December 2019
HEAL, the Organizations for Health Action, is reacting positively to the contents of the federal mandate letters released on Friday, as they relate to health and social matters.
Specifically, HEAL members are encouraged to see a high level of ambition set out in the Minister of Health’s mandate letter, seeking to achieve progress regarding a variety of health opportunities and threats.
HEAL agrees with the federal government’s continued efforts to advancing seniors’ care and mental health supports through numerous initiatives and programs. This approach is in line with HEAL’s Canadian Way 2.0 consensus document which focused on seniors’ care and mental health parity.
Mental health objectives were not only included in the Minister of Health’s letter but also in the letters of the Minister of Veteran’s Affairs, the Minister of Labour, the Minister of Indigenous Services, and the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion.
Moreover, the continuation of the seniors’ portfolio in itself is an important signal regarding the federal government’s intentions to improving the health and wellbeing of seniors through such measures as better access to home care, palliative care and community care, as well as community programming to keep them at home as long as possible.
HEAL applauds the Prime Minister’s ambition in wanting to achieve a significant number of health priorities during this parliamentary term. As each of these priorities will no doubt be complex to study and implement, we would like to offer the services of our many senior healthcare-sector members who are deeply committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all Canadians in a concrete way. We look forward to collaborating with Minister Hajdu and Minister Schulte and their policy colleagues.
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HEAL, Organizations for Health Action is a coalition of 40 national health organizations dedicated to improving the health of Canadians and the quality of care they receive. Our members are professional associations of regulated health care providers and organizations of health charities that provide a range of health care services across Canada. HEAL now represents more than 650,000 providers (and consumers) of health care, in over 20 different health care professions.
MEDIA CONTACT: Madison Simmons 613-233-8906 / madison@impactcanada.com