Thank you.
Mr. Chair, honourable members, thank you for inviting me today.
Having spoken with many of you over the last few months, I recognize the important work that you are all doing. I also recognize the important work you are doing as a committee.
Access to care and internationally educated health professionals is one of my priorities.
First of all, I believe it is important and fair to admit the biggest challenge we have inside our health care system is access to care. Too many people struggle to get inside the system and end up in the emergency room for non-urgent health care issues or worse, a problem that could have been treated earlier by a family physician or a group practice. We need to work in collaboration with provinces and territories to see how we can collectively make things better for patients. I know my provincial and territorial counterparts are working on increasing the number of professionals trained in their regions.
However, while the supply of professionals is increasing, demand is growing even faster.
About one third of internationally trained health professionals work in a different field. We need to do a lot better than that.
In a week, I will be meeting with my provincial and territorial counterparts in Calgary for our annual meeting. I sincerely hope that we will make progress in improving credential recognition and mobility for professionals across provinces. I have already had discussions with them, and I am very hopeful.
Next is modernizing regulations.
Last month, I visited Moderna's new plant in Laval with Minister Joly. We need more investments like this here in Canada.
That's why we're cutting unnecessary red tape and speeding up and updating approval processes. We're doing this for drug approvals.
Investments in health care in Canada protect patients and increase access to care. They also create growth and good jobs and reduce our reliance on other countries.
We are also working with the Pest Management Regulatory Agency and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to reduce red tape for farmers.
Next is digital health.
While people are at the heart of our health care system, tools and innovations also play an important role.
Even though 95% of doctors use electronic medical records, they are often not integrated with each other or with the rest of the system. This creates unnecessary barriers and burdens, particularly in isolated rural communities and indigenous communities.
Data saves lives and, by leveraging AI, we can make technology work for people, improve lives, improve care and build a health system ready for the future. I look forward to working with you on passing legislation to improve connectivity and data sharing across this country.
On mental health—
