Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to elaborate on the response offered by the Minister of Health on March 30.
Our government plays an active role in health, while respecting provincial and territorial responsibility and jurisdiction. Our universally accessible health care system is a source of pride for people across this great country. We recognize that Canadians expect the health care system to be there when they and their families need it, both today and into the future. This is why our government has maintained an unwavering commitment to continue the publicly funded health care system that Canadians have come to expect.
Unlike previous governments that balanced their books on the backs of the provinces and territories, we have committed to long-term stable funding that will see health transfers reach historic levels by the end of the decade. Health transfers from Ottawa to provinces and territories have grown by nearly 35% since we formed government. For the next five years, federal health transfers will continue to increase by 6% per year. This rate of increase is well above what provinces and territories are spending on health care. As the Canadian Institute for Health Information's data shows, federal transfers are projected to grow faster than average provincial spending on health care.
Federal transfers for health are increasing at a much higher rate than provincial and territorial health care spending.
This increase in transfer payments would provide provinces and territories with the ability to reform the health care system and make it more sustainable. Our investments will help preserve Canada's health care system so it is there when Canadians need it. Provinces and territories have recently identified health care innovation as a priority. Our government applauds the collaborative work by provinces and territories on issues of common concern.
Our government is investing over $1 billion annually to support innovation through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada Health Infoway and other programs.
Our government is engaging with provinces and territories on ways in which we can continue to support their efforts to improve health care and promote the long-term sustainability of the health care system through existing federal initiatives.
We recently announced that we will invest over $238 million in the Canadian Institute for Health Information over the next three years to support the collection and reporting of objective information on health system performance. This will result in more and better information about the state of health care in Canada and the overall health of Canadians. If we cannot measure how the system works, then it is hard to know how to improve it. That is why performance measures and reporting is increasingly used across leading health systems internationally to drive system change.
In closing, this government remains committed to building on our effective publicly funded health care system. By continuing to provide sustainable and predictable funding and working with our provincial and territorial counterparts, we will continue to support our universally accessible health care system so that it meets the evolving needs of Canadians.