Our public health care system is under attack. Conservatives like Pierre Poilievre and Danielle Smith are working to privatize health care or block access altogether.

Danielle Smith’s privatization campaign is creating chaos in our health care system: closed emergency rooms, increased wait times for emergent and surgical care, a stunning 650,000 Albertans without a family doctor, and more Albertans forced to pay out of pocket for the care they need. It’s only getting worse. A study conducted by the Alberta Medical Association found that 58% of Alberta’s physicians plan to leave practice or the province sometime in the next five years. It’s clear that the government must act now.

In the 1960s, Tommy Douglas and the NDP used their power to create public health care. The Canada Health Act mandates coverage for all medically necessary care for all Canadians, regardless of income. Since then, New Democrats worked for decades to bring dental care and pharmacare to Canadians, and we got it done.

Despite this, Danielle Smith tried to block dental care for Albertans. Smith has also stated that she will be withdrawing Alberta from the federal NDP pharmacare program, leaving Albertans to pay out-of-pocket for diabetes medication and contraceptives. It’s not a surprise; it’s what Conservatives do. They want to cut services people rely upon – especially health care – while giving tax giveaways to big corporations and CEOs.

We know that a Pierre Poilievre government will not stop Smith. In fact, I suspect he will happily help her. Pierre Poilievre was a Minister in the Harper government that slashed health care funding by $43 billion and he has promised to cut health care again. He voted against pharmacare, dental care, and funding to cut wait times. His health critic has promised that a Conservative government will eliminate the federal Health ministry.

Our publicly funded, publicly delivered, and universally accessible health care system is too important to let Danielle Smith and Pierre Poilievre cut it and gut it.

We’re fighting back.

Blake Desjarlais
Member of Parliament, 
Edmonton Griesbach

Phone: 780-495-3261 
Email: Blake.Desjarlais@parl.gc.ca