Open for signatureElectronice-7686 · Parliament 45

Enforce the Canada Health Act

Sign on the House of Commons website

Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to enforce the Canada Health Act by holding provinces (notably Alberta and Ontario) accountable, fund and coordinate a national public health system, and set enforceable standards for timely care.

Why we would sign this petition

  • It would restore compliance with the Canada Health Act and limit private billing that diverts public resources, helping ensure access to care regardless of ability to pay.
  • Federal leadership and increased national funding could reduce patients paying for care in other provinces by improving timely access in their home province.
  • Enforceable national standards would create clearer accountability for provinces and enable coordinated action to reduce wait times.

Why we wouldn’t sign this petition

  • Federal enforcement may raise jurisdictional tensions with provinces and be difficult to implement politically and legally.
  • Raising national contributions and imposing standards could be costly and may not address provincial management or resource allocation problems.
  • Provincial reforms or targeted efficiency measures might be more practical than broad federal enforcement and funding changes.

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 Canadians are being forced to circumnavigate the Canada Health Act and the underfunded and, in many cases, mismanaged public healthcare system in their own provinces by going to other provinces to pay for timely medical treatments themselves Alberta and Ontario have passed legislation allowing for billing patients directly for healthcare services that should be publicaly funded according to the Canada Health Act Alberta has introduced self-referral for privately funded diagnostic imaging that will divert resources to private testing facilities from the already strained public healthcare system and, in violation of the Canada Health Act, give preference to those that can afford to pay Wait times for healthcare, and specifically emergency services, has increased across Canada to the point where people have unnecessarily died We, the undersigned, Citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to enforce the Canada Health Act by holding Alberta, Ontario and any other provinces in clear violation of the Canada Health Act to account; 1. Provide leadership and work with the Provinces to develop true national public healthcare system to close the loop hole of people paying for medical services in other provinces when they can not receive timely service in their own province; 2. Review national contributions to the public healthcare to enable closing of the loop hole to border jump for medical services and support the healthcare system that is nationally underfunded; and 3. Develop enforceable standards for provinces and the federal government to meet that will them accountable for delivery of timely and truly national healthcare.

Government response

No government response is available yet.