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Health & Healthcare

Healthcare Access platforms

Here's what the 2021 Canadian election parties are promising.

Liberal

  • Provide $400 million over 4 years to support virtual care.
  • Expand Canada Student Loans debt forgiveness to more healthcare professionals & increase the amount forgiven by 50%.
  • Offer healthcare professionals a 1-time income tax deduction up to $15k over their first 3 years of practice.
  • Increase federal powers to deduct funding from provinces who add extra billings for publicly insured services.

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Expand the number of family doctors and primary health teams in rural communities, by increasing by 50% (from $40,000 up to $60,000 over 5 years), the maximum debt relief that family doctors, residents in family medicine, nurse practitioners, or nurses are eligible for the under Canada Student Loans forgiveness program.

Expand the list of professionals eligible for forgiveness to include dentists, pharmacists, dental hygienists, midwives, social workers, psychologists, teachers, and early childhood educators so that rural communities have greater access to the full suite of health and social service providers they need.

Offer health care professionals, who are just starting out in their careers, a one-time income tax deduction of up to $15,000 over their first 3 years of practice to help with the costs of setting up a practice.

Undertake a review to ensure that communities that are indeed rural are fully eligible under the program.

Forward. For Everyone., retrieved 2021-09-02

Strengthen federal powers under the Canada Health Act and the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act to deduct health transfers from provinces who enable extra billing for publicly insured services, in order to protect the integrity of our universal public health care system.

Forward. For Everyone., retrieved 2021-09-02

Expand the number of family doctors and primary health teams in rural communities.

Work to give rural communities greater access to a full suite of health and social services professionals, including dentists, pharmacists, dental hygienists, midwives, social workers, psychologists, teachers, and early childhood educators.

Help health care professionals set up new practices.

Forward. For Everyone., retrieved 2021-09-02

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We don't have any Conservative policies on Healthcare Access.
We don't have any Bloc policies on Healthcare Access.

NDP

  • Work with provinces & territories to reduce wait times and improve access to primary care.
  • Work with the provinces to develop public infrastructure for secure, accesibile virtual healthcare.
  • Identify coming gaps in health human resources, & make a plan for recruiting & retaining doctors, nurses, & other healthcare professionals.

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A New Democrat government will work with the provinces and territories to tackle wait times and improve access to primary care across the country – and we’ll work with the provinces to develop public infrastructure for secure, accessible virtual healthcare. 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. New Democrats will also work with the provinces and territories to expand and improve access to palliative care across the country.

Ready for Better, retrieved 2021-08-27

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Green

  • Reduce wait times, particularly for primary care.
  • Support provinces in implementing new delivery models, such as telemedicine.

Looking for the parties' positions on other topics?

See our full 2021 Canadian election platform comparison