Question Period Note: Comperhensive Ecpenditure Review

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KEY MESSAGES
• Health Canada took a careful, strategic approach through CER to reflect a careful balance between budgetary discipline and the protection of essential departmental activities.
• Our objective is to minimize involuntary departures and to support employees with care, fairness, and respect throughout this process.
• As always, Health Canada’s work will be guided by science and evidence to uphold its core mandate of protecting the health and safety of Canadians.
• Health Canada remains committed to transparency, proactive engagement and collaboration, ensuring employees, partners, stakeholders and Canadians are informed and supported throughout the implementation of these changes.
IF PRESSED …
Q1 : If pressed on the Comprehensive Expenditure Review impacts on Health Canada programs and the health and safety of Canadians
R1 :
• Health Canada approached this exercise with careful consideration, ensuring that proposals did not impact the Department’s ability to deliver on its core mandate to protect the health and safety of Canadians, including through its critical role as a regulator.
Q2 : If pressed on the number of job cuts and what type of roles
R2:
• A number of Health Canada employees are impacted by workforce adjustment (WFA). We expect that this WFA process will result in the reduction of approximately 1056 positions. Health Canada had already taken steps to manage expenditures, including staffing control measures and implementing a “stop the clock” provision for term employees.
• We hope to achieve a portion of these reductions through the Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) and the Voluntary Departure Program (VPD) and Alternation.
• Health Canada’s goal is to move forward with a renewed focus on delivering sustainable and future-ready transformation as a modern regulator, while upholding our core mandate and protecting the health and safety of Canadians. Throughout this process, the Department remains committed to preserving a diverse and representative workforce underpinned by scientific excellence and integrity.  
Q3 : If pressed on whether Canada will fall behind peer regulators due to these cuts
R3:
• Health Canada will maintain its core scientific assessment capacity and its commitment to regulatory integrity. The activities selected for reduction consistently show low demand, overlap with other jurisdictions or sectors, or limited contribution to health protection relative to their cost. These changes were designed to minimize any impact on health and safety. They will also recalibrate oversight within lower-risk areas in line with the principles of the Red Tape Review.
• Changes will result in a more efficient, responsive regulatory system that better aligns with those of international regulatory partners.
• Importantly, feedback from regulated parties has informed many of the changes, reflecting calls for more predictable, proportionate, and streamlined regulatory processes. Health Canada remains committed to transparency, safety, and collaboration, and will continue engaging stakeholders throughout implementation.
Q4 : If pressed on whether reductions have an impact on established transfer payments
R4:
• There are no planned reductions to existing PT health transfer agreements as part of the Comprehensive Expenditure Review savings.
Q5 : If pressed on whether the cuts will have an impact on flagship services to Canadians, specifically the Canadian Dental Care Program (CDCP)
R5:
• The Government of Canada remains focused on empowering Canadians—by lowering costs, expanding opportunity, and protecting the vital social programs Canadians rely on, from childcare to dental care to pharmacare.
• Last May, the new government expanded the CDCP to include millions of new eligible Canadians. The CDCP is transforming the lives of nearly six million Canadians who are now covered under the plan and over 3.5 million are already receiving the care they need.
• In 2026, Health Canada’s focus will be to support CDCP plan members in accessing their benefits and to support community partners and oral health schools in delivering the many Oral Health Access Fund projects that are already underway or about to get underway this year.

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KEY STATS
• As part of the Comprehensive Expenditure Review (CER), Budget 2025 identified $210.7 million in savings by 2029-30 for Health Canada.
• To achieve these savings while ensuring that Canadians continue to benefit from essential health and safety activities, Health Canada is modernizing and streamlining its programs and operations, focusing resources on its core mandate and high-impact activities.
• The Department has invoked workforce adjustment (WFA), which will result in the reduction of the indeterminate workforce. These changes are being carried out in alignment with established WFA provisions and with a focus on supporting impacted employees.