Canadian Election 44 Update: August 16, 2021
By: Michael Kydd
Tags: Michael Kydd, Drug Policy Reform, Psychedelics, Canadian Elections, Healthcare

Photo Credit: CTV News

Welcome to #Election44. With campaigns kicking into gear, babies getting elbow bumps instead of kisses, leaders of Canada’s six political parties will be delivering their messages to Canadians until September 20 when the polls close and Canada’s next government has been decided.

Over the next five weeks, I will be providing in-depth, non-partisan coverage of how I see the election unfolding and each party’s response to issues related to drug policy and psychedelics.

First, let’s get a better sense of where each party stands in the polls.

338.com is a popular aggregate site based on a statistical model of electoral projections based on opinion polls, electoral history of Canadian provinces and demographic data. They currently have the Liberal Party of Canada (35.4%) leading the Conservative Party of Canada (29.7%) and NDP (19.8%).

A Focus on Healthcare: Campaign Platforms

Liberal Party of Canada Campaign Platform

2021 Liberal Party of Canada Election Platform

Healthcare

Aid trauma and PTSD programs for populations at highest risk of COVID-19 trauma with $50 million over two years. (source)

Provide $100 million over three years to Public Health Agency of Canada for mental health projects aimed at helping populations most impacted by COVID-19, including frontline workers and racialized Canadians. (source)

Add $250 million over three years for expanded clinical research through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Clinical Trials Fund. (source)

Implement a Clinical Trials Fund with $250 million over three years to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, as well as $30 million over two years to fund pediatric cancer research. (source)

Support people dealing with problematic substance use by adding $116 million over two years to the Substance Use and Addictions Program. (source)

Provide better palliative and end-of-life care with $29.8 million over six years, and ensure the medical-assistance-in-dying framework is implemented consistently with $13.2 million over five years. (source)

Conservative Party of Canada Campaign Platform

2021 Conservative Party of Canada Election Platform

Treating Mental Health as Health — the Canada Mental Health Action Plan Mental health and addiction were serious problems long before COVID hit. After a year of lockdowns made them worse, these are crises that our government needs to address.

Canadians are suffering and dying. It’s time for real action — and a new approach. Canada’s Conservatives will introduce the Canada Mental Health Action Plan that will:

Propose to the provinces that they partner with us by dedicating a significant portion of the stable, predictable health funding to mental health to ensure that an additional million Canadians can receive mental health treatment every year

Encourage employers to add mental health coverage to their employee benefit plans by offering a tax credit for 25% of the cost of additional mental health coverage for the first three years.

Create a pilot program to provide $150 million over three years in grants to non-profits and charities delivering mental health and wellness programming.

Supporting Canadians Suffering from Addiction Canada’s Conservatives will treat the opioid epidemic as the health issue that it is. We believe that law enforcement should focus on dealers and traffickers. The last thing that those suffering from addiction should have to worry about is being arrested. Any interaction the government has with them should focus on keeping them safe and helping them recover. To help more Canadians recover from addiction, Canada’s Conservatives will revise the federal government’s substance abuse policy framework to make recovery its overarching goal.

We will reorient the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy towards ensuring that everyone suffering from addiction has the opportunity to recover and to lead a drug-free life and that all policies that fall under the Strategy have the reduction of harm and promotion of recovery as their objectives.

Invest $325 million over the next three years to create 1,000 residential drug treatment beds and build 50 recovery community centres across the country. This will give spaces to those who suffer from addiction, their families, and those who have recovered where they can get the help they need and support each other.

Support innovative approaches to address the crises of mental health challenges and addiction, such as land-based treatment programs developed and managed by Indigenous communities as part of a plan to enhance the delivery of culturally appropriate addictions treatment and prevention services in First Nations communities with high needs.

Supporting Canadians Who Are Suffering: When it comes to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), Conservatives will:

Reinstate the ten-day waiting period to make sure somebody does not make this decision at their lowest point.

Restore the requirement for two fully independent witnesses to ensure that a vulnerable person is not being forced or coerced.

Require that any discussion of MAID only occur if raised by the patient and prevent healthcare workers from suggesting it to someone who is not seeking it. Canadians living with disabilities report regularly being in situations where MAID is suggested to or pushed on them and report how this undermines their sense of security in healthcare environments.

Repealing the Bill C-7 provision allowing MAID for those with mental health challenges.

Require any patient receiving MAID to be informed/reminded immediately before receiving it and given the opportunity to withdraw consent.

Protect the right of patients to choose to receive care in a MAID-free environment.

Require healthcare practitioners approving MAID requests (MAID accessors) to examine and consult directly with the patient before approving the request (with allowances made for virtually-enabled examination where required).

Require MAID assessors to complete MAID assessor training to ensure full awareness of and compliance with laws and best practices around MAID.

We will also invest in palliative care: To help Canada become a place where all Canadians who suffer are offered relief, we will double the direct federal investments in palliative care. The Canadian Hospice and Palliative Care Association has estimated that under 30 percent of Canadians who need it have access to palliative care services.

NDP Campaign Platform

2021 NDP Election Platform

Establish prescription drug coverage for every Canadian citizen and permanent resident starting in 2022, using $10 billion in federal funds and working with the provinces. (source)

Work with provinces to develop public infrastructure for secure, accessible virtual health care. (source)

Identify impending gaps and make a plan to recruit and train the medical professionals who will be needed. ( source )

Regulate natural health products with stand-alone legislation. ( source )

Develop national standards for home care and long-term care, regulated by the same principles as the Canada Health Act, with funding tied to meeting standards, and a basket of core home care services that would be covered by provincial insurance plans. (source)

Establish mental health care for uninsured Canadians. ( source )

Declare a public health emergency on the opioid crisis. ( source )

Work with provinces and healthcare professionals to create a safe supply of medically regulated alternatives to street drugs, support overdose prevention sites and expand access to treatment on demand. ( source )

Launch an investigation into the role of drug companies in the crisis and seek financial compensation for the public costs. ( source )

Strengthen the Accessibility Act to cover all federal agencies equally, with the power to make and enforce accessibility standards quickly. (source)

Green Party of Canada Campaign Platform

Green Party of Canada

Create a national safe supply as a harm reduction tool to prevent illicit drug overdoses. (source)

Develop a national mental health strategy. (source)

Create a universal pharmacare program. (source)

For a look at the Bloc Quebecois’s policies, click here. See the People’s Party of Canada platform here.