Canadian Federal Election on October 21st!

The 2019 Canadian federal election is fast approaching this Monday October 21st and it is very important for all of us to get out there and vote. However, sometimes it can be hard to decide who to vote for.

Finding out the platform that each party has on important issues, such as health care, can be helpful in deciding which party to vote for. In fact, it has been found that 86% of Canadians are more likely to vote for candidates who have a platform that provides an importance to health care.

We at the BC Epilepsy Society are strong advocates for health care, which we know is something that is also in the minds of many of the people living with epilepsy who are planning on voting this year. This is why we have done some research on the health care platforms of each party. If you would like to find out more, check out the information below:

Liberal

• Pledged to move towards a nation-wide pharmacare program
• Signed a health care funding agreement and has promised a 3% annual health transfer increase
• Pledged to increase funding for mental health, addictions and home care programs
• Will double the child disability benefit

Conservative

• Will uphold the health accord and has promised a 3% annual health transfer increase
• Dismissed pharmacare and will instead focus on people who are not covered provincially, through work, etc.
• Promised $1.5 million to purchase more MRI and CT machines
• Pledged to expand eligibility for the Disability Tax Credit

NDP

• Pledged to expand the current model to include mental health, dental, eye and hearing coverage
• Proposed a “Pharmacare for All” plan that would cost $10 billion annually and which would cover Health Canada approved drugs by late 2020

Green

• Pledged to boost funding to train doctors and nurses
• Pledged to expand midwifery programs
• Will expand health care coverage to include universal pharmacare and dental coverage for low-income individuals

People’s Party

• Claims that there is too much federal meddling in health care
• Proposed making provinces and territories fully responsible for funding and managing health services
• Will replace the federal health transfer with tax points, allowing provinces and territories to raise their own money for health care
• Wants more options for private health care

Bloc Québécois

• Pledged for Quebec to get more money if a national pharmacare program is to be implemented
• Pledged for Quebec to be compensated for the cost of drugs as they will go up significantly if and when the new North American free trade deal is enacted

Please click here to find out about the policies and platforms of the six parties on other important issues. We hope that everyone gets out and votes in the Canadian federal election this Monday October 21st!