Question Period Notes
About this information
In accordance with the Access to Information Act, the government proactively publishes the package of question period notes that were prepared by a government institution for the minister and that were in use on the last sitting day in June and December.
The question period notes may be partially or fully redacted in accordance with the legislation; for example, if the notes contain information related to national security or personal information. (Learn more about exemptions and exclusions.)
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• Budget 2022 provides funding to Health Canada to provide dental care for some Canadians.
• What the government is doing to protect healthcare workers against harassment, particularly in light of the pandemic?
• Home care services help people receive needed care at home, rather than in a hospital or long-term care facility, and to live as independently as possible in the community. Home care usually includes professional services at no cost to the client (e.g., physiotherapy, nursing, and occupational therapy) and home support/personal care (e.g., personal hygiene, dressing, feeding, and toileting), which is income-tested in most PTs.
• There is evidence that COVID-19 had a negative impact on access to home care services during the pandemic, including both professional services and home support/personal care. This situation increased social isolation of seniors and led to a higher burden for family caregivers.
• Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has been working collaboratively with provinces and territories to protect vulnerable Canadians in long-term care. The federal government has responded in a number of ways, including through key investments made to support residents and staff.
• Recent media stories allege that MAID applicants are being forced to choose MAID in the absence of adequate housing and other supports. Opposition MPs also claim that there are numerous cases of non-compliance with MAID requirements.
• One member of the Special Joint Committee conducting the statutory review of MAID has proposed that Special Joint Committee study the alleged non-compliance concerns.
• Tabling of the report of the Expert Panel on MAID and Mental Illness may trigger more claims that Canada’s MAID framework puts vulnerable people at risk.
• Federal Action to improve access to palliative care in Canada
• The Government of Canada recognizes the potential for Canada to leverage digital health tools and data to improve health care and outcomes for Canadians.
• While there are some pockets of success across the country, the pandemic reinforced our country’s long-standing challenges in being able to access and share timely data across the health system, due in part to lack of consistent standards and approaches for sharing data.
• Building on what we learned during the pandemic, the Government is committed to collaborating with provincial and territorial governments to build the foundations needed to better use, access and share health data.
• The government continues to work collaboratively with provinces and territories (PTs) to strengthen Medicare and provide funding through transfers and bilateral agreements to improve health care. In addition to the Canada Health Transfer, the Government provided over $19 billion to provinces and territories last fiscal year to help them manage the pandemic, and directly invested another $19 billion in health to support the fight against COVID, including public health support and the purchase of vaccines and tests. This is in addition to targeted funding provided to the PTs to support specific health care priorities, such as home care, mental health, substance use, long term care and virtual care.
• As part of its new mandate, the government has committed to providing PTs with additional pandemic support including for immunization and therapeutics, as well as support for primary care, virtual care, long-term care, palliative care, mental health, and problematic substance use.
• The ongoing management of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to impacts on the health care system, such as the cancellation of elective surgeries. There are also concerns about the health care system’s capacity to cope with the current wave of the virus.
• The Government of Canada recognizes that primary care plays a critical role in the delivery of health care services for Canadians and is the backbone to high-performing health care systems.
• The Government of Canada is committed to improving access to high-quality primary care and continues to work with provinces and territories in this regard.