Question Period Notes
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Diabetes is a serious chronic disease, and one of the most common chronic diseases affecting people in Canada. Diabetes poses many challenges for those living with the disease, their families, and communities, and has various implications for health systems. It is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation.
Digital systems across the country are highly fragmented leading to poor ability to collect, share and use health data. At present, only one third of Canadians can access some of their health data online. Clinicians cannot easily access or share health information because systems do not always connect. Data gaps can affect the quality and safety of care, add unnecessary or duplicative tests, and result in longer wait times and hospital stays.
Rare diseases are often chronic, can be seriously debilitating and potentially life-threatening. With few or no treatment options, available treatments can be high-cost, which poses significant challenges to patients, caregivers, and the health care system, including the sustainability of public and private drug plans that pay for these drugs.
On October 24, 2023, Health Canada released the Fourth Annual Report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada (2022) containing data that provide insights into written requests for MAID and the delivery of MAID in Canada during 2022.
In 2022, the number of cases of MAID grew by 31.2% over 2021. MAID accounts for 4.1% of all deaths in Canada in 2022. All provinces except Manitoba and the Yukon continued to experience a steady year-over-year growth in 2022.
The release of the Fourth Annual Report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada may increase attention to MAID and the safety concerns raised by certain groups regarding MAID implementation, and the lifting of the exclusion of MAID for people whose sole medical condition is a mental disorder (MD-SUMC) on March 17, 2024.
On February 2, 2023, the Government of Canada introduced legislation, former Bill C-39, to extend the exclusion of eligibility for MAID where a person's sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness for an additional year, until March 17, 2024. Bill C-39 received Royal Assent on March 9, 2023.
The Government of Canada is investing close to $200 billion to support provinces and territories (PTs) to strengthen Canada’s universal public health care system, which includes $25 billion over 10 years through the bilateral agreements with jurisdictions.
Bilateral agreements are being negotiated with PTs who are developing 3-year action plans that explain how federal funds will be allocated to support shared health priorities.
o The first of these agreements was announced on October 10, 2023 with the Government of British Columbia, providing the province access to over $1.2 billion over the next three years.
Through these agreements and action plans, PTs will report annually to residents on the targets and timelines they have set to achieve results in their health care systems.
Canada’s health workforce continues to face challenging workplace conditions. High patient workloads, lack of resources, mandatory overtime and fear for personal safety have led to high levels of burnout, absences, and turnover.
In October 2016, Health Canada launched the multi-year Healthy Eating Strategy, which consists of a suite of initiatives that aim to improve the food environment and help make the healthier choice the easier choice for all Canadians. Recognizing that a healthy population is key to reducing vulnerability to health events, the 2021 Minister of Health mandate letter included a commitment to promote healthy eating by advancing the Healthy Eating Strategy. This included finalizing front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labelling and supporting restrictions on the commercial marketing of foods to children.
Canadians want to age at home and receive supports from their community, in the setting of their choice. This is especially true when they have a serious illness or are approaching the end of life. Increased access to high-quality home and palliative care services is necessary in order to help people receive the care they need in the setting of their choice, to allow them to live as independently as possible. Federal actions are working to improve access to home care and palliative care in Canada.
The pandemic disproportionately affected Canadians living in long-term care homes. Canadians are concerned about the availability of safe, high-quality long-term care services.
Former Bill C-7, which received Royal Assent on March 17, 2021, included a sunset clause excluding persons with a mental illness as a sole underlying medical condition from seeking MAID until March 17, 2023.
On February 2, 2023, the Government of Canada introduced legislation, Bill C-39, to extend – by a year – the exclusion of eligibility for MAID where a person's sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness, until March 17, 2024. Bill C-39 received Royal Assent on March 9, 2023. This has allowed time for the dissemination of key resources by clinicians, including the release of a Model Practice Standard for regulating bodies in provinces and territories, an accompanying Advice to the Profession guidance document, and a national accredited MAID curriculum for clinicians.
Despite the work done to support health system preparedness, views by health care stakeholders and the public remain divisive about expanding MAID eligibility in March 2024 for persons whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness.
On October 18, 2023, Bill C-314 was voted down in the House of Commons. The bill proposed permanent exclusion of MAID for persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness.