HALIFAX – CUPE NS President Mike McNeil is urging the province’s health minister, Leo Glavine, to support a new Health Accord at the upcoming meeting of ministers in Vancouver.
McNeil says he’s written Glavine on behalf of his more than 19,000 members here in Nova Scotia to let him know CUPE is encouraged by the commitment of the new federal government to negotiate a new accord.
Says McNeil, “As the ministers of health get set to meet on January 20 and 21, we hope that job one for them will be negotiating a new Health Accord to strengthen and expand our public Medicare system.”
McNeil says his letter reminds Minister Glavine that our province is facing its own challenges, including crumbling infrastructure, persistent ER closures, under-resourcing in the long-term care and home support sectors, just to name a few.
CUPE is urging all of the Ministers of Health to support a new Health Accord that includes the following elements:
- Stable and adequate funding from the federal government, with annual increases established at a minimum 6%;
- A national continuing care program that extends the principles of the Canada Health Act to long-term care, home and community care and establishes minimum staffing and phasing out of for-profit delivery in this sector;
- A national universal Pharmacare program that provides coverage to all Canadians through a national formulary, evidence-based evaluation of prescribing and protection from trade deals.