Canada Reaches Health Funding Agreement with Saskatchewan

January 17, 2017 - Ottawa, ON - Saskatchewan                        

Canada’s public healthcare system is a source of pride. The Government of Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan are committed to ensuring it is there to meet the needs of Canadian families.

Today, the federal government and the Government of Saskatchewan agreed to new targeted federal funding over 10 years for investments in home care and mental health care. The province joins New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and the Territories in accepting the Government of Canada’s offer to support transformative change and deliver better health care for Canadians in these priority areas.

Over the next 10 years, the federal government will provide Saskatchewan with an additional $348.8 million:

• $190.3 million for better home care including addressing critical home care infrastructure requirements; and
• $158.5 million in support of mental health initiatives.

Under this funding agreement, the province will be getting its respective share of the investment in home care and mental health offered by the federal government at the Finance and Health Ministers’ Meeting on December 19, 2016. The province is the latest jurisdiction to pursue a new agreement for health care funding with the federal government, which will begin in the 2017-18 fiscal year.

In the coming weeks, governments will develop performance indicators and mechanisms for annual reporting to citizens, as well as a detailed plan on how these funds will be spent, over and above existing programs. The Government of Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan will work out the details of accountability and reporting, consistent with the pan-Canadian approach envisaged in the federal funding offer of December 19, 2016.

As a result of these investments, it is expected that access to mental health services for children and youth will be improved and that the number of patients in hospital who could be supported and better cared for at home or in the community will be reduced.

The targeted investments in home care and mental health care are in addition to the existing legislated commitments through the Canada Health Transfer (CHT), which will continue to grow into the future. This new funding agreement is consistent with the federal investments offered to provincial and territorial governments on December 19, 2016. It would be amended to reflect legislated changes to the CHT in the event of a pan-Canadian agreement consistent with the previous federal offer.

As currently legislated, the CHT amount will be calculated using a three-year moving average of nominal GDP growth, or 3% whichever is higher, and allocated to provinces and territories on an equal per capita basis.

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Contacts

Andrew MacKendrick
Office of Jane Philpott
Minister of Health
613-957-0200

Kathy Young
Chief of Operations and Communications
Executive Council
Government of Saskatchewan
306-787-0425

Media Relations

Health Canada
613-957-2983

Public Inquiries:

613-957-2991
1-866 225-0709