Pual Dewar and New Democrats believe in:

• The right of all Canadians to have universal access to high-quality public health care that is transferable between provinces and territories
• Fighting the privatization of public health care services, including through the use of existing mechanisms within the Canada Health Act
• Increasing health care transfers to the provinces and territories
• Providing incentives to recruit and train more health professionals, especially doctors and nurses
• Reducing costs by providing funding for provincial and territorial pharmacare programs, coordinating the bulk purchase of pharmaceutical drugs, and encouraging the use of less expensive generic drugs
• Investing in not-for-profit home care for seniors and people with disabilities
• Promoting healthy living, physical activity, and reduced tobacco use
• Adopting a harm reduction approach to substance abuse and permitting the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes
• Protecting the health and safety of sex-trade workers
• Working with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to address their specific health care challenges
• Establishing a comprehensive policy on reproductive health
• Working with all relevant authorities and governments to set up coordinated emergency plans in case of natural disaster, terrorism or other emergency
• Investing in public health initiatives to deal with pandemics, product and food security, and drinking water
• Working towards the establishment of a Canadian Health Covenant or patient’s bill of rights; and
• Working towards the establishment of a national healthcare council to ensure the Canada Health Act is enforced and the range of services extended to include home care, palliative care and prescription drugs.