Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland may have stood up in the House of Commons to formally deliver the 2024 federal budget nearly two months ago, but the policy and legislative work is far from over.
Key areas of activity for HealthCareCAN include pressing the government to ensure health researchers in healthcare organizations are represented in the proposed reorganized federal research system and meaningfully involved throughout the implementation process as well as securing more details on other Budget 2024 health-related items, including the Youth Mental Health Fund and health workforce commitments.
“The fanfare of budget day and the road show with Ministers and members of Parliament talking up the budget announcements to the people of Canada is over,” said Paul-Émile Cloutier, HealthCareCAN President & CEO. “We’re in the ‘devil is in the details’ stage of learning just how the broad announcements made by the federal government will be implemented and impact health and health research.”
Getting those details has meant working to secure meetings with key government officials and their teams. With several budget bills currently working their way through Parliament, HealthCareCAN is focusing on gathering information on next steps and sharing our ideas to help shape the actions the federal government takes in implementing the Budget 2024 commitments.
During our meetings with various ministers’ offices and departments, including Health, CIHR and Finance, officials stressed that the government recognizes the importance of maintaining a connection between CIHR and the health portfolio. Health Canada, ISED and the Tri-Council are working collaboratively on implementing the research commitments outlined in Budget 2024 as quickly as possible.
HealthCareCAN is emphasizing that health researchers working in healthcare organizations must be at the table throughout the process and once the restructuring is complete. Through our advocacy, government officials are gaining a better understanding of the possible barriers to accessing programs faced by health research institutes and hospitals. This has led to commitments from key government representatives to engage with their colleagues across departments to improve visibility of this important concern for our members.
The government has advised HealthCareCAN that a consultation will be launched concerning the research reorganization proposed in Budget 2024 seeking input from the research community broadly. HealthCareCAN will update members once the consultation is launched and we will prepare a formal submission to complement our ongoing feedback to government. CIHR will also be consulting with our Vice Presidents of Health Research Committee at their June 27 meeting regarding next steps on the commitments outlined in Budget 2024.
HealthCareCAN is also engaging with government representatives on the mental health, health workforce, and AI commitments made in Budget 2024. Details for each of these commitments are still being worked out and we will continue to connect with the relevant ministers’ offices and departments to gather more information and help inform program implementation.
“Advocacy concerning the actual implementation of very broad, high-level budget measures does not get the same profile as the actual release of the budget, but it is every bit as important,” added Mr. Cloutier. “HealthCareCAN is working hard to make sure that the concerns and issues of our member organizations are front and centre.”
HealthCareCAN has received input concerning various federal budget issues from member institutions, including through our Vice Presidents of Health Research Committee and our Health Human Resources Advisory Committee. If you have input, or questions concerning this – or other government relations work – please contact: govtrelationsgouv@healthcarecan.ca.
