The committee knows only too well the importance of determining the extent to which the federal government can effectively intervene in the health system to enable progress. Clearly that is the eternal question and controversy, health being under constitutional jurisdiction. The Supreme Court highlighted the problem with its recent reference regarding assisted reproduction, largely striking down the federal act, as you are aware, further to a challenge by Quebec. The case regarding the Insite clinic in Vancouver also comes to mind. In short, under the division of constitutional powers in the health sector, provinces always have the primary responsibility for the organization of health care. That does not, however, negate the important role of the federal government, which needs to be clearly targeted and well understood.
Applying those principles to interprofessional collaboration and keeping in mind that the effective management of this approach is still in its infancy, we believe the federal government has an important and decisive role to play in three respects.
The first involves education and training. Quebec's experience has shown that, despite introducing a law to foster interprofessional collaboration in 2002, the province has made little progress 10 years later. One reason is that the professionals in the field are not familiar with the principles of interprofessional collaboration. A lot has to be done in terms of training and education. The federal government has been involved in training in the past. It would be worthwhile to revisit and resume that involvement in the form of funding support for training through competitions and targeted programs. That support could be provided with the help of universities, when professionals are being trained.
The second aspect concerns research and knowledge transfer. Similarly, the federal government could play a key role through grants and targeted programs aimed at fostering interprofessional collaboration and related research.
The third and final aspect ties in with what my colleague Dale Potter said about information technology. The Canadian government already has a presence with Infoway, but should look at enhancing it further and targeting the use of information technologies more effectively.
Although, on the face of it, the federal government is not directly involved in the health system, we believe it can play a key role.