must Return to the Negotiation Table

(February 9, 2017) The Ontario Health Coalition was joined by provincial and territorial health coalitions across Canada in media conferences to decry the federal government’s decision to walk away from the table on negotiating a new Health Accord for Canada. The current bilateral deals pushed through by the federal government and some provinces and territories […]

RELEASE: As Prime Minister Trudeau meets with First Ministers, Health Coalition calls for both sides to give ground to forge a new Health Accord in the public interest

(December 9, 2016) In advance of tonight’s dinner discussion on health care between the provincial-territorial Premiers and the Prime Minister, the Ontario Health Coalition called out both sides for their intransigence and advocated a new Health Accord forged in the public interest. For months, provincial premiers and the federal government have been at odds over […]

UPDATE: Giant Teddy Bear Brings Message of Compassion to London

(October 18, 2016) We Can’t “Bear” To Lose Medicare!! The London Health Coalition is launching a Care Bear Tour today on Tuesday, October 18th. With a giant teddy bear, aptly nicknamed “Tommy”, the coalition seeks to convey the message that care (not profit) must be the centre of our public health care system. Their goal […]

RELEASE: As Health Ministers from Across Canada Meet to Negotiate Health Accord

(October 17, 2016) Months of sparring in the media may come to an end this week as Health Ministers from across Canada meet to discuss a new Health Accord. This morning, representatives of the Canadian & Ontario Health Coalitions, Canadian Doctors for Medicare and the Council of Canadians gathered outside the King Edward hotel where […]

SUBMISSION: Speaking Out About Protecting Health Care from International Trade Agreements

Ontario Health Coalition Executive Director Natalie Mehra presented to the Parliament of Canada’s Standing Committee on International Trade on May 12 in Windsor. She is speaking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal, a so-called “trade deal” among 12 countries representing about 40 percent of the global economy. There is a wide consensus among experts that this proposed agreement really […]

RELEASE: Protect Public Medicare as first priority, as Canada’s Health Ministers gather to meet in Vancouver: Health Advocates

(January 19, 2016) Toronto/Vancouver – Urgent action must be taken to safeguard equal health care for all as a first priority as Health Ministers from across Canada gather in Vancouver this week, say advocates from the public health care watchdog the Ontario Health Coalition. “We are seeing an alarming increase in user fees charged to […]

OP-ED: Conservatives are wrong to refuse debate on health care

(October 16, 2015) By: Natalie Mehra Across Ontario federal Conservative candidates have refused to attend most all-candidates debates on health care. This is a new low. Never has any political party simply refused to debate a leading issue for voters. In correspondence and the media, candidates have excused themselves, saying that “health is a provincial […]

VIDEO: How do “tax cuts” stack up against new costs as a result of health care cuts?

(October 16, 2015) We’re besieged with commercials and messages about tax cuts. But who’s paying for them and how? Here’s a 2 minute video that you’ll want to know about:

Federal Election 2015 – Vote Health Care!

(October 2, 2015) Canadians share a deeply held belief that access to health care should not be based on how rich we are, but on our medical need. Most of us believe that our government will not purposely destroy public health care. But privatization is a serious threat and it would dismantle health care for […]

RELEASE: User fees threatened for patients across Canada if court challenge negotiations fail to uphold Medicare

(September 29, 2014) At a press conference this morning, speakers Natalie Mehra, Executive Director of the Ontario Health Coalition, Dr. Rupinder Brar, Board Member of Canadian Doctors for Medicare, Dr. Ryan Meili, Vice-Chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare and Steven Shrybman, LL.B., Partner, Sack Goldblatt Mitchell raise the alarm about the threat of user fees […]

OP/ED: Ottawa edges away from public medicare

(July 8, 2013) With the National Health Accord set to expire next year, the Harper Conservatives show little interest in working with the premiers to improve the system, write Ontario Health Coalition director Natalie Mehra and Canadian Health Coalition national co-ordinator Mike McBane’s commentary in the Toronto Star. Click here for Toronto Star OP/ED

Update: Over 2000 Attend Mass Rally to Demand Federal Leadership in Health Care

(July 16, 2013) Update: Over 2000 Attend Mass Rally to Demand Federal Leadership in Health Care Many thanks to everyone for coming out to last week’s Shadow Summit and Mass Rally to Uphold National Public Medicare and win a Renewed Health Accord in 2014. More than 2000 people came out to call on the Premiers […]

National Day of Action for a 2014 Health Accord a success!

(July 19, 2012) Over 75 people came out to participate in the National Day of Action for a 2014 Health Accord held on Wednesday July 18 at Riverdale Park East in Toronto, despite the extreme heat.

NEWSLETTER: “The Pulse” OHC Newsletter and Action Alert

(May-June 2011) The May 2011 issue of The Pulse includes news about a new OHC report that finds 10,000 people are waiting for home care, the hospital secrecy law, how the Canada-Europe Free Trade deal (CETA) could negatively impact the health care system, a review of Colin Leys’ new book “The Plot Against the NHS” […]

Federal Election Action Alert: Health Care Checklist

(March 22, 2011) In the upcoming federal election issues pertaining to public health care are crucial.

BACKGROUNDER: B.C. Private Clinics Challenge to Single-Tier Health Care

(January 1, 2011) For-profit health care has mushroomed in British Columbia. In our 2008 report Eroding Public Medicare: Lessons and Consequences of For-Profit Health Care Across Canada we found that B.C. and Quebec were ground zero for private clinics. In B.C. alone, there were 25 private surgical hospitals and 12 for-profit MRI/CT clinics in the […]

REPORT: The Economic Case for Universal Pharmacare: Costs and benefits of publicly funded drug coverage for all Canadians

(September 13, 2010) The Canadian Health Coalition has released an important and timely report in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Message to Members: Pharmacies and Lobby Information

(May 30, 2006) Click here for Information

BRIEF: Regarding Bill 102, an Act to Amend the Drug Interchangeability and Dispensing Fee Act and the Ontario Drug Benefit Act

(May 29, 2006) Presented to the Standing Committee on Social Policy of the Ontario Legislature on Monday, May 29, 2006 on behalf of the Medical Reform Group by Joel Lexchin, MD, Professor of Health Policy at York University and Norman Kalant, PhD, Professor of Medicine (Ret.) at McGill University. Click here for Brief

Fact Sheet: Pharma Facts and Figures

(May 29, 2006) FACT SHEET

RELEASE: Ontario Health Coalition Supports Drug Legislation

(May 29, 2006) Drug legislation will contain escalating drug costs without harming patients. Click here for Media Release

UPDATE: Urgent Alert: Drug Bill (Bill 102) Update and Model Response

(May 28, 2006) Click here for Update

REPORT: Research Output of the Canadian Pharmaceutical Industry: Where Has All the R&D Gone?

(April 1, 2006) By N. Kalant, MD, PhD, HEALTHCARE POLICY Vol. 1 No. 4, 2006 [19] DISCUSSION AND DEBATE Click here for Full Report

BACKGROUNDER: First Ministers’ Agreement

(September 16, 2004) The OHC has prepared an outline of the First Ministers’ Deal on Healthcare. Click here for Backgrounder

UPDATE: First Ministers’ Meeting Negotiation Update

(September 14, 2004) The Ontario Health Coalition and the Ontario Federation of Labour have released an update this morning. Click here for Update

EVENTS: First Ministers’ under Public Scrutiny: Concerned Citizens Cross-Ontario Plan Health Care “Watch” Events

(September 14, 2004) The OHC is on the watch while the PM and provincial premiers meet to discuss health care from September 13-15. Click here for Events

Action Alert! First Ministers’ Meeting Negotiation – Federal Action Item

(September 2004) Contact Prime Minister Martin and Health Minister Donsanjh with an important message. Click here for Action Alert

Action Alert! First Ministers’ Meeting Negotiation – Ontario Action Item

(September 2004) Contact Premier McGuinty and remind him of what the public demands of him on health care. Click here for Action Alert

BRIEFING NOTE: Pharmacare in the Public Interest

(August 23, 2004) Click here for Briefing Note

BRIEFING NOTE: Canadian Health Coalition: Medicare is Sustainable, For-Profit Care is Not

(May 14, 2004) Click here for Briefing Note

BRIEFING NOTE: For-Profit MRI/CT Clinics

(April 22, 2003) Click here for Briefing Note

RELEASE: Where’s It Going? Ontario Health Coalition Responds to Budget

(March 28, 2003) Click here for Media Release

ANALYSIS: OHC Analysis of the First Ministers’ Health Accord

(February 11, 2003) A reading of the new “Health Accord” reached last week at the First Ministers’ meetings leads to more questions than answers. However, some of the agreement is fairly clear. This is a preliminary analysis highlighting some key issues based on the Accord and on others’ analyses. Click here for Analysis

RELEASE: Eves Guilty of Hidden Money, Misspending

(February 4, 2003) Click here for Media Release

RELEASE: Citizens’ Groups Issue Collective Call: “Implement Romanow Now!”

(December 6, 2002) Click here for Media Release

ANALYSIS: Preliminary Analysis of the Romanow Report from the Canadian Health Coalition and the Canadian Labour Congress

(November 28, 2002) The Romanow Report on the Future of Health Care concluded that there is a consensus among Canadians that Medicare is a moral enterprise, not a commercial venture. Canadians believe that equal and timely access to medically necessary health services on the basis of need alone is a right of citizenship. Click here […]

REPORT: Roy Romanow’s Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada has presented its report, “Building on Values: The Future of Health Care in Canada”

(November 1, 2002) Click here for Final Report

UPDATE: “The Pulse” – Canadians Speak Out to Save Public Medicare! Overwhelming Majority Support Public Medicare as Romanow Crosses the Country

(March 25, 2002) Click here for Update

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