QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Health
Maternal and Child Health
March 25, 2026
Minister, in my work as a parliamentarian, I’ve had the opportunity to witness Canada’s important contributions to maternal, newborn and child health in developing countries and in regions facing humanitarian crises. These efforts are commendable and often life-saving.
However, here at home, many Canadians continue to face gaps in access to maternal and infant health services, particularly in remote communities. This is evidenced by marked inequities in maternal and infant mortality. It is concerning that similar urgency and sustained focus are not consistently reflected domestically.
Minister, can you explain why persistent challenges in infant and maternal health within Canada continue to exist?
I know there are some challenges, particularly, I would say, in remote and rural communities, where the lack of health professionals could present big gaps.
Again, it’s with the provinces and territories, which are delivering the services, that it should be addressed. Again, however, I will not put all of the blame on them; we have to work together. This is why, for example, I am in close contact with rural physicians. I’m hoping to see technology help us address some gaps because when I travel, I already see what it can do on the ground.
I think something that could help us is that we see more and more nurse practitioners going into some regions. I was just in Quebec, in a remote area, and we were talking exactly about newborn and pediatric services, and they were provided by a nurse practitioner. It seems that it completely changed the face of how mothers and children are doing in that area.
Minister, while infant mortality rates have improved over time, Canada still ranks behind other countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD. At the same time, our maternal mortality rate has more than doubled in the past 20 years.
Given these realities, what specific measures will your government commit to in order to ensure that Canadian mothers and infants have timely access to the care they need?
Thank you for the question, senator.
Again, that is something that I will raise with my counterparts. As you know, the provinces and territories have to choose their own priorities. My role is to support and push them on that. So, I can bring the conversation about the mortality rates to them and see how we can improve, because I’m ready to support them, but I’m not the one delivering the services.
