The reply to my letter to Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Heath, Ottawa; followed by my response.
Thank you for your e-mail of November 27, 2019, addressed to the Minister of Health, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, on your concerns with the health care system in British Columbia.
As you know, the responsibilities for Canada’s health care system are shared between the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. Although the federal government plays a role in supporting health care by providing funding to the provinces and territories, the provincial and territorial governments have jurisdiction in the administration and delivery of health care services. This includes setting their own priorities, administering their health care budgets, and managing their own resources. Therefore, you have taken the appropriate action by sharing your concerns with the Minister of Health of British Columbia.
Health Canada monitors the operations of provincial and territorial health care insurance plans in order to provide advice to assess compliance with the Canada Health Act. Sources for this information include: provincial and territorial government officials and publications; non-governmental organizations; media reports; and correspondence received from the public.
It may interest you to know that Health Canada is supporting the Government of British Columbia in a Charter Challenge against the province’s health care legislation, in order to ensure access to insured health services for residents of the province is based on medical need and not the ability to pay. Health Canada is also working with the province to implement an action plan to eliminate patient charges in the province for insured health services. As part of that plan, over the past two years, British Columbia has taken steps to improve capacity in the public health care system in the province.
At the same time, the Government of Canada has a strong interest in improving the health care system so that it can meet the needs of Canadians now and in the future. With an aging population, increasing rates of chronic disease, and cost pressures tied to new drugs and technologies, our system must adapt if it is to deliver better care and better outcomes at a cost that is affordable. The Government continues to take an active leadership role and to engage with the provinces and territories to support them in strengthening health care in Canada.
In 2017, all provinces and territories accepted their share of $11 billion over 10 years in federal funding to improve home care and mental health services. For British Columbia, these investments will total almost $800 million in support of home and community care and more than $650 million in support of mental health initiatives.
This is in addition to the targeted health funding provided through the Canada Health Transfer, which will provide $40.4 billion to the provinces and territories in 2019-20 and will continue to increase each year, in line with the growth rate of the economy, with a minimum increase of at least 3% per year. For British Columbia, this will total $5.4 billion in 2019-20. Over the next five years, CHT funding to provinces and territories is expected to exceed $200 billion.
We hope you will continue to share your ideas with the government on the issues facing the health care system. We appreciate you taking the time to share your views.
Yours sincerely,
Strategic Policy Branch
Health Canada
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Honourable Patty Hajdu
Minister of Heath
Ottawa
I wrote you a letter about the deteriorating condition of health care in British Columbia.
You did not answer me.
Rather, you got some nameless group to respond.
This , notwithstanding my saying in my letter that I had hoped to be treated better by you than I was by the Provincial Minister who also saw fit to pass off my letter to someone else to respond.
But you have taken it one step further, even lower in your regard for a taxpayer. From you I get a response from a group , no names revealed, no signatures . Just ‘ Strategic Policy Branch .’
This is meaningless.
The anonymous state !
I guess the days of political responsibility have ended and the deep state has won.
And , I am not addressed by name . Just a form letter addressed to no one. Oh, yes , sent to the correct e-mail address , but lacking the courtesy of being addressed.
Must I remind you that you are responsible to the people of this Country. All those that work for you are responsible to some boss or other and ultimately to the Deputy Minister, the permanent head of the Department. You are the only one elected in your Department. Although you are elected by a constituency , once you are elected you are an MP for all of Canada. And then when you are appointed to Cabinet you are responsible to the Prime Minister and to Parliament. Representative Government is the former and the latter is Responsible. Government.
You , as Minister of Health , are responsible through Parliament to the people of the Country for health policy. It is to you I as a taxpayer, citizen, voter, must look for answers on health policy
I am asking you again to answer me directly , affixing your name to the response .
Will you establish a review of health care administered in BC to ascertain whether the conditions of the Canada Health Act are being followed. I have reason to believe that the conditions are not being met. One of those conditions in the Act is reasonable accessibility, Section 3.
Two thousand people have lost a family physician in the Oceanside area of Vancouver Island as of November 30. The alternative offered is to travel 74 kilometres one way( out side the Regional District) to see a doctor. The demographics of this area are such that the median age is over sixty. Many of the two thousand cannot drive because of a disability or non ownership of a vehicle. There is no public transit. Hence , accessibility is an issue. Another condition in the Act is universality, now questionable in this circumstance.
Statistics Canada has reported that in 2017 there were over 15% of the population without a regular doctor , heath care provider. That’s 4.7 million people. What does universality mean when almost 5 million people do not have a regular doctor?
You may be aware that The Commonwealth Fund, an American Health Care Organization that studies health care systems , reports that Canada has one of the lowest number of doctors among comparable health care systems . We have 2.5 doctors per 1000 population. Australia has 3.1 and Denmark 3.7. We are the lowest among 13 western countries of getting same day , next day appointments when sick.
The Act specifically states ( Section 9 , 13, and 14) that five conditions have to be met , otherwise Federal Heath Transfers can be withheld.
Second do you have a formal process( precise and specific processes) to ascertain whether Provinces are complying with the Canada Health Act so that taxpayers are assured that the over $40 billion of Federal health transfers actually comply with the conditions of the Act. I am sure many people would like to know how their Province scores relative to other Provinces? Would you provide me the precise detail of this process or processes and the relative position of the various Provinces. If you have no specific process, or the relative positions of the Provinces on meeting the conditions of the Act, why not?
Voters , taxpayers , citizens should be able to get answers to public policy from elected politicians . Politicians are suppose to be responsible to the people.
Minister , that is what I am asking you to do.
A. Brian Peckford P. C.
Parksville,BC.