Enforce Canada Health Act
Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to enforce the Canada Health Act, stop extra‑billing and user fees for insured services (patients report cataract charges up to $11,000), and compel provinces to comply. The government responds that it will protect the Act, work with provinces, and deduct transfers where patient charges are allowed.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would stop extra‑billing and user fees for insured services, restoring access based on medical need rather than ability to pay.
- Enforcing the Canada Health Act and using transfer deductions would give the federal government tools to pressure provinces to comply.
- It would protect patients, especially elderly people reportedly charged thousands for cataract surgery, from coercion and financial harm.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Health care delivery is provincially regulated; federal enforcement could trigger jurisdictional disputes and slow implementation.
- Cracking down on private clinics may reduce available surgical capacity if provinces restrict fee‑charging facilities, potentially increasing wait times.
- Dollar‑for‑dollar transfer deductions are blunt; they could strain provincial health budgets and harm services, making targeted provincial regulation a preferable alternative.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Minister of Health Ontario’s Doug Ford government has redirected thousands of surgeries from public hospitals to private, for-profit clinics and hospitals, and The private MRI/CT and cataract surgery clinics are extra-billing patients, charging user fees, and manipulating patients -- particularly elderly patients -- into paying thousands of dollars when they go in for care, and Patients are reporting exorbitant charges of $4,000, $8,000, even up to $11,000 for cataract surgery in Ontario’s private clinics, as well as hundreds of dollars for access to primary care in private for-profit nurse practitioner clinics, and The Canada Health Act bans user fees and extra-billing of patients & requires that our medical care be funded by taxes (OHIP) and provided without financial barriers, based on Canadians’ medical need not how much money a person has, and No patient should be forced or manipulated into paying for their cataract and other surgeries, MRIs and CTs, and primary care – in fact these charges are just what the Canada Health Act was set up to prevent, therefore We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to uphold and enforce the Canada Health Act.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Health Signed by Maggie Chi Our government will always protect and uphold the Canada Health Act. Our universal public healthcare system is a point of pride for all Canadians and underpins our economic strength. The Canada Health Act establishes the criteria and conditions related to medically necessary hospital and physician services (i.e., insured health services) that the provinces and territories must fulfill to receive the full federal cash contribution under the Canada Health Transfer. The Act requires that all medically necessary hospital and physician services be covered by the provincial and territorial health care insurance plans, whether the services are provided in a hospital or in a facility (e.g., a private surgical clinic) providing what are generally regarded as hospital services. Provinces and territories that allow patient charges for insured health services are subject to mandatory dollar-for-dollar deductions from their federal Canada Health Transfer payments. Health Canada works closely with all provinces and territories to ensure they have the tools they need to deliver health care within their jurisdiction. Our government takes a collaborative approach that respects the jurisdiction of provinces and territories to explore innovative ways to improve access and care, but we will always ensure that access to medically necessary care remains based on need, rather than ability or willingness to pay.