Pressing issues this election - Health Care

While the May 2nd election initially looked like it would be even more of a dud than our previous election, thankfully a few important issues are stopping to pop up in the minds of voters, namely Health Care.

It's no secret to anyone who has had to go to a hospital or walk in clinic recently: our health care, as good as it is (largely free, skilled doctors, tons of hospitals), is nevertheless in need of a checkup.

What once used to be a symbol of Canadian pride, having one of the greatest health care systems in the world, has become over time a secret shame of ours. Due to years of neglect, our health care system isn't what it was. While we have tons of hospitals, we don't have nearly enough doctors and medical staff. Private family doctors are becoming harder and harder to find as well, especially here in Montreal. It's sad to say, but most of our doctors have packed up for the other provinces where they are better paid, or even gone down South where opening a practice can be quite lucrative.

Worse yet, while our health care system hasn't directly been having its funding cut, quite a few health related projects have seen the axe since the economic recession began a few years ago. For instance, the Kelowna accord, which would have seen billions injected into improving life on the reserves for First Nations people and others living in remote regions ,was given the boot to save costs on parliament hill back in 2006. As well, food safety regulations that doctors have urged to be enforced, have also been neglected leading to numerous cases of illness and even death from contaminated food over the years.

Health care reform has now become a major topic for this election.: all you need to do is either pick up a paper and head over to the Google news feed and almost everything seems to be about the improvements our system desperately needs.

But what can we do? Our system needs fixing, and we are the ones that have to take action to encourage our leaders to follow suit. When polled, let the analysts know how much your health and the health of those you love matters to you. When meeting political candidates in your area, tell them what they need to do. Regardless of who sits in parliament after the next election, they need to represent us as Canadians and know that we want to put the wellness of our nation first.