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Speech
From Throne
Throne Speech 2001
Health and Quality Care
January 30, 2001
Quality, universal, publicly-funded health care is a
cornerstone of the Canadian quality of life.
The Canadian health care system is a justifiable source of
pride for Canadians - an expression of our values of compassion, sharing and
caring. It is one of our proudest national achievements.
Our publicly financed system is the best. It is a right of
citizenship, not a privilege of wealth. Canadians
expect their governments to stand up for the five principles of the Canada
Health Act and to work together to ensure that our health care
system is modern and sustainable.
As the last election clearly demonstrated, Canadians
simply
will not tolerate the creation of one system of health care for the rich
and one for the rest of us.
Our government has shown unswerving leadership in
defending and strengthening our health care system – in areas of funding,
research, innovation, and giving Canadians better access to health information.
And we have worked constructively - as a partner -
with provinces, territories and other interested parties in meeting the needs
of the future and responding to emerging health care issues - in a
spirit of openness and pragmatism.
A Record of Achievement
Last September, our government reached an agreement with
all the provinces and territories on a Health Action Plan which will preserve
and modernize our publicly funded health care system for the 21st
century.
The Health Action Plan will result in $21.2 billion in
additional federal funds over five years being made available to the
provinces and territories for health care.
Highlights of the Health Action Plan:
- An $18.9 billion increase to the cash component of
the CHST over five years, which the provinces and territories will be
able to use for health care;
- $1 billion fund that the provinces and
territories can use to upgrade hospital and
diagnostic equipment;
- $800 million to fund
projects to provide better access to doctors,
nurses and frontline health care services;
- $500 million to fund better information technology in the health care
system;
- A Joint Action Plan for governments to work
collaboratively in areas like primary and home care, doctor and nurse
supply, pharmaceuticals and others;
- A commitment be
governments to report to Canadians on how
their tax dollars are
being spent in the
health care system; and
to report regularly to
Canadians on how the
system is performing.
We
set aside $550 million for health-related research
and innovation and to launch the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to
investigate disease prevention and treatment, the determinants of health, and
the effectiveness of the health system.
We have funded and promoted information-sharing
networks, such as the Canadian Health Network to provide individual
Canadians, as well as health care professionals, with
the information they need to make the best health decisions.
2001 SFT Commitments
The Government of Canada will:
- Uphold the Canada Health Act,
and work with the provinces and territories to ensure that all
governments continue to fulfil their commitment to the principles of
medicare.
- Strengthen its efforts to encourage physical
fitness and participation in sport, and take further steps to combat
substance abuse, tobacco consumption and promote mental health.
- Advance progress on disease prevention,
in particular by reducing the incidence of preventable diabetes and
tuberculosis, especially among Aboriginal Canadians, who suffer
disproportionately from these diseases.
- Provide a further major increase in funding to the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, to enhance their research into
disease prevention and treatment, the determinants of health, and the
effectiveness of the health system.
- Work with the provinces and territories to create a
citizens’ council on health care quality, which will obtain the public’s
perspective on relevant and meaningful measures of health system performance.
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