Press release - Maxime Bernier reaffirms PPC solution to heal broken health care system

Granby, QUEBEC, August 24, 2021 – The Leader of the People's Party of Canada, Maxime Bernier, reaffirmed his commitment to change the way our broken health care system is funded in order to encourage provinces to adopt reforms in line with the more efficient and less costly mixed universal systems of other developed countries. He made this policy announcement at a campaign stop in Granby.

Statement by Maxime Bernier:

“As we saw during the covid pandemic, Canada’s health care system is too rigid and bureaucratized to quickly adapt to a crisis situation. We have the worst wait times of any developed country. Health care costs have been increasing at an unsustainable rate. The situation is likely to get worse with Canada’s aging population.

We are the only developed country where the government has a monopoly on medically required care. Almost all other OECD countries have mixed private-public systems that guarantee citizens equal access.

Healthcare is an exclusive provincial jurisdiction. To improve our system, provinces should implement reforms in line with the more efficient and less costly mixed universal systems of other developed countries. Throwing more federal money at the problem, as all the other parties are proposing, is not the right approach. On the contrary, it is part of the problem. Federal intrusion creates confusion and leads to bickering over who is responsible for the failings of our health care system.

A People’s Party government will respect the Constitution and stop federal meddling. We will create the conditions for provinces to innovate by replacing the Canada Health Transfer cash payments with a permanent transfer of GST tax points of equivalent value. Provinces will be fully responsible for health care funding and management, and fully accountable to their citizens for the results.”

The People’s Party’s updated platform on health care is available here.

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Contact: For more information, please write to: [email protected]