Health Committee on April 21st, 2026

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

My question is on the digital side, so I'll ask it of Mr. Jones.

How important is strong data sovereignty in Canada's health system, and how do we ensure that patient information remains secure and within Canadian jurisdiction as we modernize digital care?

[David Jones]

Data sovereignty is a foundational aspect of our health data system. We want to assure Canadians that their information is going to be protected and that it's going to be safeguarded, particularly in light of concerns about privacy and cybersecurity.

There's a lot that can be done to enable systems to become more sovereign and protect data. Standards are a foundational aspect of that. By applying standards, you can embed cybersecurity requirements within health systems and enable the protection of data.

Data residency is another requirement. Often, it's contractually obligated for the time being that data remains within servers that reside within Canada. This is one way the sovereignty of Canadian data is protected.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

To follow up, could you explain how improving access to accurate, real-time health data directly supports better clinical decision-making and safer patient care?

[Elizabeth Toller]

There are significant harms when health data is not shared with individuals and providers. Today in Canada, under 13% of Canadians can access their complete health information, and that includes their prescriptions. While many providers are using electronic medical record systems, less than half of them are sharing them electronically, and they cite a lack of interoperability as a major barrier.

When health care providers don't have the full picture in front of them to make good decisions about health care, it can lead to misdiagnosis, the wrong treatments and repeated tests. It's not only an issue of inconvenience and inefficiency for them, because they're spending millions of hours searching for information, but it can also lead to real patient safety risks and, in some rare cases, even death. Especially, it's worse for those with complex conditions or those who live in rural and remote areas or indigenous communities when they have to see multiple specialists across different sectors or even across provinces and territories. This is why we need a better flow of health information through standards and interoperability.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

How does a bill like Bill S-5, the connected care for Canadians act, support greater competition for digital health solutions in Canada and help address any types of data-sharing challenges?

[Elizabeth Toller]

At the heart of what Bill S-5 is about is exactly what I just described. It's about reducing patient safety risks by avoiding the harms from disconnected care, with a goal of enabling patient access to their own records and provider access so that they have the full information they need to deliver high-quality, coordinated and seamless care.

Of course, it has benefits for industry as well. As I noted earlier, they have to work in a very complex innovation environment right now. They have to customize their solutions 13 or 14 different times, according to different jurisdictional requirements. Bill S-5 will help set a level playing field throughout a consistent set of national standards that are internationally harmonized and already required by other jurisdictions around the world, which helps create more predictability for vendors and reduces costs for them over time. Many of the vendors have said they are in strong support of the standards in the legislation.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Thank you.

Madam Chair, how much time do I have?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have one minute and three seconds left.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Ms. Voisin, can you walk the committee through the decision to end the program, including what facts led to that conclusion, where the gaps are and how those gaps can be improved so that the federal government, provinces and territories can work together?

[Jocelyne Voisin]

In terms of steps, to be clear, the decision on the federal side was related to funding, while the decision to move to a standards-based approach was made by the Canada Health Infoway board of directors.

As I noted, we undertook an assessment in 2023. Once we saw, from a federal perspective, that adoption rates were not what we had anticipated—which meant the plan we initially put in place for self-sustainability was not going to be met—we put a study in place. We're happy to provide this to the committee.

Infoway then started a public process—a request for expressions of interest—to see if there was another viable path forward for PrescribeIT. The process was undertaken by Infoway and considered by their board of directors. Eventually, a conclusion was made that none of the proposals brought forward were viable, so the board decided to move to a standards-based approach.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

I now move to Mr. Blanchette-Joncas for two and a half minutes.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Ms. Voisin and Ms. Toller, you said that you agreed to make a transition and to avoid bringing the program to a hasty end. You said that there were still users.

What concrete results has the transition helped to achieve?

[Elizabeth Toller]

The transition isn't complete.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

What have been the concrete results so far?

[Jocelyne Voisin]

Are you talking about the results of the transition?

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Yes.

You continued to invest money in a program that you knew wasn't working. You said that this was to make the transition, to put an end to the program and to close the loop.

What are the results? Why keep investing in a program that wasn't working?

[Elizabeth Toller]

Perhaps the question is more for the Canada Health Infoway representative. However, our agreement is to work directly with service users to ensure that they have everything needed to make the transition.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

What are your performance indicators?

You said that you're still investing money. You give money to the people at Canada Health Infoway and tell them that you aren't monitoring the process, that you trust them, that they must close the file and that it will be over after another $250 million expenditure.

Is that right?

[Jocelyne Voisin]

There's also the development of standards, which we discussed. That's a deliverable.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

How are you measuring the results of the transition? That's my question.

[Elizabeth Toller]

We expect the standard to be established by May 1.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

I'm eager to see this. We're confident, as you are.

After the failure of PrescribeIT, why does the government now want to impose, as part of Bill S‑5, a Canada‑wide model for a connected health care system?

Aren't we preparing for another fiasco?

[Jocelyne Voisin]

I'll ask Ms. Toller to provide details. However, I can tell you that Bill S‑5 isn't an infrastructure project. It will establish standards.

[Elizabeth Toller]

As I have already explained, the goal is really to create a consistent environment across the provinces and territories, based on common standards, so that they can choose and use a variety of tools.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

We're familiar with the federal government's expertise on information technology standards. We saw it with the Cúram software and the Phoenix pay system. It has great expertise.

What can the federal government do that Quebec can't, especially when it comes to standards?