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The Canadian Snowbird Association • www.snowbirds.org • 1-800-265-3200
THE WORST
Preservation of health coverage for regular travellers
Federal Government
D
Access to emergency health coverage when travelling
Alberta, Québec,
New Brunswick
D-
Access to prescription drugs for use during travel
British Columbia
F
Access to voting rights for travellers
Ontario
F
Availability of government information
Nunavut
D-
IMPROVEMENT
Since our last report, several governments have improved their policies for frequent travellers.
The federal government, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Québec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island all
improved their overall standings. No province declined.
TRENDS
Compliance with the Canada Health Act:
Perhaps the single most important development since our last report
was the federal government’s efort to ensure that Canadian residents get the same access to emergency health
services while outside Canada as they enjoy in Canada. The federal government publicly reminded provinces and
territories that they must reimburse travellers for emergency services performed outside Canada at the same rate
that they would pay if similar services were rendered in the province or territory. Given that several provinces still do
not live up to this responsibility, we call on the federal government to begin enforcing this obligation and standing
up for the rights of Canadian travellers.
Improved voting rights:
The federal government, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and PEI all adopted
fxed election dates. This trend let Canadians plan their travel and still exercise their democratic rights as citizens. Re-
grettably, Ontario remains the only place in North America that does not provide for special balloting by residents
who are absent on election day. All governments should provide on-line access to all rules and forms required for
absentee balloting and make it easy to submit completed forms electronically.
Inadequate coverage for prescription drug supplies:
New Brunswick made it easier for travellers to get extend-
ed supplies of prescription drugs before departing the province. Most governments still need to ensure travellers
get the same period of coverage from their prescription drug plans as from their other health plans.
Availability of government information:
Some governments improved the quality and accessibility of their on-
line information for travellers, but many health- and drug-plan websites still need to consolidate information for
travellers in one, easy-to-fnd location. Several elections websites need updated information on absentee balloting.