Health platforms
Here's what the candidates in Simcoe North, and their parties, are promising.Assisted dying
Green
Amend the Medical Assistance in Dying legislation to ensure that everyone has the choice of dying with dignity. This includes allowing advance directives and guaranteeing the right to draw up a “living will” that gives individuals the power to limit or refuse medical intervention and treatment.
From Election Platform 2019, retrieved 2019-09-22.
Autism
NDP
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtConservative
- Work with stakeholders to develop a National Autism Strategy.
- Invest $50 million over five years to develop a comprehensive strategy in consultation with autistic individuals, autism organizations, governments, and Indigenous communities.
Blood system
Green
Dementia
NDP
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtTo deliver these results all across the country,
a we will lead a National Seniors Strategy
that will work with the provinces, territories
and Indigenous governments to make seniors
health care a priority, reduce isolation, and
tackle seniors’ poverty. This will include a
funded national dementia strategy, and an
elder abuse prevention plan developed with
seniors to put an end to abuse and neglect in
our communities.
Green
Dental care
NDP
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtOne in three Canadians has no dental
insurance, over six million people don’t visit
the dentist every year because they can’t afford
to.8
Too many people are forced to go without
the care they need, until the pain is so severe
that they are forced to seek relief in hospital
emergency rooms.
We know now that good oral health is a
critical component of overall good health –
and that means our health care system should
cover it, too. A New Democrat government will
work together with provincial partners, health
professionals and dentists to develop a
roadmap to including dental care in the
Canada Health Act.
Green
Disabilities
NDP
- Uphold the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and strengthen the Accessibility Act to cover all federal agencies equal.
- Launch a full review of income security programmes.
- Expand employment programmes.
- Extend EI sickness benefits to 50 weeks.
As a start, New Democrats will uphold the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and strengthen the Accessibility Act to cover all federal agencies equally with the power to make and enforce accessibility standards in a timely manner.
To help tackle the unacceptable rate of poverty among Canadians living with a disability, we will launch a full review of income security programs. When it comes to employment, everyone deserves a fair shot at a good job that fits their unique abilities. A New Democrat government will continue and expand employment programs to make sure that quality employment opportunities are available to all.
For Canadians facing a serious illness, we’ll make Employment Insurance work better by extending sickness benefits to 50 weeks of coverage and by creating a pilot project to allow workers with episodic disabilities to access benefits as they need them.
Canadians living with disabilities shouldn’t need to worry about the cost of prescription medication, how to find housing, or how to get their mail. In addition to putting in place a universal, publicly funded national pharmacare program that will offer full benefits to all Canadians, a New Democrat government will restore door-to-door mail delivery for those who lost it under the Conservatives and create affordable, accessible housing in communities across the country.
From A New Deal for People, retrieved 2019-09-22.
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtNew Democrats will uphold the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities, and strengthen the
Accessibility Act to cover all federal agencies
equally, with the power to make and enforce
accessibility standards in a timely manner. To help tackle the unacceptable rate of poverty
among Canadians living with a disability, we
will launch a full review of income security
programs. When it comes to employment,
everyone deserves a fair shot at a good job
that fits their unique abilities. A New Democrat
government will continue and expand
employment programs to make sure that
quality employment opportunities are
available to all.
For Canadians facing a serious illness, we’ll
make Employment Insurance work better by
extending sickness benefits to 50 weeks of
coverage, and creating a pilot project to allow
workers with episodic disabilities to access
benefits as they need them. Canadians living with disabilities shouldn’t
need to worry about the cost of prescription
medication, how to find housing, or how to
get their mail. In addition to putting in place
a universal, publicly funded national
pharmacare program that will offer full benefits
to all Canadians, a New Democrat government
will restore door-to-door mail delivery for those
who lost it under the Conservatives, and create
affordable, accessible housing in communities
across the country.
Conservative
- Decrease the number of hours spent per week on life-sustaining therapy needed to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit from 14 to 10.
- Expand the definition of what counts as life-sustaining therapy.
This new Act will reduce the number of hours spent per week on life-sustaining therapy needed to qualify for the credit from 14 to 10. It will also expand the definition of what counts as life-sustaining therapy to include determining dosages of medical food and activities related to determining dosages of medication, including dietary or exercise regimes. This would allow 35,000 more Canadians with disabilities the potential to access savings of an average of $2,100 a year.
From Andrew Scheer to expand eligibility criteria to access Disability Tax Credit, retrieved 2019-10-08.
Eye care
NDP
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtEye check-ups are important for preventing vision loss and
identifying other health issues – yet many,
particularly children and seniors, don’t get
regular eye care, or struggle to pay for the
glasses that they need to function. New Democrats believe that we need to work towards health care that covers us
from head to toe and everyone should be able to get eye care and hearing care.
Health research
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtLiberal
Health transfers
Green
Hearing care
NDP
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtHome & long-term care
NDP
By doing so, a New Democrat government would legally protect access to home care and long-term care services, and ensure a consistent quality of care across the country. This process will include determining a core basket of home care services that will be available and covered by provincial insurance plans and setting minimum national care standards for long-term care residents. We will also work with the provinces to develop and support violence prevention strategies to protect front-line staff and ensure a safe working environment.
From A New Deal for People, retrieved 2019-09-22.
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtPeople are stuck waiting for home care.
Seniors are spending years without the
long-term care they need now. And family
caregivers feel overwhelmed as they carry
an enormous amount of work on their
shoulders. This is what happens when
Liberal and Conservative governments fail
to invest in the services that Canadians need.
It’s people, not politicians, who pay the price.
While all provinces and territories fund
home care services as part of publicly
insured healthcare, there are inconsistent
standards - and when it comes to long-term
care, understaffing at residential homes is
an ongoing problem across the country.
Ongoing staffing shortages make for poor
quality care and leave health care workers
at risk of experiencing workplace violence. New Democrats believe that families need
access to quality home care and long-term
care no matter where they live. To that end,
we will work collaboratively with patients,
caregivers, and provincial and territorial
governments to develop national care
standards for home care and long-term
care that will be amended into the Canada
Health Act.
By doing so, a New Democrat government
would legally protect access to home care
and long-term care services, and ensure a
consistent quality of care across the country.
This process will include determining a core
basket of home care services that will be
available and covered by provincial insurance
plans, and setting minimum national care
standards for long-term care residents. We
will also work with the provinces to develop
and support violence prevention strategies
to protect front-line staff and ensure a safe
working environment.
Elevating the quality of care provided in
long-term care homes will protect residents
and health care professionals, and give
families and caregivers peace of mind.
Mental health
NDP
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtThere’s a lot more to do to modernize our
health system for today’s needs. Mental
health support is an enormous unmet need
across the country; a third of Canadians
struggling with mental health challenges
who have expressed a need for counselling
weren’t able to get it. New Democrats believe that we need to
work towards health care that covers us
from head to toe. Mental health care should
be available at no cost for people who need it.
Liberal
Green
- Negotiate the Canada Health Accord to prioritize expansion of mental health and rehabilitation services, among other things.
- Establish a national mental health strategy and suicide prevention strategy.
- Fund organizations offering LGBTQI2+ youth mental health programmes.
Establish a national mental health strategy and a suicide prevention strategy to address the growing anxieties plaguing Canadians regarding inequality and affordability, the growing precariousness of work and housing, the climate crisis, social isolation, resurgent racial and ethno-nationalism and other harms and risks.
Establish a funding program within Health Canada to support community-based organizations offering targeted LGBTQI2+ youth’s mental health and well-being programs, including suicide prevention, peer support, coming out, and counselling.
From Election Platform 2019, retrieved 2019-09-22.
Natural health products
NDP
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtPrescription drug coverage
NDP
That means access to necessary medicines in the same way that we have access to medical and hospital care – free at the point of care, financed by a public insurance system that covers everyone. It means that you'll need your health card – not your credit card – at the pharmacy till. And it puts an end to costly co-payments, deductibles, and premiums that cost families hundreds and even thousands a year.
Our plan will guarantee that every Canadian can get the medication they need. And it will mean big savings for employers who currently pay for employee benefits, helping to reward good employers and boost economic growth. It will also cost our system less overall, as a result of pooling the purchasing power of the entire country.
From Our Commitments, retrieved 19/09/22.
Topping up your prescription, not toppling your budget. Canadian families will save more than $500 a year on average – even if they have insurance at work or school. And businesses currently providing health insurance will save around $600 per employee, and be confident that their whole team is covered.
Use your health card, not your credit card. No more worrying about paying your deductible, co-pay, or premium. No more stress over how you’ll fill your kid’s prescription and still buy groceries. No more anxiety about your friends and family who need expensive medications to stay healthy – all you’ll need is your health card, and you’ll get the drugs you need.
From Saving You (sic) Money With Pharmacare for All, retrieved 19/09/24.
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtNew Democrats believe that we must do
better. Just as our party led the fight to
establish universal public health care for
all Canadians, we are leading the fight to
expand Medicare – to include quality
prescription drug coverage for everyone,
regardless of your job, where you live, your
age, your health status or how much money
you make. We will begin working with the
provinces right away to target a late 2020
start date, with an annual federal
investment of $10 billion.
Liberal
Green
- Expand the single-payer Medicare model to include Pharmacare for everyone.
- Create a bulk drug purchasing agency to reduce drug patent protection periods.
Safe access to abortion
NDP
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtNew Democrats believe in respecting
peoples’ rights to make decisions about
their own bodies and their own lives. Yet
many individuals seeking abortion services in
Canada can’t access them. Only one hospital in
six offers abortion, and some provinces refuse
to cover the cost of surgical abortion outside
hospitals. Lack of access is even worse for
people in rural areas and the North.
Everyone deserves safe, accessible abortion
and reproductive healthcare services – no
matter where they live or how much money
they make. It’s not enough for elected officials
to say that they won’t reopen the abortion
debate – we need leaders to take action to
improve access to services. New Democrats
will enforce the Canada Health Act to make sure
that the provinces make medical and surgical
abortion available in all parts of the country,
without barriers.
Green
Wait times and access
NDP
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtA New Democrat government will work with the
provinces and territories to tackle wait times
and improve access to primary care across the
country. We will identify coming gaps in health
human resources and make a plan to recruit
and retain the doctors, nurses, and other health
professionals Canadians need.
Liberal
- Make sure every Canadian has access to a family doctor or primary health care team.
- Make home care and palliative care more available across the country.
Green
Conservative
- Invest $1.5 billion in a first term to purchase MRI machines and CT machines to replace and add machines across the country.
- Provide $15 million to implement the Framework on Palliative Care in Canada.
Women's & reproductive health
NDP
Angelique Belcourt
NDP candidate in your districtLiberal
- Work with provinces and territories to make sure sexual & reproductive health medications are covered under national pharmacare.
- Work with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to integrate sex & gender-based analyses.
- Create a National Institute for Women's Health Research.
work with the Canadian Institutes of Heath Research to integrate sex and gender-based analyses, as well as diversity analyses, to ensure research takes diversity factors into account to improve women’s health care; and
create a National Institute for Women’s Health Research, the first of its kind in Canada. The Institute would bring together experts in women’s health from across the country to tackle persistent gaps in research and care – taking an intersectional approach that includes race, ability, indigeneity and more.
From Forward, retrieved 2019-09-30.