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Health professionals from across the country meet to coordinate efforts to campaign for a progressive health care agenda for Canada.
Ottawa (15 Dec. 2014) — Delegates from unions that represent health professionals are meeting in Ottawa to discuss efforts to defend and expand Canada's Medicare system. The Canadian Health Professionals Secretariat (CHPS), an initiative of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), is holding its last meeting of 2014 and is using the opportunity to look at ways to move the debate about the future of Canada's health care system forward.
Federal election in 2015
"We know that there will be a federal election in 2015," said NUPGE's National President James Clancy. "Elections offer the opportunity for the public to discuss the issues that matter most to them. We know that Canadians care deeply about their health care system and expect that the issue will come up during the campaign."
The first day of the meeting will have a variety of speakers addressing important health care policy issues. Among the topics and speakers are
- The Case for a National Pharmacare Program with guest speaker, Marc-André Gagnon, Assistant Professor, Carleton University
- National Health Care Election Campaign with guest speaker, Adrienne Silnicki, National Coordinator, Canadian Health Coalition
- Enforcing the Canada Health Act and Opposing Privatization with guest speaker, Dr. Danyaal Raza, Treasurer, Canadian Doctors for Medicare
- Home and Long-Term Care in Canada with guest speake,r Pat Armstrong, Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology, York University
- Improving Access to Oral Health Care with guest speaker, Dr. Paul Allison, Director, McGill Faculty of Dentistry.
Numerous challenges confronting health professionals across the country
"There is no shortage of issues faced by health professionals in Canada," said Clancy. "From preparing for the possibility of patients with Ebola, to provinces reorganizing the delivery of services, there is never a lack of topics to discuss."
CHPS is a national advocacy body that represents 70,000 unionized health professionals who deliver the diagnostic, clinical, rehabilitative and preventative services that are essential to timely and quality health care.
Some of the highly trained professionals represented by CHPS include medical laboratory technologists, physiotherapists, social workers, pharmacists, occupational therapists, dieticians and psychologists. These professionals work in hospitals, long-term care facilities, mental health services, laboratories, home care services and public health agencies.
More information:
Canadian Health Professionals Secretariat
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE