Tessie Sanci
Tessie Sanci is a deputy editor at The Hill Times, where she focuses on federal health policy. She was previously the executive editor of Hill Times Health, and The Lobby Monitor, which are also a part of Hill Times Publishing.
Tessie Sanci is a deputy editor at The Hill Times, where she focuses on federal health policy. She was previously the executive editor of Hill Times Health, and The Lobby Monitor, which are also a part of Hill Times Publishing.
The federal Liberal government ordered an external review about the use of science advice during the pandemic but there is little awareness of this report. ‘No one said a peep about this report, like it was done and moved along,’ says infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch.
A third-party review of the food affordability program for northern and remote communities was due on March 31. Over a month later, Ottawa is still waiting. Northern Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand says she has her own data to guide future action.
Dr. Richard Hatchett was recently in Ottawa seeking support for the project. His trip’s timing—amid news of the spread of hantavirus on a cruise ship—was a coincidence, but has reinforced ‘that these kinds of threats are continually and unpredictably emerging,’ he says.
Health Canada has six sets of funding deals with provinces and territories—some of which expire next March. Marjorie Michel will only confirm she’s in talks to renew the ‘Working Together’ deals.
Slow and fragmented processes to turn ideas into usable solutions means homegrown firms look abroad for clients, while Canada has to rely on foreign production, says Jean Belzile of the École de technologie supérieure.
A committee of 15 MPs and Senators is considering whether eligibility for medical assistance in dying should be expanded. Their work has been subject to criticism from some—including Senators—that most of the testimony has come from those opposed to the move.
Health Minister Marjorie Michel’s office says it is ‘committed to preventing vaping,’ but does not promise to ban flavours.
‘Where is R&D flourishing right now? It’s not in the U.S. It’s not in Europe. It’s in China,’ says IMC’s Bettina Hamelin at Canada’s Drug Agency’s annual symposium.
The non-binding policy proposals come in the wake of a new Alberta law allowing physicians to work in both the private and public systems. The law will ‘fundamentally change the structure of Canada’s health system and not just tweak the delivery of it,’ says Canadian Doctors for Medicare’s Dr. Bernard Ho.
A joint parliamentary committee is studying recommendations for the eligibility of medical assistance in dying for those whose sole condition is mental illness. It’s currently set for implementation in 2027, following two delays in the last three years.
The national and Quebec groups representing obstetricians and gynaecologists say a bill naming coerced sterilization in the Criminal Code could lead to physicians hesitating to provide critical care during emergencies for fear of prosecution. But Senator Yvonne Boyer, the bill’s sponsor, and Justice Department officials say doctors have legal protections in these situations.
The department recently told recipients it would cut 2.26 per cent of the total funding first agreed upon in 2024. Baldinelli says these groups are being held accountable for their work to receive this money, yet Ottawa can just backtrack from the contractual deals.
Reduced spending described in the 2026-27 departmental plan is attributed to the scaling back of COVID-19-related measures and the potential expiry of programs including the national suicide crisis helpline and the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy.
Reduced spending is attributed to the federal government’s spending review and expiring funding for the national strategy for rare disease drugs, Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, and for home care and mental health.
The reduction is a part of the federal government’s spending review, and impacts 17 organizations. BioCanRX president Dr. Stéphanie Michaud says the cut is ‘inconsistent’ with the government’s messaging on the importance of funding science.
Marcus Powlowski, who is also a doctor, visited children’s hospitals in Canada to get input on his bill that aims to give clinicians more say on a federal program that provides access to medicines that are not approved here. Those doctors are ‘frustrated by government bureaucracy that’s preventing them from delivering the optimal treatment to kids,’ Powlowski says.