Long Wait Times are Strangling Canada’s Health Care System

It shouldn’t take a pandemic
to make health care a priority. 

Before COVID-19, Canadians were already waiting far too long for care. Now, amid a global pandemic, our already over-burdened health care system is grappling with even longer wait times and a backlog of surgical procedures, and too many Canadians lack access to the primary care they need and deserve. 
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To address not only these wait times and backlogs but also the ongoing shortages of family physicians, nurse practitioners and medical specialists, we need the federal government to create a one-time Health Care and Innovation Fund to alleviate the pressure on our system and prioritize access to primary care. While the federal government responded quickly to the pandemic, providing emergency funding to provinces and territories to minimize and alleviate the economic and health impacts of COVID-19, we need their support again. The pandemic has exacerbated our system’s chronic issues — without additional funding, we risk undoing so much of the good work that’s already been done. 
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If you believe every Canadian should have timely access to the primary care they need, when and where they need it, send a letter to your MP today!