Quick Links Visit our website Who we are How we work What we do Staff News Welcome Darlene! The BCHC is pleased welcome Darlene Gage as our new Outreach and Development Coordinator. Darlene has a background in community economic development, and a long history as an organizer in social justice movements across Canada and overseas. She is also a facilitator and trainer in her spare time. She is excited about working with Health Coalition members and supporters and looks forward to meeting you all - please introduce yourselves next time you see her at a BCHC event! Community Events Join BCHC at the Canadian Medical Association Town Hall!   The Canadian Medical Association and Maclean's Magazine are hosting a national series of town halls to discuss the future of health care. It's important that we take this opportunity to have our voices, and those of thousands of other Medicare supporters, heard in the conversations. Please join BCHC at the Vancouver town hall to ensure that the overwhelming support British Columbians have for Medicare is reflected in the discussions and future decision making at the CMA. Health Care in Canada: Time to Rebuild Medicare When: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 7:00PM-9:00PM Where: Pinnacle Ballroom - Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel Vancouver, BC Panellists include CMA President Dr. Jeff Turnbull, Dr. Ian Gillespie, President of the BC Medical Association and Kelly McQuillen, Director of Patients as Partners Click here to register now! Resources   Order your B.C. Health Coalition "Vote Public Health Care" leaflets!     Great for handing out at community events and all-candidates' meetings, this full-colour four-page leaflet summarizes the three main health care issues for British Columbians this federal election. Questions for candidates included. Click here to download   Order the Canadian Health Coalition's Election Primer     Put Health Care on the Ballot is a colourful four-page summary of the major issues that need to be addressed by candidates as the country prepares for the re-negotiation of the federal-provincial health accords in 2014. Contains personal stories and questions for candidates. Click here to download	April 2011 - Election Issue The current federal election is an enormous opportunity for British Columbians who want their universal public health care system to be strengthened and protected. Candidates from all parties are in their neighbourhoods and ridings, spending time listening to the issues that voters care about most. The timing of this election could not be more critical for public health care. Promoters of for-profit, privatized health care are on the offensive. Key figures in the federal government have made calls to dismantle national Medicare and end federal health transfers to the provinces. We are increasingly reading false claims in the media that public health care is unsustainable, despite overwhelming evidence that it is private care that we cannot afford. B.C. is ground zero for health care privatization in Canada. Now is the time to advance our issues to push federal candidates to support public solutions to our health care challenges. This includes: Supporting Medicare by enforcing the Canada Health Act and stopping the growth of for-profit health care Developing national Home and Community Care legislation to address the needs of seniors and people with disabilities Working on Pharmacare - a national drug plan that will allow Canadians to access drugs more fairly and economically We need to show candidates that British Columbians value public health care and we want to know what they will do to strengthen and protect it. Click here to visit our federal election TAKE ACTION webpage and connect with others in your community today! Click here to dowload our comparison of the major parties' published health care platforms and how they relate to our priority issues (PDF). BCHC "Vote Public Health Care" Resources now available If you are active in your community during this federal election or attending an all-candidates' meeting then you'll want to get some BCHC election materials into the hands of voters. We have produced a "Vote Public Health Care" leaflet on our top federal election issues, as well as buttons, pens, fact sheets, and ribbons. Click here to go to our federal election RESOURCES webpage where you can order ribbons, buttons, pens, leaflets and fact sheets. Get your "Vote Medicare!" Ribbon Here! If you are serious about protecting Medicare from for-profit interests, then you'll want to put up a line that they cannot cross. The BC Health Coalition's "Vote Medicare" ribbon comes in rolls and can be put up like police tape - wherever and whenever you think this message needs to been seen. Its uses are limited only to the imagination! Click here to go to our federal election RESOURCES webpage where you can order ribbons , buttons, pens, leaflets and fact sheets. Medicare advocates seek clear positions on health care from BC NDP leadership candidates The BC Health Coalition is encouraging British Columbians to follow the remaining days of the NDP leadership race to find out BC NDP candidates' positions on key health care issues. "Health care is a top-of-mind issue for British Columbians and we've surveyed the leadership hopefuls to demonstrate how they will strengthen and protect our valued public health care system," says Rachel Tutte, BCHC co-chair, noting polls showing that that the vast majority of Canadians support public solutions to make public health care stronger. The candidate survey asked for positions on stopping the growth of private, for-profit medical and surgical clinics in BC and addressing the burden that hospital user fees have placed on British Columbians, particularly seniors and people with chronic conditions. Click here to download the B.C. NDP candidates' responses to the BCHC health care survey. Volunteers: Passion. Action. Impact. The BC Health Coalition wants to THANK OUR VOLUNTEERS during the 68th Annual National Volunteer Week (April 10 - 16). There are 12.5 million volunteers working across Canada, but we know that the people across B.C. working with the BC Health Coalition are some of the most dedicated and passionate volunteers out there! Without you - how would we carry the vital message of protecting Medicare into your communities and back to the politicians who decide how health care will be managed in B.C.? You are the cornerstone of this important work - so please don't ever feel that your contributions are small potatoes - all the small potatoes are creating ONE BIG PILE OF POTATOES across the province! We've just hired a new Coordinator to help us support our volunteers and to thank you for the important work you are doing. E-mail Darlene Gage at darlene@bchealthcoalition.ca. She is eager to hear from you - especially if you have some ideas about how to reach out to your community. Authorized by the Official Agent for the BC Health Coalition return to top
BC Health Coalition • 411 Dunsmuir Street Vancouver, BC V6B 1X4 P: 604-681-7945 • F: 604-681-7947 • Email: info@bchealthcoalition.ca