Canada–Manitoba bilateral agreement to improve health care services

April 2019

Today, the governments of Canada and Manitoba announced the signing of a bilateral agreement for home and community care and mental health and addiction services. The agreement outlines how the province plans to invest approximately $182 million in targeted federal funding over five years to improve access to these services. In 2021-22, this agreement will be renewed for the remaining five years. The 10-year commitment is approximately $400 million for the jurisdiction.

Manitoba’s Action Plan aligns with the objectives and pan-Canadian priorities set out in the Common Statement of Principles on Shared Health Priorities* agreed to by federal, provincial and territorial Ministers of Health in August 2017.

Home Care and Community Care

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

• Expanding Manitoba’s proven model of home care to support increased service provision of home and community care services to meet the needs of Manitoba’s residents in the coming years. This includes increasing the number of hours of nursing home care and home care attendant services as well as targeted services to meet specific population needs, such as home dialysis;
• Developing a community and home care support system to shorten hospital stays by providing clients with intensive at-home care and supports within the familiar surroundings of their home and local caregivers; and
• Enhancing supports for palliative care to expand end-of-life care service delivery for rural Manitobans, including increasing access to hospice services and after-hours access to resources for palliative care clients and their families.

Mental Health and Addiction Services

Manitoba will use federal funding for mental health and addiction services to implement new initiatives, with a focus on supporting Manitoba’s Mental Health and Addictions Strategy. Federal funding will focus on:

• Increasing timely access to coordinated care for mental health and addiction services for Manitobans, including for children and youth and Indigenous peoples, through services that are patient-centric, equitable, accessible, integrated and effective;
• Implementing a peer-support program in formal health care settings to support the recovery of a person with mental health and addiction issues, including providing comfort, support and motivation, and helping with transitioning and connecting individuals and their families with supports in the community; and
• Expanding pregnancy and infant-loss support and outreach for families dealing with the loss of a child during pregnancy and infancy.

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 is flowing 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.

Provinces and territories are also working collectively and with the Canadian Institute for Health Information on common indicators to measure progress and report to Canadians.

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.