Reform NIHB program

AI summary

Petitioners ask the Government to acknowledge the NIHB crisis, co-develop a timely reform plan with First Nations, and enact urgent measures to clear backlogs and restore medical travel and healthcare access.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the House of Commons Healthcare is a Treaty Obligation of the Crown and a human right; The Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program is meant to close the health gap and support the health needs of Indigenous people not covered though other health plans; Across northwestern Ontario, NIHB clients are frequently missing medical appointments because of the lack of travel and accommodation arrangements, and service providers are in precarious financial positions due to the long turnaround times for approvals; These challenges have real impacts on the health outcomes of First Nations people; and The negligent state of NIHB is a continuation of Canada’s ongoing genocide against the first peoples of these lands. We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to: 1. Acknowledge that NIHB is in a state of crisis and is failing to ensure that First Nations people have access to adequate healthcare and medical transportation services; 2. Develop and implement detailed plan to identify and address the issues at NIHB in a timely way, in consultation with First Nations rightsholders; and 3. Implement temporary, urgent measures to alleviate the NIHB backlog and restore reliable healthcare and medical transportation access to NIHB clients until long-term reforms are fully in place. 1. Acknowledge that NIHB is in a state of crisis and is failing to ensure that First Nations people have access to adequate healthcare and medical transportation services; 2. Develop and implement detailed plan to identify and address the issues at NIHB in a timely way, in consultation with First Nations rightsholders; and 3. Implement temporary, urgent measures to alleviate the NIHB backlog and restore reliable healthcare and medical transportation access to NIHB clients until long-term reforms are fully in place.

Government response

No government response is available yet.