by

Letter to PM Trudeau: The need for universal pharmacare is URGENT

November 24, 2020

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, Minister Freeland and Minister Hajdu,

Following the September 23 Throne Speech, we once again commend you for your ongoing commitment to a universal national pharmacare program and your plans to “accelerate steps to achieve this system.”

Now, more than two months later, we believe it is time for you to demonstrate this commitment through concrete action. We are calling on you to clarify these commitments in the forthcoming fiscal update and through a line item in the 2021 Federal Budget.

Taking into account the recommendations from the final report of the previous Liberal government’s Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare, and your government’s pledge to being guided by these recommendations, there is a responsibility to set into motion the actions necessary to provide universal access to essential medicines in the months ahead.

As per the timeline in the Advisory Council’s final report, a national formulary of essential medicines should come into force by January 1, 2022. Considering the growing and urgent need for universal pharmacare – with hundreds of thousands of people having lost access to employer-sponsored drug plans in recent months – we are calling on you to expedite this process, so that essential medicines can be made available on a universal basis by July 1, 2021.

In the midst of COVID-19, we cannot delay access to essential medicines any further. Hospitals are overwhelmed with patients across the country, and the risk of airborne transmission of the virus has been firmly established. To avoid unnecessary hospital visits that result from a lack of access to prescribed medications, we urgently need universal access to a list of essential medicines.

We recognize that pharmacare cannot move ahead without the participation of the provinces and territories. As was the case with Medicare, when jurisdictions see the benefits of the program, we are confident they will sign on. We are encouraged by your government’s Speech from the Throne commitment to work “…with provinces and territories willing to move forward without delay”. What is required now is a concrete plan, along with stable long-term funding to demonstrate to all provinces and territories that your government can be relied on as a partner in broadening access to vital medications to everyone in Canada.

It is incumbent upon your government to be truly guided by the Advisory Council’s final report and hence cover the incremental costs for implementing the program. If the provinces and territories are assured that any added costs will be assumed by the federal government in order to implement the program, and that substantial savings for its citizens, businesses and health care system will result, it will be very hard to resist its adoption.

We call on your government to dedicate $3.5 billion toward universal coverage for a list of essential medicines – as recommended by the Advisory Council’s final report – in the 2021 Federal Budget. We also call on your government to usher in this program by July 1 to speed up access for those in need.

On July 1, 1958, the Hospital Insurance and Diagnostic Services Act came into force, and on that day in 1968, the Medical Care Act came into force. Having a list of essential medicines accessible to all people in Canada by July 1, 2021, would begin the fulfillment of an essential yet missing piece of Medicare. And it would do so on the most fitting of days – marking 153 years since Confederation – for our country’s most cherished achievement.

We look forward to working with you to accelerate the implementation of a national, universal, public and single-payer pharmacare program.

Sincerely,

Linda Silas
President, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions

Pauline Worsfold, RN
Chair, Canadian Health Coalition

Marie Clarke Walker
Secretary-Treasurer, Canadian Labour Congress

Jerry Dias
President, Unifor

Danyaal Raza
Chair, Canadian Doctors for Medicare

Anita Huberman
CEO, Surrey Board of Trade

Mike Parker
President, Health Sciences Association of Alberta

Doug Roth
CEO, Heart & Stroke

Mark Hancock
National President, Canadian Union of Public Employees

Sandra Azocar
Executive Director, Friends of Medicare

Bill Chedore
President, Congress of Union Retirees of Canada

Ken Neumann
National Director for Canada, United Steelworkers

Larry Brown
President, National Union of Public and General Employees

Tim Guest, RN
President, Canadian Nurses Association

Rick Smith
Executive Director, Broadbent Institute

Steve Morgan, PhD
Professor of health polciy at UBC and Founder of Pharmacare 2020

Bill VanGorder, Chief Policy Officer
Canadian Association of Retired Persons

Christina Warner and Ravi Joshi,
Co-Executive Directors, Council of Canadians

by

Brutal lockout by Gate Gourmet as employer throws workers into the street

Montreal, November 18, 2020 – Employees of Gate Gourmet were shocked last week when their employer interrupted their lunch break to tell them to take their personal effects and vacate the premises, as they were being locked out.

“No final offer or warning was given by the employer,” said Unifor’s Quebec director Renaud Gagné. “We were waiting to hear back from them and now their only answer is a lockout. It makes no sense.”

Talks between the parties, which began in July, were not going well prior to the lockout. The employer was demanding several major concessions, including a five-year wage freeze, hiring only part-time and seasonal employees (no full-time), member payment of 40% of group insurance costs (currently paid entirely by the employer), reduced accessibility to insurance, a cut to shift premiums, abolition of the weekend premium, a cut in the employer’s contribution to RRSPs, fewer statutory holidays, withdrawal of vacation weeks and elimination of numerous articles in the collective agreement dealing with non-monetary issues.

The employer has tabled no fewer than 145 demands, all of which involve concessions. For its part, the union has not demanded any concessions.

“The simple fact is that the employer wants to abolish our collective agreement altogether. And despite our repeated requests, they have given us no explanation. We understand that the sector is struggling as a result of COVID-19. And in light of that, we were fully prepared to engage in serious discussions and do our part,” said. François Arseneault, president of Local 698.

“But this makes no sense. The employer is taking advantage of the crisis to roll back all our gains. They are even claiming that the workers are to blame for the situation, even though the lack of contracts is the result of a structural problem in the plant combined with the pandemic.”

Since Gate Gourmet bought the plant 10 years ago, workers have made a number of concessions in good faith, but this did not prevent the company from losing several contracts.

“At this time, no date has been set for talks, but we remain available to negotiate. The case is in conciliation and we will be asking the mediator to call the parties together. But in view of the employer’s attitude so far, we have doubts about their good faith. One thing is clear: we are determined to defend our members,” Gagné said.

The lockout has put workers with more than 30 years of service on the street. Gate Gourmet provides airline catering. The Dorval plant has laid off hundreds of Unifor members in recent years due to the loss of contracts and COVID-19. Only about 20 employees were still active at the time of the lockout, and most of them have more than 30 years of seniority.

A picket line has been set up in front of the plant at 1185 Rodolphe Pagé Street in Dorval.

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector and represents 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future. Unifor represents close to 55,000 members and is affiliated with the province’s largest labour federation, the Quebec Federation of Labour (QFL).

by

Canadian Mental Health Association introduces BounceBack®

Click here to go to BCE News page

National expansion supported with funds from Bell Let’s Talk

Toronto, November 18, 2020 – The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) today announced the introduction of CMHA’s BounceBack® program to residents in the Atlantic provinces, Québec, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Yukon, and further expansion of the program in Manitoba thanks to a $1 million donation from Bell Let’s Talk announced earlier this year.

“We are proud to be able to introduce this proven mental health program to more Canadians,” said Margaret Eaton, National CEO, CMHA. “COVID-19 is here now, but the mental health impacts will last long after the pandemic is over. BounceBack can help people build new skills and better adapt to the challenges we’re all facing.”

BounceBack is a free, guided self-help program effective in helping adults and youth 15+ manage low mood, mild to moderate depression, anxiety, stress or worry. Through telephone coaching and a selection of skill-building workbooks to choose from, participants can customize their own program, learn ways to overcome their symptoms and improve their mental well-being now and in the future.

“Through the expansion of BounceBack, CMHA will be bringing vital support to Canadians on a national scale in this time of crisis and uncertainty,” said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let’s Talk. “As demand for mental health supports increases due to COVID-19, Bell Let’s Talk is proud to help CMHA grow the reach of its proven BounceBack program. It’s a key initiative in the special Bell Let’s Talk funding program for leading Canadian mental health organizations developed in response to the COVID crisis.”

Based on cognitive behavioural therapy, BounceBack has been shown to reduce depressive and anxiety symptoms by 50% at program completion. The donation from Bell Let’s Talk has enabled CMHA to leverage existing expertise in BC, Ontario and Manitoba, where the program is already funded by governments and donors, to expand the impact of this evidence-based program to more Canadians.

Available in English and French, the program is free to all participants and will be delivered by coaches who are extensively trained and overseen by clinical psychologists. Participants can be referred by a primary care provider or choose to self-refer as long as they’re connected with a primary care provider, providing Canadians more choice in accessing support from home. The expansion also makes the program available across the north to people living in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Bell Let’s Talk funding has supported the creation of a national website and toll-free number where Canadians can learn about BounceBack and discover if it is right for them. For individuals interested in registering for the program, please visit cmha.ca/BounceBack.

Bell announced a $5 million increase in Bell Let’s Talk funding in response to COVID-19 with immediate support for 5 organizations delivering urgent mental health support on the front lines of Canadian communities, including $1 million to expand BounceBack. The BounceBack investment builds on an earlier $250,000 donation to CMHA in March to support the organization’s COVID-19 response.

About Bell Let’s Talk
Bell Let’s Talk promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let’s Talk Day and significant Bell funding of community care and access, research and workplace leadership initiatives throughout the country. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.

About the Canadian Mental Health Association
Founded in 1918, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is the most established, most extensive community mental health organization in Canada. Through a presence in more than 330 communities across every province and one territory, CMHA provides advocacy, programs and resources that help to prevent mental health problems and illnesses, support recovery and resilience, and enable all Canadians to flourish and thrive. For more information, visit cmha.ca.

Media inquiries:

CMHA
Katherine Janson
National Director of Communications
647-717-8674
kjanson@cmha.ca
@CMHA_NTL

by

Conservative election complaints against Unifor thrown out

November 18, 2020

WINNIPEG—Elections Manitoba has dismissed all complaints filed against Unifor by the Progressive Conservative Party during the 2019 provincial election.

“Brian Pallister attempted to use Manitoba’s election financing laws to bully one of his most effective critics. He failed,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Pallister was looking for any excuse to distract voters from his record in office.”

During the 2019 provincial election, the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba held a media conference to denounce Unifor’s voter mobilization campaign and announce official complaints. The subsequent investigation overseen by the Manitoba Commissioner of Elections found no evidence that Unifor violated The Election Financing Act.

At the time, Unifor shrugged off the accusations and chalked it up to an effort by Pallister to distract voters from his record on emergency room closures, mismanagement of Manitoba Hydro, and rollbacks of workers’ rights.

“Whether it is mismanaging Manitoba Hydro or bungling the pandemic response, Pallister’s first instinct is to point the finger at somebody else,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. “Rather than smear its critics, the Pallister government must take responsibility for its many failings.”

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.