Health and Mental Health
People have access to health care and mental health care, including dental care and pharmacare; access to harm reduction training and supplies; and support for drug use and addiction.
“People wouldn’t be dying in the streets.” -Winnipeg, MB
“Our trauma is unique. Even when I talk to counsellors, they don’t know how to support me. Because they don’t know what it’s like to come out of colonization. They don’t know that. But our elders do. The government needs to recognise our inner healing and the way we heal and certify that.” -Ottawa, ON
“People are dying. We just lost another friend this week, OD-ed. There’s just so many you can’t even count them anymore. … It makes people desensitized to it. …And that’s dangerous.” -Carcross, YK
“Living in poverty affects your mind, body and spirit.” -Whitehorse, YK
“Here, we don’t enjoy the ability to go to the doctor or an emergency room. We are in constant fear of going to see the doctor because something could happen with immigration. It would be so cool to have access to the hospital without being afraid.” – Vancouver, BC
| Measure | Indicator | Data Source |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone has access to free, timely health care | Proxy: Proportion of the population reporting unmet health care needs; Percentage of population with a regular medical doctor | Canada Quality of Life Framework, Canadian Income Survey (CIS) Table 13-10-0836-01; Canadian Index of Wellbeing |
| Everyone has access to free, culturally relevant, trauma-informed mental health care | Proxy: Proportion of the population reporting unmet mental health care needs | Canada Quality of Life Framework, Canadian Community Health Survey Table 13-10-0619-01 |
| Everyone has access to free dental care | Proxy: Percentage of Canadians who have dental insurance that covers all or part of their expenses | Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey |
| Everyone has access to free pharmacare | Proxy: Proportion of population not filling or renewing a prescription (or missing doses/reducing doses to make the prescription last longer) because of the cost of the medication | Canada Quality of Life Framework, Canadian Community Health Survey and Survey on Access to Health Care and Pharmaceuticals During the Pandemic |
| Everyone is healthy | Proportion of the population by perceived health | Canada Quality of Life Framework, Canadian Social Survey and Canadian Community Health Survey Table 13-10-0096-02 |
| Everyone is mentally healthy | Proportion of the population by perceived mental health status | Canada Quality of Life Framework, Canadian Social Survey and Canadian Community Health Survey, and other surveys, CIF 3.7.1 |
| Freedom from discrimination and inequities in the health care system | Recommendation: Percentage of population who has not experienced discrimination, inequities, or barriers in accessing health care | Gap |
| Freedom from suicide | Rate of death by suicide in Canada; Percentage of people who had thoughts of suicide in their lifetime | Statistics Canada, Canadian Vital Statistics, Death Database; Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey |
| Freedom from overdose and toxic drug deaths | Incidence of opioid and stimulant overdose related harms | Public Health Agency of Canada. Opioid- and Stimulant-related Harms in Canada, CIF 3.12.1 |
| Freedom from addiction | Prevalence of drug use having a harmful effect on various factors of life; Prevalence of harmful alcohol use | Statistics Canada and Health Canada, Canadian Alcohol and Drugs Survey; Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0096-01 Health characteristics, annual estimates, CIF 3.4.1 |
| Everyone has access to support and treatment for addiction and substance use | Proxy: Percentage of Canadians who use substances who have received professional help for substance use | Statistics Canada and Health Canada, Canadian Alcohol and Drugs Survey |
| Everyone has access to harm reduction training and supplies | Recommendation: Percentage of population who have access to all the harm reduction supplies they need and feel confident in harm reduction skills; Proxy: Percentage of Canadians who obtained a Naloxone kit in the past year | Gap; Statistics Canada and Health Canada, Canadian Alcohol and Drugs Survey |
| Everyone has access to a bathroom and shower | Recommendation: Percentage of population with reliable access to bathroom and shower | Gap |
| Having agency and information about your health | Recommendation: Percentage of population who feels in control and informed about their health | Gap |
Recommendation: existing indicator and data source partially fulfill the measure.
Gap: gap for data source where it does not exist.
Magenta: existing indicator in Canadian Indicator Framework