Backgrounder
April 2019
Today, the governments of Canada and Nunavut announced the signing of a bilateral agreement for home and community care and mental health and addiction services, which outlines how the province plans to invest approximately $5.2 million in targeted federal funding. In 2021-22, this agreement will be renewed for the remaining five years of the 10-year commitment.
Nunavut's Action Plan aligns with the objectives and pan-Canadian priorities set out in the Common Statement of Principles on Shared Health Priorities agreed to by federal, provincial and territorial Ministers of Health in August 2017.
Home Care and Community Care
Federal funding for home and community care will support Nunavut in improving access to home and community care services, including:
- Ensuring that care is being delivered in the correct setting, and client care needs can be met within the community with the appropriate supports in place by implementing the interRAI tool.
Mental Health and Addiction Services
Federal funding for mental health and addiction services will support innovative, evidence-based approaches to service delivery. Priorities include:
- Supporting community-driven mental health and addictions projects for children and youth to ensure relevancy, cultural appropriateness, and best practices are upheld. This will be done by:
- Providing more resources to child and youth workers and facilitating peer support networks; and
- Increasing on-line educational resources on mental health and addictions illnesses, tools for coping, and links to services or other resources.
Federal Provincial and Territorial Collaboration to Strengthen Health Care
Budget 2017 committed $11 billion over 10 years in new federal investments to improve access to mental health and addiction services, as well as to home and community care across Canada and in August 2017, provinces and territories endorsed the Common Statement of Principles on Shared Health Priorities.Footnote *
The Common Statement of Principles sets out the objectives and pan-Canadian priorities for federal investments in home care and mental health. It commits governments to addressing specific health system gaps and to focusing efforts in areas that will have the greatest impact. Bilateral agreements with each jurisdiction set out the details of how federal funding will be used in alignment with the Common Statement of Principles.
Provinces and territories are also working collectively and with the Canadian Institute for Health Information to develop a focused set of common indicators to measure progress and report to Canadians. In June 2018, federal, provincial and territorial health ministers (except Quebec) reached an important milestone in this process, by approving a set of indicators for measuring access to mental health and addictions services and to home and community care. Later this spring, CIHI will begin its annual reporting to FPT governments and the public on the first of these indicators.
Federal, provincial and territorial governments have also committed to engaging with regional and national Indigenous leaders on their priorities for improving the health outcomes of Indigenous peoples.
Footnotes
- Footnote *
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The federal government has agreed to an asymmetrical arrangement with Quebec, distinct from the Common Statement of Principles.
