Federal funding for health care: RPCU asks for Quebec's public support by taking part in the #trudeauourmoneyback campaign Français
MONTREAL, Jan. 24, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - The RPCU calls on Quebecers to join together and demand that Prime Minister Trudeau fulfill his electoral commitments regarding health care funding in Quebec. This is our money and we need it more than ever.
Part of the funding for the health system comes from the federal government in the form of "transfers" to the provinces, which are responsible for health. The former Conservative government reduced these transfers to the provinces and, in the last election campaign, Mr. Trudeau promised to reinstate them. Now, he no longer wishes to do that.
The equation is simple: Technically, we are talking about a reduction in the increases to the provinces, which ends up being a reduction. The funds transferred will no longer be sufficient to cover health care needs. This represents enormous losses for Quebec in the next few years, which will result in MORE and MORE cuts, reduction in services, layoffs and underfunding. As of next year already, at least 100,000 Canadians living in Quebec will no longer have access to home health care, according to the Minister of Health and Social Services. As the Canadian population is aging and in need of more health care, this cannot continue. The Users and In-patients' committees are noting this all across Quebec.
'Canadians living in Quebec are fed up with health care cuts. And now, it is Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau himself, who is becoming a champion at imposing these cuts on the Quebec population. We did not vote for this', laments Mr. Claude Ménard, President of the RPCU. 'And where will this money being saved ultimately be spent, if its primary use should be for health care?' asks Mr. Ménard.
We are more than 8 million users within Quebec's Health and Social Services network and we demand that our money be redistributed to us in an equitable way. 'Honor your commitments, Mr. Trudeau! Don't be conservative! Do not reduce federal health funding in Quebec. We need our money for our health, our loved ones, our caregivers and for those who are vulnerable.' concluded Mr. Ménard.
This campaign, #trudeauourmoneyback (#trudeaunotreargent), proposed by the RPCU, is mostly published on social networks such as:
www.facebook.com/trudeaunotreargent.
Call for action
Immediate action is required: Personally ask your federal Member of Parliament, by email and via their Facebook page if applicable, to provide adequate funding for the health care system and full maintenance of federal health transfers:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members
About the RPCU
The Regroupement provincial des comités des usagers (RPCU) defends the rights of users and is the spokesperson for the 600 Users and In-patients' committees within Quebec's Health and Social Services facilities. These committees' mission is to defend the rights of users and to work towards improving the quality of services offered to the users within the Health and Social Service network. The RPCU also defends the rights of seniors and youth.
SOURCE Provincial Regroupment of Patient Committees (RPCU)
Richard Rancourt, Communications Director, 514-436-3744; Claude Ménard, President, 514-816-9334
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