The passing of the torch from one Prime Minister to a soon-to-be-another is an opportunity to reflect on Canada’s progress over the last decade on making our country a better and healthier place to live.
Our provincial health care systems are falling behind, and the government’s increases to the Canada Health Transfer will be of some help. But in addition to the funding of health services, more than a century of research and practice has shown the best way to improve health is to take action on the social factors that increase health risks and decrease the possibility of recovering from an illness – factors like poverty, income, food security, housing, racism and discrimination.
As we look to the future, it’s important to highlight the efforts our next government must build upon to create a healthier and fairer Canada.
Income security is essential to health. Those living in poverty, precariously, or without the money to afford what they need suffer worse health outcomes than those who have enough to get by. Evidence also continues to mount that high levels of income inequality – the gap between the highest and lowest income earners – has devastating impacts on societies and the health of those within them. On that count, the Trudeau government introduced important steps to help those in need, including an enhanced Canada Child Benefit, the Canada Workers Benefit, increases to Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and the new Canada Disability Benefit. Some of these will reach those in poverty and are important parts of the National Poverty Reduction strategy the government has put in place. The proposed modest changes to capital gains taxes as well as the tragically overlooked redistributive impact of the Canada Carbon Rebate program are starts on closing the income gap.
Governments also need to do more to ensure everyone in Canada has access to the other resources needed to thrive – to live a healthy, engaged life. This government introduced a national childcare program, increased investments in school food programs, launched a new dental care program, and initiated the first steps in a national pharmacare program that, collectively, make necessary health-promoting goods and services more accessible to all. They also invested in affordable housing and in reducing homelessness, including through the Rapid Housing Initiative and the Canada Rental Protection Fund. These initiatives have enabled housing for some and protected the housing of others.
Indigeneity and racialization continue to be significant barriers to health equity. This government began to more seriously address reconciliation and racism, including through increased reconciliation support, funding for a national anti-racism strategy, and a commitment through various efforts to enable disaggregated data so future governments and researchers can better understand, track and eventually reduce disparities.
Finally, while the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated and created devastating health inequities around race, homelessness, income and work, this government’s supports and work to bring the provinces together meant that Canada had one of the best responses in the G20. Lives and health were saved.
We can expect that these measures made a difference in the health and to the health equity that everyone in Canada deserves. But none of them were perfect. Poverty remains a scourge, and income inequality is too high. Many necessities for a healthy, thriving life are far out of reach. Racism and the lack of full reconciliation still have a destructive impact on health. COVID-19 and long-COVID continue to plague Canada, and are particularly dangerous to many living with a disability or lacking the resources they need to be healthy. Many of these programs could have better targeted to those in most need.
Canada will have at least one new Prime Minister this year. They will have an incredible opportunity to serve, and lead, everyone in Canada towards a brighter future in which health is a birthright for all, not a privilege for some. If they want to govern for what’s best for all, to improve outcomes beyond health, and to build an economy that is healthy and productive, they should start by making health equity for all Canadians a key goal, and by putting in place an all-of-government plan to ensure the federal government leads its own work, as well as the work of the provinces, territories and municipalities – towards fairness in health. This government has made a start on many of these issues. The next one will have the opportunity to continue building a stronger, healthier Canada.