Once again, Ms. Gladu, we were very pleased, as the government, to be able to support your bill, Bill C-277, and we're very keen to move forward on its implementation and the work that needs to be done in that area.
We certainly recognize that all Canadians want to stay home as long as they can, but to do so, we certainly need to make sure they have the quality care and necessary care they need to live the rest of their days in comfort. Those support services are absolutely critical. We are very pleased, as I've indicated, to support Bill C-277 and to work on the development of a framework that promotes palliative care.
I was also very pleased that we were able to make some announcements this year, and I believe you were with me for the funding announcement of $6 million for Pallium Canada. Those monies were put in place to expand existing services, called the learning essential approaches to palliative care program. That money will go specifically to front-line service providers, like ambulance attendants or EMTs, to provide them with the training they need so that when they go to homes, especially in rural areas where they can provide direct services to people at home, they will be able to provide people with the additional quality services they need so they won't have to go to community centres or hospitals to receive those services. We're certainly moving forward in that direction and making sure that investments are made in that area.
I was also pleased that we've invested $184.6 million over the next five years to improve home palliative care for indigenous communities. We recognize that an awful lot of work needs to be done in that area, and we certainly recognize that those investments will help moving forward.
Finally, we recognize as well that research is key in this area, so we're investing over $2.8 million over the next four years to support two research teams, which I'm sure you're probably well aware of. We certainly want to generate high-quality research and evidence to inform professionals in health care with respect to best policies as we move forward in end-of-life care and the policies that we need to put in place.
Finally, Mr. Chair, with respect to the investments that we've made in home care in budget 2017, $6 billion has been put aside, and I'm in the process right now of completing bilateral agreements with provinces and territories. In the ones that I have seen thus far, palliative care services are absolutely mentioned in those, as well. They may not be a line item in the budget, but we certainly know that provinces and territories, especially with our aging population, and people who want to make sure they expand palliative care services see it as a priority.