The Council of Canadians will hold a rally Wednesday to protest Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s absence at a national premiers’ meeting on health care.

“It’s a rally to raise awareness,” said organizer Anita Strong. “On the agenda is what’s happening with health care in Canada. “(Harper) has said, ‘Here’s what you get,’ and washed his hands of it.”

The rally is set for noon at Ponderosa Lodge.

In its budget this year the federal government said past increases of six per cent a year transferred from Ottawa to the provinces are no longer sustainable. Instead, increases in health-care transfers will be tied to economic growth.

Strong said the Council of Canadians as well as the B.C. Health Coalition, which will also be on hand at the rally, want the federal government more involved. One example, she said, is the potential federal purchase of pharmaceuticals to keep costs down for those who need medication.

“It would lower prescription costs substantially. We could realize huge savings,” she said.