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Health Reform Now

Canada’s health care system is in crisis.

Too many patients are waiting long periods to find a family doctor, meet with a doctor in an emergency room, receive surgery and everything in between.

We need health reform now.

SecondStreet.org is working to:

  • Bring to light patients’ stories to demonstrate the problem through short videos
  • Pair those stories with original research on what’s working and what isn’t
  • Present solutions to the public and elected officials

This page includes our most important videos on health care, links to our research and other health care-related content.

Documentary: Health Reform Now

This documentary provides Canadians with background information on the problems in our system, patient stories and five policy solutions that could improve results. (To view a PDF with links to sources for the video – click here)

Top Health Care Videos:

SecondStreet.org travels to Ireland to show how the European Union’s “cross border directive” policy works and could help Canadian patients.

This short clip also takes a look at how Canada could reduce wait times if we copied the EU’s cross border directive policy.

A partnership between a B.C. company called Rebalance MD and the local health region have greatly reduced wait times.

A fun clip that shows how Canadians can spend all they want on activities that are harmful for their health, but not on activities that improve their health.

A short explainer video that looks at Canada’s strange rules around private health care.

If Canada copied a policy known as activity-based funding, we could reduce wait times.

Research:

SecondStreet.org regularly releases policy briefs each year which summarizes unique research findings about a particular aspect of the health care system:

* Died on a Waiting List (2024 edition) – This brief examines the sad reality that thousands of patients die each year on government health care waiting lists.

* EU Cross Border Directive – These policy briefs examine a policy from the European Union that allows patients to be reimbursed for surgical costs in other EU countries.

* Public opinion research – The last three polls SecondStreet.org has commissioned on health reform can be found here: October 2024, March 2024 and October 2023.

* Canadians working in the U.S. system – Nearly two thousand nurses wake up each day in Ontario and cross the border to work in Michigan (click here). Other states have also issued thousands of licenses to Canadian health workers (click here and here)

* Incentives could improve patient health – Canada’s health system requires significant reform, but incentives could reduce demand in the first place.

* Governments in the dark on patient suffering – This brief looks into government analysis on patient suffering while on waiting lists

Other:

* Health reform events – In September 2024, SecondStreet.org partnered with the Montreal Economic Institute and Canadian Constitution Foundation to put on Prescriptions for Health Reform, a one-day forum to discuss everything from public opinion research on health reform and lessons from Sweden and Australia to a discussion with former B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell.

You can see videos from the 2024 event if you – click here

Interested in our 2025 event in Montreal? Please see our events page – click here 

* Media coverage – SecondStreet.org staff are regularly interviewed by journalists, podcast hosts and others to discuss health reform. You can find some of our media interviews, and columns that we’ve written, in our In the News section – click here.

* On Second Street – SecondStreet.org has its own cable TV show – On Second Street. This show features discussions each week on important public policy matters. You can find On Second Street on The News Forum channel.

To see their channel guide – click here
To see past episodes of On Second Streetclick here

The content on this page represents just a small sample of SecondStreet.org’s work on health reform. If you would like to see additional content, please see this link – click here.