SECTION I.

Canadian Public Medicare. I'm so proud to say these words. Those of us who were there at its birth will never forget the struggle it took to create. We knew it wouldn't be easy. But we knew we had to do it. And we did it together.

Canadian Public Medicare -- a national health care system that covers all citizens established on the grounds of compassion, equity, access and fairness. It is truly an incredible achievement.

Public Medicare was born of a belief that our society could be better than it was...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.

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.

My generation has been born into Public Medicare. For us it is our common inheritance-- our birthright.

For those of us who have grown up under its protection, Canadian Public Medicare is a cornerstone of our culture and history, a symbol of our identity, a source of pride.

For new Canadians, Canadian Public Medicare embodies the kind of society we have chosen to join - a society that can embrace social justice and a sense of community.

As caregivers, patients and workers, women's lives have greatly improved under Public Medicare. For us it has meant support in childbirth, respite in caregiving, 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.

We call upon Mr. Romanow and policy makers at all levels 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.

And we believe that Public Medicare needs some careful attention. That 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 provided based on need.

Where this provision has been broken or ignored, we issue a strong appeal that immediate measures be taken to secure its integrity.

We maintain that the most just, the most efficient and the most democratic way to provide Medicare is through a non-profit public service.

We appeal for the removal of the profit motive from health care decisions that so seriously impact our quality of life.

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, those who work in the system, and 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 appeal to politicians of all levels to stop disasterous short term funding decisions, to put public health ahead of greed, and to restore and increase funding for Public Medicare.

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 appeal for respectful treatment of the workers in the health system whose labour is so important to all of us.

We demand protection and access to culturally appropriate health services for the most vulnerable populations including status and non-status aboriginal peoples.

We ask Mr. Romanow and politicians at all levels to heed these appeals. They are born 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.