News Release

Brampton, Ontario

In recent years Canada’s health care workers have been challenged like never before, and this has led to unprecedented levels of burnout, absences, and turnover. These workforce challenges are not only affecting the hard-working health workers we rely on, they’re also affecting patients who are experiencing long wait times for surgeries, emergency room closures, and difficulty accessing family health services.

We know that without a sustainable, efficient, and resilient health workforce, Canadians cannot access and receive the quality care they need when and where they need it.

That’s why, today, Brampton South MP Sonia Sidhu joined the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, who announced that the Government of Canada is investing $78.5 million in three projects that will help to train and retain more health care workers, under the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program.

This announcement advances the Government of Canada’s support for a more sustainable health workforce, with a focus on better data to support workforce planning and tools to support better retention and recruitment of health workers in Canada. This was one of the shared health priorities as agreed to by the Canadian government and provinces and territories, outlined in the Working Together to Improve Health Care for Canadians Plan. This plan was supported through a Budget 2023 commitment of close to $200 billion over 10 years, including $46.2 billion in new funding to provinces and territories, to improve health care services for Canadians. As part of these agreements, provinces and territories are also being asked to streamline foreign credential recognition for internationally educated health professionals, and to advance labour mobility, starting with multi-jurisdictional credential recognition for key health professionals.

Canadians deserve a health care system that delivers better health outcomes. That depends on a strong, stable and qualified health workforce to keep the system running. The projects funded today will help improve health care for Canadians by enhancing and aligning training for health care providers. Together with provinces and territories, we are advancing common health priorities by providing better support for health workers. We know that improved health worker support leads to better health care for Canadians.

For further details on the projects, visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2023/06/canada-is-addressing-current-and-emerging-labour-demands-in-health-care.html

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CONTACT:

The Office of Sonia Sidhu, Member of Parliament, Brampton South

P: (905) 846-0076   |  E: [email protected]