News Release
1999-13
January 22, 1999
Rock and Goodale announce health care funds for Saskatchewan
Ottawa - Health Minister Allan Rock and Ralph Goodale, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister Responsible for the Wheat Board, today announced federal funding for 41 home care and community health care projects in Saskatchewan. Support for the projects is part of the federal government's commitment to help build and maintain a strong health care system and improve the health of Canadians.
"One of our priorities as a government is to strengthen and modernize our health care system and promote good health, " said Mr. Rock. "Projects like the ones I am announcing today will help us move towards a new generation of medicare, one that reaches out to communities and homes where it can make a difference in the quality of life and the health of individuals and families."
"Saskatchewan residents, like all Canadians, care about the future of our health care system and are willing to make changes to preserve it and modernize it," said Mr. Goodale. "The 41 projects will receive more than $3.9 million from the federal government to allow health care providers and community organizers to deliver health care services such as home care, integrated care and health education aimed at children, youth, seniors, women, the terminally ill, rural residents, people living with HIV/AIDS, and families."
As part of today's announcement, Minister Rock and Saskatchewan Health Minister Pat Atkinson announced funding of $3.4 million for 23 projects that will test and evaluate a range of health care initiatives, under the Health Transition Fund. Earlier in January, the federal government contributed $489,700, under the Health Infostructure Support Program (HISP), to the Saskatoon District Health's efforts to implement and operate the Northern Tele-Health Network. The Network will improve access to health-related education and information to health care providers and users in remote areas of Saskatchewan, especially First Nations communities.
These projects will allow the people of Saskatchewan and those who deliver health care services, to provide effective solutions to health care issues, and their experiences and expertise can then be used for the benefit of all Canadians.
In the past eight days, Minister Rock, along with federal ministers responsible for Manitoba, British Columbia and Alberta have announced federal funding of more than $18.1 million for community health care, research and infostructure projects in western Canada.
The Government of Canada has introduced a number of innovative programs and initiatives to promote good health at all stages of life and to strengthen research. The following summaries describe the program areas for the 41 projects announced today:
The Health Transition Fund
The Health Transition Fund was established by the federal government in 1997 in response to a recommendation by the National Forum on Health. It is designed to generate information and evidence on the organization, funding and delivery of health services in four priority areas -- home care, pharmacare, primary care and integrated service delivery. The fund provides $30 million to national level projects and $120 million to provincial and territorial projects on a per capita basis.
The Population Health Fund
Health Canada has adopted a population health approach to further its continuing mandate to maintain and improve the health of Canadians. This approach recognizes that many factors, in addition to the health care system, have a strong influence on health, for example: nutrition, physical activity, or education. The approach promotes prevention and positive action on determinants which affect the health of the population as a whole, or that of specific population groups. The goal of the Population Health Fund, which has an annual budget of $14 million, is to increase community capacity for action on the determinants of health. To achieve this goal, projects that facilitate intersectoral planning and coordinated actions among voluntary organizations, service providers, governments and the private sector are supported.
The Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS
In May 1998, the Minister of Health launched a new approach to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Canada, and committed ongoing annual funding of $42.2 million to the initiative. The Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS has a set of clear goals: prevent the spread of HIV infection in Canada; find a cure; find effective vaccines, drugs and therapies; ensure effective care, treatment and support for Canadians living with HIV/AIDS, and for their families, friends and caregivers; minimize the impact of HIV/AIDS on individuals and communities; and counter the social and economic factors that increase individual and collective risk of HIV infection.
The federal government will continue to support a health care system that is flexible, that maintains the fundamental principles of Medicare, is integrated, encourages community action, and is based on sound information.
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