Thank you for that question.
I want to start by acknowledging the incredible frontline workers who are in a crisis. There are many very well-intentioned people who are trying to do their best with limited resources, and they do need support in a variety of ways to build capacity, but I think we can also be creative in terms of how we build on the strengths of our country. Those strengths may differ from region to region.
I am a person who works out of Toronto, where approximately 50% of the population has a first language that is not English or French, 50% of the population was not born in Canada, 20% of the population lives with disabilities and around 15% are living with lower incomes, but there are community-based strengths that we can build on.
We know the community health care centres. They have a wraparound model that doesn't just focus on family physicians. I've heard time and again from patients who say that their family physician is not their point of care. There are other people within the community whom they go to for knowledge, for resources, for information, so let's build out those community champions. Who are they? There was a very successful community ambassador program linked to COVID-19 vaccination. How can we leverage some of those examples? The health care system is already strained. How do we support it to function better, and how do we build capacity around it and in the community so that it is catering to the localized needs of the populations that are being served?
Invest in community health centres. Look at other models of care such as the community ambassador program. Build community champions so that people have alternative ways to access information and care pathways that come straight from the roots of the community into the health care system.