Federal Statement on the Federal, Provincial, Territorial Health Ministers' Meeting

VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 8, 2022 /CNW/ - "Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, and the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, issued the following statement after the Federal, Provincial, Territorial (FPT) Health Ministers' Meeting:

Today, we met in-person with our provincial and territorial counterparts for the first time since 2018 following an unprecedented period of collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic, including 57 FPT Health Ministers' meetings since January 2020. Our collective response efforts have allowed us to save lives, including through Canada's largest vaccination campaign.

When it comes to the priorities discussed at our meeting today, our health system is experiencing significant challenges and it's important that we work together to support better health care for Canadians. They deserve better access to family health services as well as mental health and substance use services. That is why we have provided provinces and territories with record federal investments, including $18.1 billion more in funding through the Canada Health Transfer over the next five years compared to the pre-pandemic growth track.

We have been collaborating with provinces and territories to prepare concrete action plans to advance the use of health data and digital health for Canadians and to support health workers. We are disappointed by the outcome of today's meeting and the statement made by provincial and territorial Premiers.

However, our Government remains ready to work with provincial and territorial governments to further discuss health priorities, actions and results to improve the health services for all Canadians including:

• Reducing backlogs and supporting our health care workers;
• Enhancing access to family health services;
• Improving mental health and substance use services;
• Helping Canadians age with dignity, closer to home; and
• Using health data and digital health more effectively.

Urgent actions are required for our health workers who are the backbone of our health system. We have taken significant steps to address the current health workforce crisis:

• On November 1, 2022 we established a Coalition for Action for Health Workers which will inform immediate and long-term solutions to address significant health workforce challenges, so that all Canadians can access the quality care they need and deserve;
• On September 23, 2022, we introduced measures to facilitate the entry of foreign national physicians as permanent residents through Canada's federal economic immigration programs; and
• On August 23, 2022, we announced a Chief Nursing Officer to provide strategic advice from a nursing perspective to Health Canada on priority policy and program areas.

During our meeting we reiterated our position on the importance of collaboration between and across jurisdictions to strengthen the public health system, continue to apply the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to help address significant issues for public health, including workforce capacity, data analytics, and health equity.

We came in good faith, ready to work with provincial and territorial governments to further advance health priorities and deliver on overall commitments to improve health services for all Canadians. We must work together to support our health workers so that patients across Canada get the care they need, when and where they need it."

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, P.C., M.P.

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, P.C., M.P.

Associated links
Statement by the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos at the Health Ministers' Meeting
Backgrounder - Coalition for Action for Health Workers
Canada's Health Workforce
Budget 2022: Strong Public Health Care
Canada commits $2 billion in additional health care funding to clear backlogs and support hundreds of thousands of additional surgeries

SOURCE Health Canada