Canada’s health care system is the cornerstone of our society and defines who we are: a caring, sharing, and compassionate people. With our new Health Action Plan, Canada's leaders have made a historic step forward to renew our health care system for the 21^st century. The federal government is doing its part by investing $21 billion over five years through the Canada Health and Social Transfer - the transfer through which the federal government provides funding for health care, post-secondary education and other social services.

In addition to this new investment, the Health Action Plan will help build a healthier Canada with a further $2.3 billion through three funds. One will provide $1 billion for high quality medical equipment; another will provide $800 million over four years for primary health care services to increase access to doctors and nurses, and a third will invest
$500 million for the innovative use of information and communications technologies.

Primary Health Care

Primary health care describes the first level of contact we have with the health system. For example, the health care providers who check our blood pressure or vaccinate our children provide us with primary health care service. A strong primary health care system is key to keeping us well, diagnosing us when we are ill and treating or arranging for specialized care if necessary.

Primary health care is key to the new Health Action Plan. The Government of Canada, with an investment of $800 million over four years, is committed to working with the provinces to ensure that Canadians receive the right services by the right health care provider at the right time, therefore reducing the pressure on emergency rooms across the country. It means better access to such professionals as doctors, nurses, nutritionists, physiotherapists and social workers. Under the new plan, governments agree to work together to establish interdisciplinary teams of health care providers to provide 24 hour access to health services.

A health care system for the 21st century depends on state-of-the-art equipment. Our new Health Action Plan will shorten the wait for diagnostic and treatment services by providing the provinces with funding for modern equipment, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines through a Medical Equipment Fund. In addition to high-tech equipment, federal funding of $1 billion will allow hospitals to make other infrastructure improvements, from bedside monitors to assisted lifting devices.

Provinces and territories, in collaboration with those providing the care - health care managers, hospital associations and health professionals - will be able to use federal funds for these capital expenditures according to the priorities of the people they serve.

Medical Equipment Fund (Equal per Capita)

September 2000 CHST Cash Investment
(Equal per Capita)
($ millions)

Key to the Health Action Plan is the establishment of an arms length process to develop and ensure the use of common reporting mechanisms. With an investment of $500 million the Government of Canada will also encourage the innovative use of information and communications technologies to create secure electronic patient health records so that patients will only have to tell their health care history once. Nurses, general practitioners and specialists will be able to access this information and make decisions based on the same information. Stringent security measures will be put in place to ensure that our health information remains private with access available only to those caring for us.

In addition to providing health professionals with better information for decision-making, electronic patient health records will also reduce waste and improve efficiency. Hospitals and independent providers will no longer have to build their own information systems and will be able to devote more of their time and resources to other priorities.

Part of the Health Action Plan is a commitment by Canada’s First Ministers to report back to their constituents about how governments are doing to meet their health care goals and commitments. This will help Canadians understand how their publicly-funded health care services are being delivered and will help individuals make informed decisions about their own health. Better reporting allows health care practitioners to share the best practices. Further, governments will be able to use this information to plan health care services that best meet the needs of their citizens.

The new Health Action Plan signals a resolve among Canada’s leaders to work together and renew this most precious of national programs. As the Minister of Health has stated, “together, we are committed to providing citizens with the best quality health care services. Canadians expect - and deserve - no less”.