Evidence of meeting #7 for Health in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was services.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Marcel Saulnier  Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch, Department of Health
Christina Lawand  Senior Researcher, Health System Analysis and Emerging Issues, Canadian Institute for Health Information
Sharon Harper  Acting Director General, Health Care Programs and Policy Directorate, Strategic Policy Branch, Department of Health

4:35 p.m.

Acting Director General, Health Care Programs and Policy Directorate, Strategic Policy Branch, Department of Health

Sharon Harper

Health Canada is working with Indigenous Services Canada to include palliative care as part of their engagement with first nations communities on a continuum of care. There are a number of different distinctions-based groups within this, so we've had to look at how to work with all of them individually.

We've also had extremely informative discussions with representatives of the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association and the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, and these discussions helped shape several of the activities described in the action plan. We also heard from Inuit and Métis groups that we should start by looking at what has already been heard from them, so we've done a literature review on what they've already said around health care and palliative care. We will now move forward with our discussions with national indigenous organizations and representatives of urban indigenous peoples to work on indigenous-led engagement for a framework on palliative care.

Now, I cannot tell you exactly the time frame for that, because this is something that will be worked on with the groups that will be doing the engagement.

4:35 p.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

I want to pick up on a question from my colleagues across the way. I think it was actually Ms. Jansen.

It seems almost counterintuitive. If palliative care services are provided in hospital, they're paid for, but it's more expensive; if palliative care services are provided at home or in a community-based setting, they're not paid for, but it's less expensive. It's as though we set up our structure so that our public system is paying for the most expensive delivery of service.

Has Health Canada given any thought to that? I think the question was, should we be expanding our public payment so that we can actually provide not only better services in the community, but at lower cost?

4:35 p.m.

Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch, Department of Health

Marcel Saulnier

That is central to the idea around the common statement of principles with provinces. Whether it's home and community care or mental health and addiction services, those are both areas that are delivered in the community. They can be delivered in a hospital setting, but much more expensively.

There is a broad consensus around the country to reorient and redirect service delivery, where possible, to the community. Those investments that were made, the $6 billion for home care and the $5 billion for mental health and addictions over 10 years, are very much directed at increasing capacity at the community level to deliver those services.

4:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon

Thank you, Mr. Davies.

Thank you all for being here. You've been a great panel. You're the first panel of this study. How many panels we have is something we are going to discuss in the next hour, but you guys are the first. You've set us on our way. Thank you very much for your time.

With that, we will go in camera. We will resume in a few minutes.

[Proceedings continue in camera]