Canadian Public Medicare.  What a great accomplishment!  Those of us who were there at its birth will never forget the struggle it took to create.  But we did it, and we did it by joining together, as we are doing today in Kingston and across the country, to demand that Mr. Romanow, the federal government and the provincial government take the necessary steps to maintain and strengthen public health care.

Public Medicare was born of a belief that our society must be better than it was. Those of us who experienced life before Medicare deeply understand that the creation and existence of Public Medicare is a moral response to human needs and aspirations.

Reverend Cannon Allan W. Lauder, Faith and Justice Group, St. George’s Cathedral

For many, the memory of millions of Canadians who were denied health care because they could not afford the price will never be erased. For us, the creation of Public Medicare was -- and remains -- the triumph of hope for ourselves and for our children.

Sharon Hogan,
Elder Abuse Task Force

For those of us who have grown up under its protection, Canadian Public Medicare is a cornerstone of our culture and history.  It embodies the kind of society we value – a society that can embrace social justice and a sense of community.

As caregivers, patients, volunteers and health care workers, women’s lives have greatly improved under Public Medicare.  For us it has meant support in childbirth, respite in care giving, a bulwark against poverty.

For many who have faced life threatening illness or injury, public Medicare has meant the difference between life and death.

Ultimately, Canadian Public Medicare is a lesson in sharing – that together we have created a society greater than the sum total of our individual parts.

As passed unanimously by  Kingston City Council we call upon the Romanow Commission and the federal and provincial governments to ensure that the principles of the Canada Health Act are maintained, and that the public health care system is publicly delivered and upgraded where necessary, and that adequate upper tier public funding is provided to do so.

We call upon Mr. Romanow and policy makers at all levels of government to heed the will of the peoples of this country... to protect and rebuild our Public Medicare system while maintaining intact the values which form its very foundation.

We believe that Public Medicare is not only sustainable, but is the only sustainable system that remains true to our values and needs.

Repeated studies from around the world have shown that the most just, the most efficient and the most democratic way to provide Medicare is through a non-profit public service.

We, also, believe that Public Medicare needs some careful attention. We need to work together to revitalize it, to modernize it, and to protect its core values.

We maintain that the basic and immutable value underlying Public Medicare is that health care is a basic human right -- that it shall be  universal – that it shall be provided based on need.

We appeal for the removal of the profit motive from health care decisions that so seriously impact our quality of life.  We recognize health care as a public good in which the few must not profit at the expense of the many. For example we are concerned about the increased role of profit in  home care, in the provision of cancer care, and in the building and managing of hospitals.

We demand that the federal government fully assume its responsibilities in respect to health, particularly in restoring and increasing federal funding to secure the integrity and enforcement of the Canada Health Act.  And we demand that the provincial governments use for public health care the transfer payments intended for public health care.

We appeal for public control and public governance in recognition that Public Medicare belongs to Canadians. We appeal for democratic reform that ensures that change at every level is forged by the people who use the system, by those who work in the system, and by those who wish it to succeed in meeting our needs.

We appeal for progressive reform to provide enhanced care and improved access though  multidisciplinary teams of primary care providers. We call for an extension of the principles of the Canada Health Act to build a system that embraces a continuum of care from home care to acute care and from emergency care to palliative care.

We appeal to you to take immediate steps to control the cost of pharmaceuticals and to bring in our long-promised national pharmacare program.

We recognize health care workers as critical to the effective operation of the health care system. Decent and equitable wages, working conditions and training opportunities are central to continuity of care and high  quality service.

We recognize that access to quality, safe and secure housing, education, employment and income, a healthy environment and workplace, and peace, are inextricably related to population health. We believe that it is necessary to preserve health through active measures of health promotion and protection.

We appeal for far-sighted and thoughtful policy to provide access to these things that will promote good health and the development of human potential.

We, join with other Kingstonians in asking Mr. Romanow and politicians at all levels to heed these appeals.  They are the basis of the same vision that created public Medicare in the first place.  They are the path to a stronger, prouder public Medicare...a Medicare that we can all take part in rebuilding together.

We encourage other groups and residents of Kingston to become involved in the campaign to save national public medicare.  This is an integral part in building a strong and healthy Kingston and a strong and healthy Canada.