Thank you, Mr. Chairman and honourable members. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before your committee to speak on behalf of the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada.
My name is Michael Jong, and I am a rural family physician in Goose Bay, Labrador. I am the president of the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada. I'm joined here today by Dr. James Rourke, who was a rural doctor in Goderich, Ontario, for 25 years and is now the dean of a medical school here in Newfoundland.
I consider it a privilege to be here today to speak to you all about the problem of rural health access and the solutions we are proposing to ensure that our rural citizens are healthy, for their own benefit and for the benefit of their employers and the economy of this country. We cannot ignore the links between health care and the sustainability of rural communities.
Having access to health care is important in ensuring that people will be willing to live, and companies will be willing to develop industries, in rural communities. Limited health care access is forcing rural Canadians to relocate to urban centres. From sovereignty, self-sufficiency, and economic perspectives, rural depopulation has negative long-term economic consequences for our country.
The primarily rural-based natural resources sector accounts for approximately 40% of our national exports. Canada's rural natural resources provide employment, forest products, minerals, oil, gas, food, tax revenue, and much of our foreign exchange. Rural health and our national economy are closely linked.
Rural health is in need of repair, as evidenced by the higher overall mortality rate and shorter life expectancy amongst rural and, of course, aboriginal residents. Efficiency is not the problem; the cost per capita in dollars spent and health care providers engaged in rural Canada is well below urban standards. The rural health problem is one of access, not wait times.
Dealing with the issue is one of the most complex and challenging aspects of health care policy. Mr. Romanow suggested that we devote $1.5 billion to developing a rural health access strategy. For 10% of this cost, the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada is proposing a comprehensive list of solutions to address these needs: to enhance rural medical student recruitment; to provide specialized rural skills training for students, residents, and practising rural physicians; to bring medical education to a rural setting; to do rural research; and to bring all national rural health planners together to identify a collaborative strategy to improve rural health and health care. These solutions are outlined in the package you have in front of you.
I believe that we health care professionals, legislators, and policy-makers all have a responsibility to ensure that all Canadians, whether rural or urban, have reasonable and equitable access to health care. A two-tier health system, the lower for rural Canadians and the higher offering better access for urban Canadians, is not acceptable in Canada. I believe that with your help we can implement the proposed solutions and that we do have a moral obligation to do so.
Thank you very much for your attention. I know you're in big rush, but Dr. Rourke and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.