Why Canada’s Healthcare is
an Issue
By Aiden Tonge
What is Wrong with Canadian Healthcare?
In the last few years and especially since the beginning of the pandemic,
Canada’s healthcare has been a mess. As of 2022, more then 700,000 surgerys
and other procedures have been backlogged, and at least 2,367 patients died
waiting in Emergency Rooms. The governmet, and also amny individuals are
scramabling to find a solution to this issue.
What Level of Government is Responsible for this Issue
The provincial government is responsible for healthcare, but the federal
government supplements funding for healthcare systems too. In 2022, the
provincial government spent about 80 billion on healthcare alone, and the federal
government issued a 2 billion dollar top up, distributed evenly per capita across all
provinces. The provincial government is responsible for setting budgets for
healthcare, management of the healthcare system, and related services that affect
the healthcare system.
What are the 2 Opposing View Points on this issue
Advocating for Dominant Universal Healthcare Advocating for Dominant Privatised Healthcare
(Keep Canadian Healthcare the Same) (Move Towards a SImilar System to USA)
Pros to Universal Cons to Privatised Pros for Privatised Cons to Universal
- All people have - Harder to afford - Much better quality - Much higher
access to a full for many care the universal taxes,
range of healthcare - Free healthcare - Much shorter wait sometimes
options centres will offer times enough to
- Financial status is less range of - Free healthcare displace the cost
not a concern options options still of paying for
- Everyone has - Some available healthcare
health insurance perscriptions and - Much lower taxes upfront
services are - The insurance - Overall quality is
overpriced, like company will cover worse
insulin some of your
healthcare (or all of
it)
Some of the Key Stakeholders in Canadian Healthcare
- Patients
- Patients are stakeholders because of the taxes they pay towards the system
- Government
- The Federal Minister of Health is responsible for Health Canada and its agencies:
Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Institute of Health Research, Hazardous Materials Information
Review Commission, Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, Assisted Human Reproduction Canada
- Protective Services
- Members' service charges are deducted from a reserve fund supported by yearly dues. Some protective
associations and societies impose annual dues on individuals, while others impose them on the entities that
make up their membership. The cost of membership varies by area across the nation.
The majority of provincial and territorial governments provide financial aid to cover the costs of protective
association and society dues as well as commercial professional liability insurance premiums.
Are There any Sources to Help Research This Issue
Researching the Current Healthcare Systems in Researching the ways of a Dominant Private
Canada Healthcare System (Like the USA)
- Statistics Canada provides information on the - Commonwealth describes some of the
current status, budgets, environmental factors, issues by ranking the country against
diseases, and health measures. other countries.
- Statista provides graphs and stats on the status, - Statistics Canada gives reasons why
problems, and more on the healthcare system Canadians may travel to the USA for
healthcare.
What Actions have Been Taken to Improve Canada’s Healthcare
The current crisis has affected every aspect of the healthcare system. The issue is not with
doctors, nurses, or other healthcare professionals. There is no one province or territory involved.
However, there are solutions. And to advance them, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA)
has gathered thousands of patients, legislators, and healthcare professionals over the past six
months.
With the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), we organised a second emergency meeting in
March to demand prompt action to address the health workforce crisis.
In April, doctors convened for a CMA Profession Forum to discuss the serious backlog in patient
care and the record-high levels of burnout in the healthcare industry.
The CMA Health Summit Opens in a new window, which featured discussions on building a more
resilient health system and an agile workforce, drew more than 2,000 participants.
The CMA teamed together with the CNA and the College of Family Physicians of Canada in May
to create short-, medium-, and long-term health human resources solutions.
Has Anything Been Succseful Thus Far
No. Nothing in the last 5 years has stopped the crisis in healthcare systems, and
COVID-19 definetly did not help. Doctors are far to overwhelmed, and there is a
clear lack of doctors to help reduce the load on current ones. Waiting times for
surgeries are out of hand-getting up to 5 or more years long- and people are
travelling down to the USA or other countries to get there surgerys done. It is not
just Canada struggling with their universal healthcare systems either, other
countries like Spain are in similar situations.
Resources
Canada, Department of Finance. “Canada Commits $2 Billion in Additional Health Care Funding to Clear Backlogs and Support
Hundreds of Thous...” Canada.ca, Government of Canada, 25 Mar. 2022,
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2022/03/canada-commits-2-billion-in-additional-health-care-funding-to-clear
-surgery-and-diagnostics-backlogs.html
.
“Stakeholders in Canadian Health Care.” Thepatientfactor.com,
https://thepatientfactor.com/canadian-healthcare-101/stakeholders/.
“Canada's Health Care Crisis: What We Need Now.” Canadian Medical Association,
https://www.cma.ca/news/canadas-health-care-crisis-what-we-need-now.
