Health ministers set to meet in P.E.I. Here’s what’s on the agenda – National | 24CA News
Federal Health Minister Mark Holland is about to sit down down along with his provincial and territorial counterparts in Charlottetown on Wednesday to debate how they’re going to develop the well being workforce.
Holland, who was shuffled into the well being portfolio this summer season throughout what many advocates have referred to as a disaster in well being care, as well being employees battle to maintain the provincial and territorial methods afloat.
Bringing new employees into the trade and retaining those that are already there’s the precedence, Holland mentioned.
“We have to look at our foreign credentials, we have to look at pan-Canadian licensure,” he mentioned at a press convention in British Columbia on Tuesday.
The ministers will even speak about bettering the mixing of well being knowledge from one province to the following, which is a situation of the well being accord the prime minister supplied premiers in February.
The assembly in Prince Edward Island comes a day after British Columbia signed the primary bilateral funding settlement with Ottawa as a part of that accord.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau supplied $196 billion to the provinces and territories over the following 10 years to enhance entry to well being care. That funding contains will increase to the federal well being switch and tailor-made one-on-one agreements to focus on the particular wants in numerous jurisdictions.
In trade, premiers should promise to enhance knowledge sharing and empirically measure their progress to towards set targets and targets.
All provinces and territories have agreed to the well being accord in precept aside from Quebec, which has balked at being accountable to Ottawa for a way cash is spent.
Holland mentioned he’s nonetheless optimistic the federal authorities will be capable to attain a take care of the final holdout province.
“There’s old instincts. We want to protect turf, we want to protect jurisdiction, we want to protect our political interests,” he mentioned.
“We can’t afford it.”
The Canadian Medical Association says the well being disaster that spurred the federal government to supply the brand new well being accords in February has worsened in some components of the nation, although there are pockets of enchancment.
CMA president Dr. Kathleen Ross mentioned her group plans to carry a reception for the ministers to speak about the way to clear up the well being human assets downside.
“There’s a commitment toward working with all of our health-care providers in more of a team-based care model, and that really is going to be the focus of our discussions over the next couple of days in P.E.I.,” she mentioned in an interview on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the federal authorities is engaged on two main applications as a part of the supply-and-confidence take care of the New Democrats that would affect health-care supply within the provinces.
Holland has promised to desk pharmacare laws earlier than the top of the yr that can pave the best way to a nationwide drug plan that can possible be administered by the provinces.
The authorities will even reveal its plans for a dental insurance coverage plan this fall that can ultimately provide protection to low- and middle-income households who aren’t privately insured.
The federal authorities has not mentioned but how that plan will combine with current provincial dental plans for low-income earners.
The well being ministers are anticipated to carry a press convention on the finish of their two days of conferences.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
