What is the Canada Health Act? By Allison Lawlor Globe and Mail Update Passed by Parliament in 1984, the Canada Health Act is the country's health-insurance legislation.

It was introduced primarily to address concerns about direct fees, which doctors and hospitals were charging to patients in the 1970s and early 1980s.

The act states "continued access to quality health care without financial or other barriers will be critical to maintaining and improving the health and well-being of Canadians."

In order to ensure that access, the act sets the criteria and conditions that the provinces and territories must meet in order to receive federal funding for health care. The act says that the provinces, through their health-insurance plans must provide equal health-care coverage to all residents, without direct charges.