Question Period Note: Territorial Health Investment Fund

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• Overview of funding for the Territorial Health Investment Fund.
KEY MESSAGES
• The Territorial Health Investment Fund supports the territories in delivering health care in the North, where each faces high costs to provide necessary care for their residents.
• Territories use funding delivered through the Territorial Health Investment Fund to develop and implement key health system improvement projects in area such as collaborative care, primary care, and health human resources and capacity building.
• Budget 2023 announced $350 million over ten years to renew the Territorial Health Investment Fund, beginning in 2023-24, in recognition of medical travel and the higher cost of delivering health care in the territories.
• This renewal will allow territories to further implement innovative projects within their health systems and ensure Northerners have access to the health care they need.
IF PRESSED ON THE AMOUNT OR DURATION OF THE RENEWED FUNDING…
• The renewal of the Territorial Health Investment Fund that has been announced will provide stable and predictable funding for territories to support necessary costs they incur, including medical travel, and projects that can address the innovative delivery of health care in a northern and remote context.
• The Territorial Health Investment Fund will supplement other Government of Canada funding to territories, including the new health funding package announced on February 7, 2023.
• The February 7th announcement also included a new Indigenous Health Equity Fund, which will provide an additional $2 billion over 10 years to help ensure access to quality and culturally safe health care services, in line with the priorities of Indigenous partners.
• The Government of Canada will continue to work with territories to ensure they are supported as they look to implement key initiatives funded by the Territorial Health Investment Fund.

Territorial Health Investment Fund

The Territorial Health Investment Fund (THIF) recognizes the particular challenges of health care delivery in the North. The objective of the THIF is to support territorial governments’ efforts to innovate and transform their health care systems and ensure Northerners have access to the health care they need. There are two streams of funding under the current THIF:
• the Innovation Funding Stream to support territorial efforts to innovate and transform their health care systems; and
• the Medical Travel Stream to offset medical transportation costs to ensure Northerners have access to the health care they need.

The territories first secured additional funding to address their unique needs during negotiations for the 2004 Federal/Provincial/Territorial Health Accord, when Premiers collectively advocated for funding to recognize the high costs of medical transportation and delivering health care in rural and remote settings. The territories have consistently pushed for a continuation of this funding, citing ongoing challenges in providing care.

Budget 2021 renewed the THIF for two years, with $54M in new funding for 2021-22 and 2022-23. Of that funding, $12.8M were allocated to the Yukon ($6.4M per year, with $2.1M for medical travel and $4.3M for innovation), $14.2M to the Northwest Territories ($7.1M per year, with $5.0M for medical travel and $2.1M for innovation), and $27M to Nunavut ($13.5M per year, with $9.2M for medical travel and $4.3M for innovation).

In 2021-22, key activities included:
• The Northwest Territories undertook work under its Primary Health Care Reform Initiative, including associated demonstration projects, and began the first of two years of work to implement a System Sustainability Plan, with a goal of strengthening health care service delivery in the territory.
• Yukon developed new cultural safety and humility training, continued to work towards the launch of integrated and collaborative health service delivery models, and continued its rollout of the Yukon’s integrated electronic health record system. It also continued to focus on implementing the transformative recommendations set out in Putting People First (the report of the Independent Expert Panel on the comprehensive review of health and social services in the Yukon).
• Nunavut supported work in its priority areas of health human resources and capacity building, including initiatives to support the participation of Nunavut Inuit paraprofessionals within the health workforce. It also continued to focus on its tuberculosis program, and the further implementation of the community oral health program.

On February 7, 2023, the Prime Minister announced significant long-term federal investments of $198.6 billion over 10 years through the Working Together to Improve Health Care for Canadians funding package. Of this, $175 million over five years in grant funding was announced to renew the THIF, in recognition of medical travel and the cost of delivering health care in the territories. On March 28, 2023, Budget 2023 provided a total of $350 million over ten years, beginning in 2023-24 to support a ten-year renewal of the THIF (an incremental $175 million increase to the amount announced February 7, 2023).

Of this funding, $150 million will be allocated to Nunavut, $100 million to the Yukon, and $100 million to the Northwest Territories.

Although territories were seeking a higher amount ($75 million per year over ten years), this investment represents an increase, from $27 million per year previously allocated to the THIF, to $35 million per year starting in 2023-24.

• On February 7, 2023, the federal government announced an investment of almost $200 billion over 10 years to improve health care for Canadians. The funding included $175 million over five years for the Territorial Health Investment Fund (THIF), in recognition of medical travel and the cost of delivering health care in the territories. On March 28, 2023, Budget 2023 provided a total of $350 million over ten years, beginning in 2023-24 to support a ten-year renewal of the THIF (an incremental $175 million to the amount announced February 7, 2023).
• The renewed funding for the THIF will start in 2023-24. Of the $350 million in total funding, $150 million will be allocated to Nunavut, $100 million to the Northwest Territories, and $100 million to the Yukon.
• Funding will be used to strengthen health care systems and improve health outcomes through health care system innovation. It may also be used to offset medical travel costs incurred by each territory.