OTTAWA - Today, at a Special Chiefs Assembly, the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health and Phil Fontaine, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, signed a joint workplan developed by a newly formed Task Group that aims to improve the effectiveness of the First Nations health system over the short and long-terms.
The purpose of this Task Group is to provide a forum to explore and develop approaches in areas of mutual interest for improving First Nations health. The activities identified in the workplan, including position papers, strategies and options and/or comparative studies, are expected to be completed in six months and a progress report will be submitted to both the Minister of Health and the National Chief. This workplan will focus on five key areas, specifically: cross jurisdictional agreements, sustainability, management and accountability, performance management, and exploring options for a legislative base in public health.
"I am pleased that we are working together on these joint priorities," said Minister Clement at the Assembly. "Working together we will build trust, achieve progress, and improve health outcomes, by acting out a new way of thinking. Canada's New Government will continue to involve and work with First Nations leaders on solutions that deliver real, meaningful and measurable results for First Nations, as we have on wait times guarantees for prenatal and diabetes care in First Nations communities."
The Task Group will build upon work that has already begun on First Nations data infrastructure through a partnership between the Assembly of First Nations and the Canadian Institute for Health Research related to the First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey, and with funds provided by Health Canada to support and enhance reliable health data.
"This joint initiative demonstrates a commitment to address the immediate and long-term sustainability issues facing First Nations communities," stated National Chief Phil Fontaine. "First Nations leaders are anxious to move forward in enhancing First Nations capacity and implementing structural change that will ensure a more timely and responsive health system for First Nations."
"In September, I tabled a Roadmap for a Patient Wait Times Guarantee for First Nations with Minister Clement," noted National Chief Fontaine. "This joint workplan is a mechanism to work cooperatively and to meet concrete targets within the next six months. This commitment is not about process, but rather, it is focused on outcomes and builds on our success achieved at the National Aboriginal Health Summit."
The six-person Task Group consists of senior officials from Health Canada (Associate Deputy Minister - Susan Cartwright, Assistant Deputy Minister, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch - Ian Potter and a representative from the Office of the Minister of Health - Dr. Jo Kennelly) and the AFN (Chief Executive Officer - Richard Jock, Associate Chief of Staff - Dean Janvier, Senior Director of Health and Social Development - Valerie Gideon) and will report directly to the Minister and the National Chief in 2007.
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