Sudbury Member of Parliament Viviane Lapointe announced her support for Health Canada’s launch of a Coalition of Health Care Workers. The Coalition held its first meeting today.

“Healthcare workers know best the workforce crisis our system is currently facing. They also know best how to tackle the health workforce issues and develop real solutions,” stated MP Lapointe. Lapointe elaborated that at a meeting she had last month with Health Canada Minister Duclos, she voiced a number of issues related to healthcare workers, in particular for nurses and PSWs.

“Our government’s basic premise is that the conditions of work result in the conditions of care. We need to work collaboratively with provinces and other stakeholders to ensure we are retaining and recruiting healthcare workers,” said MP Lapointe.

Today, the Government held the first meeting of a Coalition for Action for Health Workers. The group’s advice will inform immediate and longer-term solutions to address significant health workforce challenges. The Coalition is comprised of representatives from key groups, including nurses, doctors, personal support workers, unions, colleges and universities, patients, Indigenous peoples, and equity-deserving communities.

The Government shares the concerns raised by health workers on the state of the health care system, including the impacts that the health workforce crisis is having on their patients’ ability to receive quality care when and where they need it. Over the last two and a half years, Canada’s health workers have been challenged like never before. This has led to unprecedented levels of burnout, absences, and turnover. These workforce challenges are in turn affecting patients who are experiencing long wait times for surgeries, emergency room closures, and difficulty accessing family health services.

Skilled and supported health workers are key to ensuring quality health care, which is why the Coalition’s initial priorities will include providing advice on workers’ retention so health workers continue to stay in their jobs; increasing the supply of health professionals in the country; improving health workforce data; and opportunities to scale new models of care to address key barriers.

Backgrounder

The Coalition for Action for Health Workers was established by Health Canada and will report to the Deputy Minister of Health. The Coalition held its first meeting on November 1, 2022.

The Coalition for Action will inform immediate and longer-term solutions to address significant health workforce challenges. More specifically, the Coalition will:

• focus its efforts on complex issues related to health workforce planning and management to identify innovative approaches to driving pan-Canadian action on health workforce;

• outline roles and responsibilities/authorities for key stakeholders and galvanize action in advancing pan-Canadian response on health workforce;

• allow stakeholders to prioritize resources within their own organizations to support current competing pressures to best respond to the needs of Canadians;

• take action to support equity and inclusion, including the needs of Indigenous people and racialized populations; and,

• identify opportunities and make recommendations to different levels of government on potential actions.

The Coalition’s initial priorities will include providing advice on workers’ retention so health workers continue to stay in their jobs; increasing the supply of health professionals in the country; improving health workforce data; and opportunities to scale new models of care to address key barriers. Given the complex range and number of key stakeholders involved in health workforce management, decision making experts were selected from key groups including professional organizations, educators, academia, thought leaders, regulators, profession specific colleges, pan-Canadian health organizations, practicing professional and health care providers, patients, and organizations from equity seeking groups.

Members of the Coalition for Action for Health Workers include:

• Marcia Anderson, President of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada (IPAC), Chair of the Indigenous Health Network of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, Chair of the National Consortium for Indigenous Medical Education

• Cynthia Baker, Executive Director, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN)

• Brady Bouchard, President, The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)

• Sylvain Brousseau, President, Canadian Nurses Association (CNA)

• Paul-Émile Cloutier, President and CEO, HealthCareCAN

• David Gratzer, Physician and Attending Psychiatrist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)

• Géraldine Jippé, Member of Canadian Medical Association (CMA) Patient Voice

• Alika Lafontaine, President, Canadian Medical Association (CMA)

• Susan Moffatt-Bruce, CEO, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (the College)

• Genevieve Moineau, President and CEO of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC)

• Heidi M Oetter, Registrar and CEO of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC

• Françoise Ramel, Vice-présidente, Fédération Interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ)

• Vamini Selvanandan, Chair, Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA)

• Linda Silas, President, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU)

• Sharleen Stewart , President, SEIU Healthcare

• Tanas Sylliboy, Chair of the Indigenous relations circle at the Canadian Nurses Association

• Gail Tomblin Murphy, RN PhD, Vice-President of Research, Innovation and Discovery and Chief Nurse Executive, Nova-Scotia Health Authority

• Maureen Topps, Executive Director and CEO, Medical Council of Canada (MCC)

• Dr. Cornelia Weiman, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, First Nations Health Authority, President of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada