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Epoch Times
07-05-2025
- Health
- Epoch Times
Carney Vows to Boost Number of Doctors, Pledges $4B to Build Health-Care Facilities
Liberal Leader Mark Carney has presented key planks of his health-care platform which includes $4 billion in new funding to build health-care infrastructure, as well as a plan to increase the number of doctors in the country through various measures such as increasing spaces in medical schools. Carney made the announcement while visiting Charlottetown on April 21, one week before the general election is held. The Liberal leader stayed on his message that Canada is facing the 'biggest crisis in our lifetime' due to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and said his plan to 'build Canada strong' has health care at its 'core.' 'In the U.S., health care is a big business. In Canada, it is a right,' Carney said. 'It is a right that my government will fight for and invest in.' Carney said a Liberal government would spend $4 billion to build and renovate community health-care infrastructure such as long-term care homes and community clinics. The Liberals' costed Related Stories 4/20/2025 4/19/2025 Carney's health plan also aims to increase the number of doctors in Canada by thousands to address the longstanding shortage. The Canadian Medical Association Carney said he plans to increase the number of doctors by expanding medical school spaces, building new medical schools, recruiting more doctors internationally, and streamlining the recognition of credentials from foreign-trained doctors and nurses. 'So to the Canadian health-care professionals practicing in the U.S., let me say this: if you've been thinking about coming back to Canada, there's never been a better time to come home,' Carney said. The Liberal platform has earmarked $750 million to expand medical schools and residency positions. Carney has also pledged to reduce the administrative burden on doctors. Although specific details have not been released, the initiative is projected to incur a cost of $400 million over the next four years. The College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Canadian Medical Association have Women's Health Carney has also pledged to continue funding abortion access by making the Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund Program permanent. He has earmarked $20 million annually in fiscal 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 for the program. Carney also pledged to establish a federal in-vitro fertilization program worth $412 million over four years, which would cover up to $20,000 for a treatment cycle. After mentioning these measures related to women's health, Carney said he would protect these rights by 'always standing and defending' the Charter, while accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of 'committing to override your constitutional rights.' A reporter remarked to Carney that Poilievre has stated he would not use the notwithstanding clause in the Charter to go after abortion. Poilievre said on April 11 he would not remove access to abortion if his party formed government. 'I can guarantee you there will be no laws restricting abortion passed when I'm prime minister,' said Poilievre. 'For 20 years, the policy of the Conservative Party has been that there will be no restrictions brought in on a woman's right to choose.' Poilievre said last week he would use the notwithstanding clause of the Charter, section 33, to re-introduce a law allowing for mass murderers to serve consecutive prison sentences. The Supreme Court had deemed this Poilievre has yet to release a broad health plan, but he has previously
Winnipeg Free Press
01-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Here's what the Liberals promised for health care. But can they deliver?
TORONTO – Until U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and threats to Canadian sovereignty came along, many thought health care would be a key issue in the federal election. Instead, it came across as an after-thought to more immediate economic concerns that often hijacked campaign headlines. 'I can't recall an election in recent decades where less attention was given to health care,' said Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus in political science at the University of Toronto. Wiseman pegs the oversight to tense relations with the United States and the Trump administration, which he says 'eclipsed virtually all other issues except affordability.' Health issues are certainly no less pressing and the Liberals included several health-care pledges in their platform. Now that the party has been handed another mandate, here's what doctors, nurses and mental health experts say they're happy to see, and what is missing. MORE DOCTORS The Liberal platform promised to 'add thousands of new doctors to Canada's health care system' by working with the provinces and territories to increase medical school and residency spaces, with a special focus on primary care. This pledge comes as more than six million people across the country don't have a family doctor. Dr. Carrie Bernard, president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, said more details are needed. 'Training and expansion needs to be supported through infrastructure,' said Bernard, who practises in Brampton, Ont. 'It can't just be seats for the family medicine resident. There needs to be funding for teachers. There need to be places to teach these people. So there needs to be a lot that goes along with the training spots.' The incoming government has also promised to streamline the process to recruit doctors from the United States and for internationally trained doctors and nurses to practise in Canada. Valerie Grdisa, CEO of the Canadian Nurses Association, said the government should also enlist nurses and nurse practitioners to cover the care gap, both in multidisciplinary teams alongside family doctors and on their own. After all, nurse practitioners, 'have prescriptive authority, diagnostic authority, they develop treatment plans,' Grdisa said. There's evidence from around the world 'that they have equal or better outcomes at lower cost' to physicians, she said. MAKING LIFE EASIER FOR HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONALS The Liberals say they want to standardize forms and increase the use of digital tools — for tasks such as e-prescribing and e-referrals — to reduce the hours of paperwork and other administrative duties that doctors do on top of seeing patients. Although the health platform didn't specifically mention artificial intelligence, regulatory bodies in Ontario and British Columbia have provided guidelines on using AI scribes during medical appointments. Bernard said measures to reduce the administrative burden are important in making sure doctors want to stay in the profession. 'We want to keep family doctors practising comprehensive family medicine and that means making it a better environment,' she said. The Liberals also promise a 'new practice fund' to help new doctors pay for clinic space and medical equipment when they set up shop in communities where they're needed, another pledge Bernard applauded. The Liberals have also said they would create a national licensing system for physicians and doctors so they could work anywhere in the country — not just in the province or territory they wrote their exams in. The Conservatives made a similar promise in their campaign platform. But even with cross-party agreement, Wiseman is skeptical that the federal government can do it, because like most of health care, licensing falls under provincial jurisdiction. 'It can happen, but you try to get all the provinces on board with that,' he said. In fact, the main barrier to the Liberal government fulfilling most of their health-care promises won't be that they're a minority government, Wiseman said. It will be that the provinces and territories hold the majority of power in health-care decision making and would need to be in agreement. MORE MENTAL HEALTH CARE The Liberal platform promises a permanent 'Youth Mental Health Fund' to make community-based mental health services accessible to 100,000 young people a year. That's 'a very worthwhile objective, obviously, knowing that mental health can manifest itself early on in one's life and the earlier that they are treated the more likely (they'll have a) better outcome,' said Glenn Brimacombe, chair of the public affairs committee for the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health. The new government has also promised to add $500 million to the Emergency Treatment Fund, which goes to municipalities and Indigenous communities to deal with the toxic drug and overdose crisis. The Liberals also pledged to continue funding the 988 suicide crisis helpline, which launched in November 2023 and received more than 300,000 calls and texts in its first year, according to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. The platform also recognized the link between housing and mental health, pledging to invest in not only affordable housing, but supportive housing for people who are vulnerable. Brimacombe, who is also the director of policy and public affairs at the Canadian Psychological Association, expressed hope that NDP members of Parliament will help the minority Liberals pass such measures, given 'a lot of alignment in terms of their two platforms.' Sarah Kennell, national director of public policy for the Canadian Mental Health Association, said she's feeling 'cautious optimism' for progress in mental health care delivery. But both Kennell and Brimacombe said the top priority should be public funds for mental health and substance use care under the Canada Health Act. Kennell noted that only services provided by hospitals or medical doctors — including family physicians and psychiatrists — are publicly funded under the act, leaving patients to pay for psychologists, social workers and other mental health professionals out-of-pocket or through private health plans. Community based mental health agencies often have to rely on charitable donations or 'piecemeal funding,' she said. 'Many services like counselling and psychotherapy, addictions treatment, eating disorder treatments, all of those things fall outside of what's considered part of our public universal health-care system, and it's not part of provincial and territorial health plans,' she said. During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. Kennell said they want the Liberal government to take steps within their first 100 days in office toward amending the Canada Health Act or creating 'new parallel legislation that would put mental health on par with physical health.' It's a big-ticket item that wasn't in the Liberal party platform, but Kennell said the Liberal, Conservative, New Democrat and Green parties have expressed support for the idea. 'We held consultations with senior officials across party lines. And they … confirmed their strong desire to address the inequity between physical and mental health through legislative reform,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2025. Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
