• The percentage of low birth weight babies has been increasing, although there are considerable year to year fluctuations.

Canada’s universal health care system aims to ensure that all Canadians are provided equal access to health services without financial barriers. Unfortunately, Canadians continue to face challenges in accessing medical care due to poverty and systemic discrimination. Many Black and Indigenous people in Canada lack trust in the system as a result of historical and contemporary discrimination and trauma.

All Canadians face long wait times for particular health services, but for people living in poverty these long wait times for even the most basic care may prove prohibitive. Combined with medical costs that are not covered by the system and must be paid out-of-pocket or through costly insurance program (such as prescription drugs, dental care, or mental health services), marginalized populations are unlikely to have reliable access to health care services. This is more alarming given that their health concerns are already heightened due to adverse living conditions (e.g., low-income, poor housing conditions, and food insecurity). For expectant mothers, these issues may increase the risk of low birth weight or child mortality; for others experiencing stress and other mental health challenges, these issues impact life expectancy and suicide rates.