Submission of the Ecumenical Health Care Network To The Commission on the Future of Health Care In Canada

The Ecumenical Health Care Network is a project of the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Canadian Council of Churches. The Network includes representatives from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the United Church of Canada, the Canadian Catholic Health Association, and Kairos: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives.

In May of 2000, in a letter to then Health Minister Allan Rock we expressed our belief that our health care system is founded upon fundamental social values. We wrote:

“We believe that the system that has evolved reflects to a large degree the commitment of many Canadians to a health care system based on such fundamental social values as equity, collective responsibility, compassion and caring. The drive over the last few years to reduce deficits…has led to the erosion of a system based on these fundamental values, values that are at the heart of our Christian faith.”

We thank the Commission for the opportunity to speak to you today to share the ethical perspective we believe is important and to express our concerns as well as some hopes for the future of the Canadian Health Care system. Since our submission to you last October, the Ecumenical Health Care Network has continued to elaborate some of its views.