At its Sept. 11 meeting, RNAO’s board of directors released a list of recommendations it wanted federal parties to make note of as they finalized their policy platforms ahead of the Oct. 21 election. A platform for a healthy Canada outlines nine recommendations, including access to health care, social determinants of health, environmental determinants of health, and fiscal capacity. Now, with a new government in place, RNAO will continue to pursue its priorities.
Expanding Canada’s publicly funded, not-for-profit health system – specifically by setting up a national phamacare program and covering dental care and home-care services – is central to RNAO’s federal platform. Re-establishing a national chief nursing officer to contribute to health policy development and human resource planning is also a key recommendation.
The platform contains four recommendations aimed at improving the health and well-being of Canadians, especially Indigenous Peoples. These include implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People as the framework for reconciliation and ensuring Canada’s laws are in harmony with the declaration. Implementing the “calls to action” of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is another recommendation. RNAO wants the new federal government to ensure sufficient funding and resources to address social, economic and health challenges identified by Indigenous nations, including access to health care, education, adequate housing, and clean water. RNAO is also urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and opposition leaders to respond to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by implementing the inquiry’s calls for justice in its final report.
Given 1.7 million Canadian families are in need of housing, and more than 235,000 lack a permanent home, RNAO is urging a greater focus on and more investments in housing.
The health effects of climate change are always on RNAO’s radar. Nurses are asking the new minority government to work with the opposition parties to establish greenhouse gas emission targets, develop a stronger national carbon pricing framework, phase out fossil subsidies, and provide more funding for public transit and active transportation.
RNAO says its recommendations can be implemented by increasing the federal government’s fiscal capacity. Increasing corporate taxes and making individuals pay their share of taxes will generate the revenue needed to make the investments RNAO says are necessary to create a healthier Canada.
As in years past, RNAO members were actively engaged during the campaign, highlighting elements of the platform during candidates’ debates and forums, and engaging candidates one-on-one in their ridings. See some examples in our election coverage and at #NursesVote on Twitter.