Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

Raison d'être

Health Canada regulates specific products and controlled substances and supports innovation and information sharing in Canada's health system to help Canadians maintain and improve their health.

Mandate and role

At Health Canada, our role is to help Canadians maintain and improve their health. While the provinces and territories are responsible for delivering health care to the majority of Canadians, the federal government also has a number of key roles and responsibilities in areas that affect health and health care. In addition to working closely with provincial and territorial governments, we also work with partners in the Health Portfolio (Public Health Agency of Canada, Canada Food Inspection Agency, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research), other federal departments and agencies, non-governmental organizations, other countries, Indigenous partners and the private sector.

As a partner in health, Health Canada:

• Protects Canadians from unsafe food, health and consumer products;
• Promotes innovation in health care; and,
• Informs Canadians to make healthy choices.

The meals we serve our families, the pesticides farmers put on crops, the herbal remedies, vitamins and drugs in our medicine cabinets, the toys we buy our children - they are all products regulated by Health Canada for safety. Hundreds of new products, with new ingredients and new purposes, are introduced by industry every year in Canada. Health Canada's decisions are made with the best interest of Canadians in mind, whether to approve the safety and quality of new products or to provide advice after they are on the market. Our actions are supported by scientific evidence.

Our Department is committed to upholding the Canada Health Act and protecting our publicly funded health care system, which helps to ensure Canadians have access to quality, universal health care based strictly on their medical needs, not their ability and willingness to pay. We also promote innovation and the use of best practices across Canada.

Health Canada's vision is to help make Canada's population among the healthiest in the world. From coast to coast to coast, Health Canada employees - scientists and researchers, inspectors, doctors and nurses, policy analysts and administrative professionals, and many others - are working to help Canadians maintain and improve their health.

As a regulator, service provider, promoter of innovation, and trusted source of information, we are a partner in health for all Canadians.

For more information on the Department's organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Ministers' mandate letters.

Operating context

Health Canada operates in a complex and dynamic environment, facing several challenges as it works to deliver results for Canadians. Many of these challenges – such as the health worker crisis, broader substance use-related harms, global supply chain issues, and climate change – are beyond the sole control of the Department. Solving complex challenges involves working collaboratively with federal partners, non-governmental stakeholders, provinces and territories (P/Ts), Indigenous organizations, industry, and international regulators.

Canada's health worker crisis was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. High patient workloads, challenging work conditions, and concerns for personal safety led to high levels of burnout, absences, and turnover. Canadians are feeling the impacts as emergency rooms continue to be overwhelmed, many Canadians still lack a primary care provider, and wait times for surgeries and other procedures continue to be higher than pre-pandemic averages across the health system. Finally, additional emerging health threats (e.g., various respiratory viruses) will continue to challenge Canada's healthcare systems.

Healthcare systems in Canada are facing numerous challenges in terms of sustainability, access to services, and service delivery. Health care delivery is primarily under P/T jurisdiction with federal funding administered via the Canada Health Transfer. Health Canada is advancing the Government's Working Together to Improve Health Care for Canadians plan, to support P/Ts on shared priorities: expanding access to family health services; supporting health workers and reducing backlogs; improving access to quality mental health and substance use services; modernizing the healthcare system with standardized health data and digital tools; and helping Canadians age with dignity and closer to home.

Canadians are facing increasing costs-of-living and expensive prescription drugs due to inflation, high-interest rates, and fiscal restraints. This creates socioeconomic and geographical barriers to essential, high quality, and timely health care services, including oral health. The effects are felt most acutely by priority populations, contributing to financial hardships, and deteriorating overall health outcomes. The Government of Canada invests in health care services via transfers to provincial and territorial governments and through pan-Canadian and community-based health organizations to support access for all residents of Canada to appropriate and effective health services, including prescription drugs, sexual and reproductive health, and territorial health systems. Health Canada has also begun to support eligible individual Canadians and their families to access oral health care services.

The effects of climate change and extreme weather events such as wildfires, heat waves, floods, and droughts, continue to intensify across Canada, affecting the health of Canadians. In addition to supporting efforts to respond to such events, Health Canada has developed a Climate Change Adaptation Plan, to manage or mitigate risks to its critical services, operations and assets resulting from climate change.

The overdose crisis is one of the most serious public health threats in Canada's recent history with devastating impacts on individuals, friends and families, and communities across the country. It worsened and became more complex during the COVID-19 pandemic, largely due to a more toxic illegal drug supply and reduced access to health and social services such as life-saving harm reduction and treatment services for people who use drugs.

Underserved Canadians continue to bear the brunt of health events. For example, while the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the health of many Canadians, it especially affected Indigenous Peoples, racialized Canadians, women, youth, elderly, people living with chronic health conditions, and people in lower-income households. Facilitating access to quality health care, mental health care and substance use support services requires a collaborative approach between all of the F/P/T partners and key stakeholders. All levels of government are adjusting to the changing needs and expectations of Canadians and leveraging technological advances to improve quality of care and health outcomes. As a partner in the national health care system, the Department works closely with P/T governments and stakeholders to develop national approaches to health systems issues and to promote the pan-Canadian adoption of best practices. As well, Health Canada's Data Strategy will allow the leveraging of data to improve evidence-based decision-making and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of programs and services.

Rising commodity prices, inflation, debt and a potential economic slowdown or recession may result in additional challenges for both Health Canada and Canadians in terms of acquiring and affording necessary health and food products, which in turn exposes ongoing inequalities in communities. In addition, geopolitical issues and supply chain challenges (e.g., extreme weather events due to climate change) are impacting manufacturers' abilities to meet Canadian market demand for certain drugs and medical devices.

The increased pace of scientific and technological innovation, globalization, and the complexity of the global supply chain are key challenges for regulators. Effectively regulating new and innovative products, substances, food and emerging product categories in a global marketplace requires flexible regulatory approaches. Creating and strengthening relationships with domestic and international partners is key to facilitating cooperation and developing consistent approaches to novel products. However, limited resources, challenges in properly assessing and addressing security threats such as cyberattacks, and political barriers to government collaboration could have a detrimental effect on Health Canada's ability to participate on the international stage.

Canadians expect the Department to provide high quality, scientific, and evidence-based health information. However, Health Canada's reputation as a source of credible information is threatened by increasing misinformation and disinformation regarding health products and other regulated substances from a wide range of sources easily accessible to the public. This poses a challenge to regulators in terms of responding quickly and decisively in the face of eroding trust in scientific bodies and health regulators. Canadians continue to expect their government to be open and transparent and to effectively engage them in decision-making. Clarity on direction and sharing accurate and timely information with stakeholders and the public helps ensure that the Department is viewed as a trusted source of information and that individuals and organizations have the information needed to act on their health and safety.

Inequities persist in health care, communities, and workplaces across the country. Diversifying the health care and public workforce increases access to quality health care for all populations, reduces health disparities, improves cross-cultural communication, and contributes to health equity. The Department's values - fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace that is free of racism and discrimination and where all employees are treated with respect, dignity, and fairness - form the foundation of who we are, what we do, and how we do our work.