I can start.
Thank you, Chair, for the question.
I certainly agree, and the Canadian Medical Association agrees, that we have both issues at hand. There's no question that there are many structural issues within the health care system, including outdated payment models, outdated structural models and outdated ways of trying to provide primary care in a traditional, siloed, fee-for-service model. These aren't serving Canadians by any means and certainly aren't serving or attracting newer physicians into that style of practice.
That's why you've heard us advocating for integrated, team-based care and the creation of medical homes for patients where they're able to access a variety of health care professionals to address their needs. It's absolutely true that our current systems don't necessary allow for or incentivize that type of care. It often leads to unnecessary visits and unnecessary things in the system that aren't benefiting patients.
It's also why you have heard us speak to the idea of scaling virtual care, as that's another tool that could be used to allow patients better access. It would also allow more collaboration amongst health care professionals to make sure that patients are really seeing the right person at the right time.
We do also agree that just by...more dollars into a system that's not functioning well, we're not going to have the level of accountability and the deliverables that Canadians deserve. However, it is also clear that the dollars going into health care are declining. That's against an aging population with more complex health care needs.
We certainly agree that we need to reimagine the system. We need to look deeply at what these structural barriers are, understand how we can work in a more integrated and team-based environment and how we can have people working within their full scopes of practice to benefit Canadians. At the same time, we need to be increasing those investments so that the health care system is sustainable.