SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Canadian Innovation

Honourable senators, how many of us are feeling like life is on hold while we wait to see a specialist, be it for ourselves or someone we love? Wait times have stretched from months to years, and I’m willing to bet that everyone in this chamber feels the resulting anxiety, along with countless families across the country. If a family physician needs quick specialist input, the only option is a formal referral, even when the issue could be resolved with a five-minute conversation. This leaves patients waiting, specialists overwhelmed and emergency rooms overcrowded.

Imagine if we could recreate the doctor’s lounge but for the modern era. What if primary care physicians could rapidly consult specialists, avoiding unnecessary referrals and delays? This is exactly what Virtual Hallway, an innovative Nova Scotia company, has accomplished through their digital communication platform. It quickly enables targeted specialist consultations, approaching 1 million interactions annually. The results speak for themselves: 84% of Virtual Hallway consultations avoided the need for a formal referral to a specialist. More than 10,000 clinicians now use the platform, including our very own Senator Ravalia.

Sadly, Virtual Hallway is the exception, not the rule. Too often, Canadian startups with world-class solutions to global problems struggle to gain any traction at home, only to find investment, customers and scale after moving to the United States.

I’ve watched this reality continue to undermine our prosperity for about 30 years. That’s the reality that CAN Health Network, funded by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, or ISED, is determined to change. Its CEO, Dr. Dante Morra, built CAN Health Network to connect Canadian health care organizations with innovative Canadian companies that are ready to solve real, identified needs. CAN Health built and funded a project with Nova Scotia Health that proved the benefits of Virtual Hallway and demonstrated its value, leading to procurements in Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Newfoundland, with more expansion under way.

CAN Health Network has completed 136 similar commercialization projects, creating 2,400 direct jobs, and companies generating over $700 million in revenue. Eighty per cent of its projects lead to competitive procurements in Canada.

This integrated market model can be replicated across sectors, from defence to food systems. By strengthening and expanding models like CAN Health Network, ISED and other federal programs can help achieve the goal of buying Canadian, strengthening our domestic industries, improving outcomes for Canadians and transforming our economy into the innovation superpower that I dream of.

Thank you, Dr. Dante Morra and team, for leading the way and showing us how to do it.

Thank you, colleagues.