Ministers' message for National Aboriginal Day - June 21, 2005

Today, on this National Aboriginal Day, we invite all Canadians to join us in celebrating the many contributions that Aboriginal peoples - First Nations, Inuit and Métis - have made to Canadian society.

As Minister of Health and Minister of State (Public Health), we are especially pleased with the ongoing partnership we enjoy with First Nations and Inuit in providing better access to health services, improving health status, and strengthening the health system.

Health Canada works hard, in partnership with Aboriginal peoples and the Provinces and Territories to improve the health care available to Aboriginal Canadians.

However, more work still needs to be done to address the gap in health status between Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians and in order to decrease the rates of diabetes, suicide, tuberculosis, Hepatitis A and HIV/AIDS, among other health concerns.

The Government of Canada's commitment to working with our partners to close that gap was demonstrated that last September 13, 2004, during a special meeting of First Ministers and Aboriginal Leaders.

At that special meeting, the Prime Minister committed new investments of $700 million for an Aboriginal health transition fund, Aboriginal health human resources and upstream investments in health.

Of course, improving the health status of Aboriginal peoples would not be possible without the hard work of many dedicated women and men who give their time every day to deliver the best possible health services adapted to the needs of Aboriginal people.

On this special day, we encourage all Canadians to take the opportunity to learn more about the cultural diversity of Inuit, Métis and First Nations peoples.