QUESTION PERIOD — Indigenous Services
Health Care Transfers
September 28, 2023
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Senator Gold, Canadians have recently seen increases in federal health care funding to the provinces and the territories. With these funding increases, Canada established certain benchmarks on a province-by-province, territory-by-territory basis. Canada has responsibility for health care for Indigenous peoples. As the former premier of Manitoba Gary Doer phrased it, Canada is the fourteenth province at the table when it comes to funding for First Nations health care.
Boutique programs like Jordan’s Principle have been established to address some shortfalls in existing services.
My questions are these: Has there been an increase in funding for health care delivery for Indigenous peoples in Canada beyond the boutique programs? Also, Senator Gold, if there has been such an increase, are there benchmarks set to show the effectiveness or improvement of service delivery as a result of the increase in health care funding for First Nations peoples?
Thank you for your question.
The government has taken action and is committed to taking action to foster health systems that are free from barriers, including racism and discrimination. This is a key commitment under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan, to which I referred in response to the previous question.
The government is investing funds to support communities, organizations and other health system partners in the development of measures to address anti-Indigenous racism in the health system. This includes measures such as anti-racism and discrimination training, tools and resources for health professionals, and a generation of standards.
To your question about funding, Budget 2022 provided $4 billion over six years to ensure First Nations children receive the support they need through Jordan’s Principle, and Budget 2023 provided an additional $171 million. In February 2023, the government also reaffirmed its commitment to invest $2 billion over 10 years through a new Indigenous health equity fund to address the unique challenges Indigenous peoples face when it comes to fair and equitable access to quality and culturally appropriate health care.
Regarding the latter part of your question, senator, as for metrics for evaluating progress, Indigenous Services Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada are working with Indigenous organizations, including the First Nations Information Governance Centre and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, or ITK, to advance the development of an information strategy that will identify gaps in health outcomes and indicators that can be routinely reported upon.
