Have your say on key issues of concern for people with arthritis in your community and across the country. The most important part of our advocacy is YOU. Help us speak up and be heard!

Take Action on Current Advocacy Campaigns

Surgical Wait Times: Help End The Wait! Use your voice to stop the pain of arthritis

Thousands of people in Canada are living in agonizing and debilitating pain due to arthritis, waiting longer than they should for life-changing joint replacement surgery. Governments must work together to change this. Ask your elected officials to take action today. It’s time to stop the pain.

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Our Solutions: 

Our report, The Wait: Addressing Canada’s Critical Backlog of Hip and Knee Replacement Surgeries, developed with input from experts across the country, has solutions to address this urgent health challenge:

  1. Ensure innovative models of care are replicated and shared widely so more Canadians have access to their benefits.
  2. Standardize how patient data is collected and reported on across the country, to make it easier to set national standards and benchmarks.
  3. Leverage digital technology to reduce wait times, maximize limited health resources and improve co-ordination of care.
  4. Increase access to community-based joint health management programs, so more patients have access to proven programs that effectively manage pain pre-op and better optimize results post-op.
  5. Ensure savings from surgical efficiencies are re-invested into improving patient care.

Learn about our Policy Priorities

The State of Arthritis in Canada Report Card is a first-of-its-kind report evaluating provinces and territories on access to arthritis care, wellness, and commitment to research and innovation.

The report distributed low and failing grades across the nation, underscoring the need for action and innovation in the field of arthritis care. We need to invest in research, adopt new models of care, raise awareness and improve data collection to better understand the burden of arthritis and inform actions to improve health outcomes. This report is an impetus to develop a concrete, solution-oriented national plan to address gaps in arthritis care and research.

 State-of-Arthritis-in-Canada-Report-Card

Read the full report

Provinces and territories were graded on: Access to Care & Treatment, Wellness, Research & Innovation

ArthritisReportCardMap

Grading legend

A: Excellent
B: Good
C: Satisfactory
D: Improvement Needed
F: Significant Improvement Needed

Key Findings

• Arthritis data is insufficient
• Arthritis research is underfunded
• Access to arthritis care is a challenge

Get Involved

Have your say on key issues of concern for the arthritis community. Take action, learn more about our positions and become an advocacy volunteer.

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Arthritis is the leading cause of joint replacement surgeries, including 99 per cent of knee replacements and more than 70 per cent of hip replacements. These surgeries drastically change the quality of life for people living with arthritis, giving them back their mobility and allowing them to return to work and normal activities without constant and devastating pain. Delays in these surgeries lead to more pain, further deterioration of joints, additional surgeries, and increased costs to the health system and economy.

With input from a pan-Canadian group of leading clinicians, advocates and health system leaders, Arthritis Society Canada released a report in 2021, The Wait: Addressing Canada’s Critical Backlog of Hip and Knee Replacement Surgeries. The report provides concrete, innovative solutions to deliver more efficient and person-centred care for joint replacement surgeries and improve the health care system.

While governments have taken some action to address surgical wait times through dedicated funding, task forces, and adoption of some of our solutions, too many people are still waiting too long in pain. According to the most recent data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) wait times for hip and knee replacements are longer than before the pandemic.

A robust pan-Canadian wait times strategy is urgently needed. This strategy must include setting and tracking targets, optimizing resources, implementing innovative models of care, preventing the progression of arthritis through early intervention and improving access to care. Government collaboration with healthcare providers, patient groups and other health system stakeholders is also essential to identify obstacles and the most effective measures to address them.

Through meetings with government officials and health system leaders and our ongoing advocacy campaign, Arthritis Society Canada continues to call on governments to take bold and immediate action to solve this crisis and improve the lives of those living with arthritis.

For further information, please see our position statement on wait times.

Arthritis Society Canada believes it is essential that people living with arthritis have access to appropriate treatment and care. As there is no cure, medications play a vital role in helping many people living with arthritis manage their condition. The right treatment plan can significantly improve quality of life and allow people living with arthritis to lead near normal lives. However, finding the right treatment is often a matter of trial and error. What works for one person may not for another. It is critical there be a broad range of treatment options.

The Conference Board Report “Accessing Necessary Arthritis Medications, A Pan-Canadian Analysis” highlights the challenges and obstacles Canadians living with arthritis face in accessing their medically necessary medications.

As governments look for more cost-effective treatment options, Arthritis Society Canada believes biosimilars [418 kB] have a role to play in the care and management of inflammatory arthritis. Biosimilars provide additional choices for those living with inflammatory arthritis and have the potential to lower health care costs and increase access to treatment.

Arthritis Society Canada supports the call for a national pharmacare plan and calls on all levels of government, insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, employers and other relevant stakeholders to collaboratively work together to ensure people living with arthritis have equitable, affordable and timely access to medically necessary treatment wherever they live in Canada. It is vital that any effort to move forward on national pharmacare must be informed and advised by strong patient participation focused on addressing urgent patient needs.

If you would like more information or have questions please contact our advocacy team at [email protected].

If you are interested in being an advocacy volunteer please sign up.

In addition to funding scientific research to better understand the use of cannabis for medical purposes, the Arthritis Society is a leading voice in Canada advocating for medical cannabis to be treated the same as other treatments and call on the government to eliminate the tax and expand access to allow pharmacy distribution.

Read our position statement on medical cannabis.

If you would like more information or have questions please contact our advocacy team at [email protected].

If you are interested in being an advocacy volunteer please sign up.

We regularly provide submissions and input to federal and provincial governments, including pre-budget and public policy consultations. Recent submissions include:

Provincial pre-Budget Submissions: