Canada– Nova Scotia bilateral agreement to improve health care services

August 2018

Today, the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia signed a bilateral agreement outlining how the province plans to invest approximately $130 million in targeted federal funding over five years to improve access to home and community care and mental health and addiction services. In 2021-22, this agreement will be renewed for the remaining five years of the 10-year commitment.

Nova Scotia’s Action Plan aligns with the objectives and pan-Canadian priorities set out in the Common Statement of Principles on Shared Health Priorities and will be implemented through a multi-pronged approach.

Home Care and Community Care

Over the next five years, Nova Scotia will be strengthening its home and community care services, including enhancing supports that will allow Nova Scotians with increasing care needs to stay in their homes as long as possible. Federal funding in this area will focus on:

• Enhancing continuing care services for patients by increasing the flexibility of current programs and developing new programs to support clients of all ages, particularly those with complex needs. These enhancements will enable individuals to remain at home and in their community as long as possible;
• Supporting caregivers by expanding existing caregiver support programs, and implementing new, evidence-based programs that will better support caregivers in their important and challenging role;
• Supporting initiatives that will facilitate system integration and greater coordination of care. In particular, funding will improve services for clients with complex health care needs and develop culturally appropriate information regarding programs, services and training specific to First Nations continuing care needs; and,
• Increasing the use of evidence to ensure services are accountable and sustainable, by implementing the interRAI Long-Term Care Facilities Assessment Tool.

Mental Health and Addiction Services

Nova Scotia will use federal funding for mental health and addiction services to implement a series of early actions to respond to some of the most pressing gaps in the province’s mental health and addiction services system. Federal funding in these areas will focus on:

• Enhancing integrated mental health and addictions service delivery for children and youth through:
  • Expanding access to mental health and addictions supports and clinicians to reach all schools in Nova Scotia; and
  • Developing of a standardized youth health centre model that is reflective of current evidence and need. The model will be piloted and evaluated at four sites beginning in the 2018-19 school year.
• Improving access to community-based mental health and addiction supports by:
  • Increasing the number of mental health clinicians in the community sector for children and adults;
  • Implementing a standardized care model that will integrate community-based mental health and addiction supports into existing program; and,
  • Investing in technology solutions to provide a single point of entry and improve access to mental health and addiction services.

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. Provinces and territories already received the first year of this funding through a legislated transfer following their endorsement of the Common Statement of Principles on Shared Health Priorities.* Funding for the remaining years will flow to provinces and territories through a series of bilateral agreements.

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 will set out the details of how federal funding will be used in alignment with the Common Statement of Principles. As of August 2017, provinces and territories accepted their share of the $11 billion in federal health funding. 

Provinces and territories have also committed to 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, the health ministers of all provinces and territories, 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. CIHI will begin its annual reporting to FPT governments and the public in 2019.

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.

* The federal government has agreed to an asymmetrical arrangement with Quebec, distinct from the Common Statement of Principles.