Key Messages to MPPs and Media

We encourage you to reach out to your local Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and media to talk about these issues. When speaking with your local media outlet, it is important to think through how to share your story in a simple and meaningful way. This means considering what you want the takeaway from the story to be.

The goal of media coverage is to put pressure on the government to take action in delivering public coverage for intermittent catheters. This means telling a story that will illustrate the importance of catheters to you as an individual and linking it to government policy.

Outlined below are some basic key messages to support you. These are guides only, and you should consider how you can use your own story to make these more general points.

Example Messages:

• Going to the bathroom is not a choice.
• People like me need a catheter to pee – for us, catheter use is not a choice.
• If someone needs a wheelchair to get around, that is covered by the government.
• If someone needs to monitor their blood sugar because of diabetes, that is covered.
• But only a small number of people get covered for catheters.
• It is not right that I have to pay to go to the bathroom.
• The government cannot keep ignoring people like me.
• Without government support, we have to spend thousands of dollars out of pocket just to go to the bathroom. Some people simply cannot afford that and have to cut corners.
• When we cut corners with catheters, we end up in hospital with UTIs, with bladder issues, with major health issues.
• It costs more to treat us in hospital than it does to cover catheters in the first place.
• This doesn’t make sense.
• It’s time the government does the right thing and provides public funding.
• We should be able to pee for free.