Get Well Canada news & insights

A new alliance of research and community leaders argues that Canada can’t achieve our health transformation and innovation goals so long as Premiers focus primarily on more money for medical care.

To fix our health care system, we need to focus more on the investments that will prevent illness and keep people well. And that’s more on the social side, that's child care, poverty reduction, housing investments, and so on.

We must focus more on the investments needed to prevent illness. Hospitals and clinics should be the last stops for health, not the first.

Canadians’ cost of living is skyrocketing and our medical system is on fire. Instead of dousing the flames, health ministers added fuel to the fire when they failed to agree on a plan to stabilize medical care at their most recent meeting. This failure reflects a lack of awareness that these twin crises are born from the same fundamental problem. For decades governments have bought into a myth that medical care is what most makes us healthy, ignoring science that shows social supports contribute more to our wellbeing.

Our universal medical care system is as much a part of Canadian identity as the Maple Leaf. When news reports consistently outline how this system is “in crisis,” there is understandable angst. Fixing the crisis requires that we recognize how personal finances – yours, mine and others – are deeply implicated. To slow the flow of illness into hospitals and clinics, governments need to grow investments that will ease the squeeze on the finances of Canadians – especially younger Canadians – more urgently than they add money for medicare.

John Ibbitson recently asked how Canada should adapt now that Canadians aged 65+ number 7 million given repercussions for medical care, long term care, etc. This is an important question. Generation Squeeze has been asking political leaders to consider the implications of an aging population for generational fairness for over a decade. But while Mr. Ibbitson deserves credit for raising the question, some of his solutions will lead today’s seniors towards a harmful legacy.

As a force for intergenerational fairness, Generation Squeeze is a unique but mighty powerhouse in the world of politics. That we are right in the thick of things is reflected in the fact that key issues of intergenerational justice are front and centre in the throne speech – housing affordability, family affordability (especially child care), and climate change.

The pandemic has shown us how fortunate we are to enjoy publicly funded medical care, strong health infrastructure, and a committed and resilient health work force. Unfortunately, it has also highlighted the gaps and inequities that we knew existed prior to COVID-19 – but which we have been far too slow to address.

Just before the pandemic set in Canada, there was much talk among federal decision makers about a “wellbeing budget.” Borrowing from New Zealand and elsewhere, Mr. Trudeau’s mandate letters encouraged multiple ministers to “to better incorporate quality of life measurements into government decision-making and budgeting”.