Question Period Note: HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IMPACTS

• 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.

KEY MESSAGES

• The Government of Canada has made investments that are helping provincial and territorial health systems respond to the virus.

• The federal government is ready to respond with surge supports to provincial and territorial requests for assistance, e.g., with health human resource support and the facilitation of mobile health services capacity.
IF PRESSED ON HOW MODELLING IS HELPING TO INFORM DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH SYSTEM CAPACITY

• Data plays a key role in planning hospital capacity. We have worked with provinces and territories to track and model potential pressure points related to the availability of hospital beds and medical equipment, which in turn is informing decisions on how to allocate resources.

Governments continue to work collaboratively to model demands on health systems under different modelling scenarios, both at the provincial level and at the national level with support from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

• Provinces and territories continue to take a range of actions to increase system capacity and meet projected needs as the pandemic unfolds. This includes cancelling elective surgeries, physically reconfiguring spaces to fit more beds and create more isolation areas, and transferring patients to other settings.

• Provinces and territories have also increased use of publicly funded virtual care services and online screening assessments. This can help reduce pressure on emergency departments and is also complementing physical distancing measures. Provinces and territories are also running training exercises and simulations, and are hiring or rehiring staff to meet health system needs.

Safe Restart Agreement
On July 16, 2020 the Prime Minister announced a federal investment of more than $19 billion to help provinces and territories safely restart their economies and make the country more resilient to possible future waves of the virus. New federal funding is addressing seven priority areas:
• enhanced capacity for testing, contact tracing, and data management and information sharing to mitigate future outbreaks;
• investments in health care to respond to the pandemic, including support for Canadians experiencing challenges with substance use, mental health, or homelessness;
• support for vulnerable Canadians – including those in long-term care, home care, and palliative care – who are at risk of more severe cases of COVID-19;
• funding to secure a reliable source of personal protective equipment (PPE), and to recover some of the costs from previous investments made by provincial and territorial governments;
• support to ensure that safe and sufficient child care spaces are available to support parents’ gradual return to work;
• joint funding with the provinces and territories to support municipalities on the front lines of restarting the economy, including by putting in place precautions for public spaces and essential services to reduce the spread of the virus, as well as a dedicated stream of funding for public transit; and
• a temporary income support program that will provide workers who do not have paid sick leave with access to 10 days of paid sick leave related to COVID-19.

2020 Fall Economic Statement
The Fall Economic Statement of November 30, 2020 proposed new measures to support Canadians through the pandemic and to continue Canada’s COVID-19 response:
• Ensuring that federal and provincial laboratories continue to receive sufficient testing supplies and supporting the roll-out of new rapid COVID-19 tests and innovative approaches to testing;
• Continuing to procure PPE and provide warehousing and logistics support to deliver critical PPE and medical supplies to provinces, territories and Indigenous communities, as well as maintaining the readiness of the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile;
• Establishing a new Safe Long-term Care Fund that will provide up to $1 billion to help provinces and territories protect people in long-term care (LTC) and support infection prevention and control to protect seniors and the most vulnerable;
• Investing in additional measures to support infection and prevention and control in LTC;
• Reaffirming the Government’s commitment to work with provinces and territories to set new, national standards for LTC to make sure seniors and those in care live in safe and dignified conditions;
• Investing to provide additional mental health and virtual care supports for Canadians;
• Continuing to respond to Canada’s opioid crisis to support community-based organizations responding to substance use issues, including to help them provide frontline services in a COVID-19 context; and
• Supporting the continuing efforts of the Canadian Red Cross to respond to COVID-19 and other emergencies, and for a humanitarian workforce to provide surge capacity in response to COVID-19 outbreaks and other large-scale emergencies.

Budget 2021
• Budget 2021 confirmed the Government’s continued support for provinces and territories, including addressing urgent health care needs, with an additional $5 billion in direct support to provinces and territories for health care and vaccination roll-out.
• The funding includes a one-time payment of $4 billion through the Canada Health Transfer, distributed equally per capita, to help provinces and territories address immediate health care system pressures. This funding could be used for a variety of urgent needs, including clearing the backlog of medical procedures, patient care, and access to primary care put on hold due to the pandemic.
• A one-time payment of $1 billion, distributed equally per capita, is also being provided to the provinces and territories to support and accelerate COVID-19 vaccine roll-out campaigns.

KEY FACTS

• Budget 2021 confirmed an additional $5 billion in direct support to provinces and territories for health care, including $4B to address backlogs, and $1B to support vaccination roll-out.

• This investment supplements Safe Restart Agreement funding in 2020 of $700 million to help ensure health care systems are ready for future waves of the virus, $740 million for vulnerable Canadians – including those in long-term care, home care, and palliative care – who are at risk of more severe cases of COVID-19, and $500 million in support and protection for people experiencing challenges related to mental health, substance use, or homelessness.