The COVID pandemic exposed the cracks in our weakened public healthcare system, and led to the deaths of many healthcare workers and seniors living in private, for-profit and deregulated long-term care homes. Acute shortages of essential Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), ventilators, and vaccines have cost many lives. Now Big Pharma hopes to make a killing on patented COVID vaccines, while Canada and other wealthy countries are hoarding vaccine supplies at the expense of the rest of the world.

- End Canada’s vaccine hoarding now, and make the COVID vaccine universally available through the United Nations’ COVAX program.

- Override patent rights so countries can buy or produce the vaccines in their own labs at cost.

- Nationalize the pharmaceutical industry, and manufacture vaccines, PPE, and medical equipment in Canada.

- Legislate 14 employer-paid sick days annually for all workers.

- End private, for profit long-term care, and expand Medicare to include long-term care, pharmacare, vision, dental and mental health care.

- Stop the attack on universal Medicare, by restoring funding, expanding services, and reversing privatization.

- Enforce the Canada Health Act, and close private, for-profit clinics and labs.

- Expand public health and reverse service cuts.

- End hallway medicine.

- Reverse P-3 agreements and require provinces to adequately fund public hospitals and healthcare services to meet community needs.

- Reduce drug overdose deaths with harm reduction and ‘safe supply’ policies.