LETTER
LETTRE
Is Poilievre a threat to our healthcare system?
Pierre Poilievre is the new leader of the Conservative party. That's bad news for Canadian healthcare—if Poilievre becomes Canada’s next Prime Minister or even starts influencing policy. He wants to move us to privatized health services that prioritize the wealthy, the elite.
Poilievre has made it clear he intends to allow provinces to open the door to more private companies looking for profits when we need care. That's scary. Conservative premiers across the country are already pushing privatization -- hard. Doug Ford in Ontario, Blaine Higgs in New Brunswick, and Jason Kenney in Alberta are all opening the door to for-profit companies who only cater to a fraction of Canadians.
Our health care crisis is nothing new—it’s by design. For decades our medicare has been hacked and slashed by conservative lobbyists and politicians trying to kick the feet out from under it so they can present a private health model as the only viable option. That’s why we need to act—before it’s too late.
Our health care system must be public, well funded, and accessible to all. Instead of lining the pockets of private companies, we need to focus on reducing inequitable access and making sure healthcare workers have what they need.
Sixty years ago this summer, Canadians fought and won the campaign for Medicare. It wasn’t easy and we’ve had to defend it ever since. Our public health care system is a fixture of Canada’s social democracy and we can’t stop defending it now
Devon Crick, Broadbent Institute
Ottawa
