Letter to Prime Minister Martin: the Future of Health Care in Canada

Dear Mr. Prime Minister:

Accompanying our best wishes, we wish to send our sincere congratulations, as you became Prime Minister of Canada last month. This great responsibility brings with it the possibility of achieving tremendous good for Canadians and many other persons around the world. We pray that God’s blessings are with you as you assume this demanding new role.

As leaders of Canada’s major Christian Churches, we write to you today concerning one of the issues of most pressing importance to Canadians: the future of health care in Canada. Along with most Canadians we welcomed with great anticipation and hope the final report of the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada. It was aptly called Building on Values, and the very first recommendation was to “establish a new Canadian Health Covenant as a tangible statement of Canadians’ values and a guiding force for our publicly funded health care system.” (Romanow Report, November 2002, p. xxiv). Not only did the Churches agree with this emphasis; we had been the ones to suggest it to Commissioner Romanow in the testimony of the Ecumenical Health Care Network (a project of the Canadian Council of Churches) at an Ottawa public hearing on May 28, 2002. (Attached please see our proposed Health Care Covenant for All People in Canada.)

We continue to be convinced that the path to beneficial and sustainable reform of Canada’s most cherished social program lies in establishing a common vision that reflects the values and priorities of Canadians: values such as equity, collective responsibility, compassion and caring. The process of developing and adopting a Health Covenant would greatly assist in this effort.