QUESTION PERIOD — Health
Investment in Equipment, Research and Innovation
November 17, 2022
Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Senator Gold, the day before yesterday, parliamentarians had the opportunity to meet representatives from the Canadian Association of Radiologists. The association wanted to raise the alarm about the seriously antiquated medical imaging equipment in Canada and the need for strategic investment to improve access to medical imaging and, consequently, foster better patient outcomes.
According to the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, the number of CT scan and MRI machines per capita is significantly lower than in OECD countries. In fact, Canada significantly lags behind international standards in this area.
Will the Government of Canada listen to this call for urgent intervention and commit to collaborating with the provincial and territorial governments to ensure that targeted investments in health are allocated to improving medical imaging services?
Thank you for the question. The government has been working with the provinces and territories for quite some time, not only by providing funding, but also by implementing a national health care vision that meets Canadians’ needs. The government has made significant investments to support health care systems, including $72 billion during the pandemic, and those investments will go up by 10% in March 2023 in addition to the 5% supplementary increase announced a few months ago. The government is committed to working with its provincial and territorial counterparts, regulatory bodies, health care workers and Canadians to create and implement strategies to improve health care in Canada. I am told that a collaborative process is under way to find concrete solutions.
Thank you for that information. However, I also wanted to remind you that the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology conducted a study on artificial intelligence a few years ago. Representatives of the Canadian Association of Radiologists spoke about the need for artificial intelligence for both operations and diagnostics to help radiologists triage urgent cases and identify common results by automating the standard measures and reporting models.
Does the federal government plan to increase the percentage of health care funding allocated to the innovative project that links artificial intelligence and health research through investments in the Canadian institutes of health research specific to artificial intelligence?
Thank you for the supplementary question. The government continues to prioritize investments in science, research and collaboration across multiple sectors to generate innovative solutions for priorities such as health. The government recently announced investments in the National Research Council of Canada to advance over 60 innovative research projects, including in the field of health.
Of the projects that are receiving funding, I would like to note the BC Cancer Agency and the Centre for Commercialisation of Cancer Immunotherapy, which are being granted $2 million and $1 million respectively to better equip hospitals with specialized infrastructure. Similarly, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute is receiving $198,000 for the use of artificial intelligence and for the university. As Minister Champagne said, and I quote:
Supporting researchers and businesses across Canada who are working to innovate and build new knowledge is so important . . . . Together, we will achieve more and create real changes in critical areas such as health care, sustainability and technology.
