Poverty kills. That’s the key message in What Makes Us Sick, a report released today by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) based on what Canadians said during a series of town hall meetings and an online consultation held earlier this year. The national dialogue with Canadians asked them about their experiences with the social determinants of health – the factors that cause people to suffer poor health in the first place.
The national dialogue was part of the CMA’s ongoing efforts in advocating for Health Care Transformation, a broad-ranging initiative to modernize and improve Canada’s health care system. The town halls took place in Calgary, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Montreal, Charlottetown and St. John’s. Maclean’s, CPAC and L’actualité were partners with the CMA in the undertaking.
Among the CMA’s recomendations from the report: “That a national food security program be established to ensure equitable access to safe and nutritious food for all Canadians regardless of neighbourhood or income”.
Read the full report here (PDF).