Canada's best-known medical journal has torn a strip off the Conservative government's approach to health care.

In an editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Dr. Matthew Stanbrook pointed out that Ottawa "has walked away from collaborating with the provinces through the Council of the Federation".

In addition, he noted that the federal government has "dithered on health measures of glaringly obvious benefit". Those include tobacco control and the elimination of asbestos.

He also highlighted the federal government's ignoring and disbanding expert advisory panels on health, weakening the authority of the public health agency, muzzling scientists, and eliminating the mandatory long-form census, which he described as "the best source of information on regional disparities relevant to health".

Stanbrook suggested that this really adds up to the federal government "trying to get out of the health care business".

"CMAJ calls on all Canadians to make sure that health care is a key issue in the upcoming federal election," Stanbrook wrote.

The editorial also cited the lack of universal drug insurance, claiming that this "places at risk the lives and health of far too many Canadians who cannot afford the increasingly expensive medications they need".

"Evidence published in CMAJ shows that national pharmacare could be implemented with little to no added cost and substantial benefit," Stanbrook wrote. "The now defunct health accord pledged to address this gap, yet the federal government did nothing."

In addition, he highlighted "substantial cuts" to federal health-research funding.

"Of great concern is the change in the federal philosophy behind funding—areas that are more aligned with business interests are increasingly favoured."