EDMONTON, AB, May 23, 2024
/CNW/ - Every senior in Canada
deserves to age in dignity, safety, and comfort, regardless of
where they live. That is why the Government of Canada is investing close to $200 billion over 10 years, which includes
$5.4 billion for tailored bilateral
agreements with provinces and territories on Aging with
Dignity.
Today, the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of
Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, and the
Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services and
Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency
for Northern Ontario, on behalf the Honourable Mark Holland,
Canada's Minister of Health and
the Honourable and Adriana LaGrange,
Minister of Health for Alberta
announced a bilateral agreement to invest $627 million over the next five years to help
Albertans age with dignity. This funding builds on the over
$1 billion bilateral agreement that
was announced with the province in December of 2023, as part of the
Government's Working Together to Improve Health Care for Canadians
plan.
Federal funding will support Alberta's five-year action plan to improve
health care for seniors. The plan will:
Support home, community, and palliative care services
- Improve home care services for all Albertans, particularly
those in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, and including
those with complex care needs, to reduce pressures on hospitals and
emergency rooms.
- Increase palliative and end-of-life care spaces and services,
including coordination of care, psychosocial supports, complex
symptom assessment and management, and end-of-life planning.
Expand caregiver supports
- Improve support for caregivers through increased access to
respite services and expanded community day programs, and expand
the reach of caregiver supports in rural Alberta.
- Offer tailored resources and programs to those who care for
individuals with dementia and complex needs to support caregiver
wellness.
Strengthen the continuing care workforce
- Increase training and mental health support for continuing care
staff, including psychosocial supports, peer support programming,
and trauma-informed care training.
- Increase recruitment and retention in difficult-to-recruit
continuing care sites, programs, and positions in rural and remote
areas.
Enhance compliance and improved quality of continuing
care
- Support quality of life and care best practices, including a
trauma-informed and culturally safe approach to care to better
address the needs of those served by continuing care.
- Retrofit equipment and technology in continuing care homes to
support client and resident care needs and accessibility to
meaningful activities.
- Improve compliance and monitoring of continuing care homes to
deliver high quality and safe continuing care services.
Progress on these initiatives and broader commitments will be
measured against targets which Alberta will publicly report on
annually.
Through this new agreement and the Working Together
agreement signed in December 2023,
Alberta will improve how health
information is collected, shared, used and reported to Canadians;
streamline foreign credential recognition for internationally
educated health professionals; facilitate the mobility of key
health professionals within Canada; and fulfill shared responsibilities to
uphold the Canada Health Act to protect Canadians' access to
health care that is based on need, not the ability to pay.
Recognizing the significant disparities in Indigenous health
outcomes, the Government of Canada
and the Government of Alberta also
commit to meaningfully engage and work together with Indigenous
partners to support improved access to quality and culturally
appropriate health care services. Alberta's action plan is informed by continued
engagement with its Indigenous partners. All orders of
government will approach health decisions in their respective
jurisdictions through a lens that promotes respect and
reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
Alberta and the federal
government will continue working together to improve access to
health services and deliver results for seniors across the
province, including responding to the needs of Indigenous and other
underserved and disadvantaged populations.
Quotes
"Every Canadian deserves access to safe and high quality health
care at every stage of their lives. By working together with
Alberta, this agreement will build
a stronger health care system, support health workers, and help
seniors across the province access the care they need."
The Honourable Mark Holland
Minister of Health
"Budget 2024 is about fairness for every generation - that means
giving seniors the services they need to age with dignity. By
recognizing the disparities in health outcomes become between
communities, we are able to give necessary care to those who need
it most."
The Honourable Randy Boissonnault
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official
Languages
"Every Canadian deserves to age with dignity regardless of where
they live. Seniors in Alberta
helped build this country and today's agreement will go a long way
in ensuring they now have equitable access to the services they
deserve and need. This is a concrete example of the work we can
accomplish together when provinces and the federal government work
together."
The Honourable Patty Hajdu
Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the
Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
"Alberta's government is taking
action to meet the growing needs of our aging population and help
ensure the future of the province's continuing care system. We have
committed $1 billion over three years
to transform continuing care in Alberta. This Aging with Dignity funding will
help enhance Alberta's efforts to
transform the continuing care system to support Albertans as they
age."
The Honourable Adriana LaGrange
Alberta's Minister of Health
Quick Facts
- Under the Working Together to Improve Health Care for
Canadians plan, the Government is working with provinces
and territories to implement two series of bilateral agreements,
one of which is focused on helping Canadians age with dignity,
closer to home with access to home or community care or care in a
safe long-term care facility.
- The Aging with Dignity agreement, which complements the
Working Together agreement, includes $2.4 billion ($600
million per year for fiscal years 2023-24 to 2026-27)
over four years to improve access to home and community care
from Budget 2017; and $3 billion
($600 million per year for fiscal
years 2023-24 to 2027-28) over five years for long-term care from
Budget 2021 to apply standards of care in long-term care facilities
and help support workforce stability. Alberta has a 5-year Aging with
Dignity Agreement and Action Plan posted online.
- Budget 2023 outlined the Government of Canada's plan to invest close to $200 billion over 10 years, including
$46.2 billion in new funding for
provinces and territories, to improve health care for Canadians.
Within this funding, $25 billion is
allocated through new tailored bilateral agreements to address the
unique needs of their populations and geography in four shared
health priorities:
- expanding access to family health services, including in rural
and remote areas;
- supporting health workers and reducing backlogs;
- increasing mental health and substance use support; and
- modernizing health care systems with health data and digital
tools.
- Alberta's three-year
Working Together Agreement and Action Plan, announced in
December 2023, is associated with the
above shared health priorities.
- The Working Together plan is also a guaranteed 5% Canada
Health Transfer (CHT) increase for the next five years—amounting to
$17.5 billion—and a one-time CHT
$2 billion top-up to address to
urgent needs of emergency rooms and paediatric hospitals delivered
in June 2023. Combined, these
investments provide provinces and territories the flexibility to
address the unique needs of their populations and geography, and
accelerate health care system improvements.
- Budget 2017 committed $11 billion
over 10 years in federal funding to provinces and territories to
improve access to home and community care, and mental health and
addiction services for Canadians. Bilateral agreements
were signed with provinces and territories to access the first six
years of that funding. The final four years of funding for mental
health and addiction services are included in the Working
Together bilateral agreements.
Associated Links
- Working Together to Improve Health Care in Canada
- Working Together Bilateral Agreements
- Aging with Dignity Bilateral Agreements
- Budget 2023
SOURCE Health Canada (HC)