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Why are millions of Canadians still without a family doctor? 

What are the real costs of ignoring primary care?

Is Canada ready for bold reform?

What was it like to serve in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet?

Jane Philpott is a physician, academic, and public servant, who served as Canada’s Minister of Health and currently chairs Ontario’s new Primary Care Action Team, tasked with ensuring every Ontarian has access to primary care within the next five years. 

Dr. Philpott has over three decades of experience in family medicine and global health, including a decade working as a physician with an NGO in Niger.

Elected to Parliament in 2015, she resigned from the federal cabinet four years later—over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin Affair, which saw Jody Wilson-Raybould removed from her position as Attorney General.

An estimated 6.5 million Canadians—more than one in five adults—do not have a regular family doctor or nurse practitioner. Nearly 700,000 residents of British Columbia lack primary care, and here on Salt Spring Island, about one-quarter of us do not have a family doctor.

The consequences of a lack of access to primary care include delayed diagnoses, avoidable emergency room use, gaps in chronic disease management, and strains on mental health.

Dr. Philpott’s prescription involves legislative action, team-based care, and more equitable distribution of health resources. She advocates for a “primary care home” model staffed not only by doctors and nurse practitioners but also by nurses, social workers, pharmacists, allied health professionals, with after-hours and weekend access. 

Please join the Salt Spring Forum in a wide-ranging discussion with the truly remarkable Jane Philpott.