Government of Canada signs two bilateral agreements with British Columbia

Agreements will enhance wages for personal support workers, and improve access to and affordability of drugs for rare diseases

VANCOUVER, BC, July 23, 2024 /CNW/ - Canadians deserve a health care system that provides timely access to quality health services and medications, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay. The Government of Canada recognizes that concerted and collaborative efforts by federal, provincial, and territorial governments are needed to improve health care for Canadians, including through better supporting health workers and ensuring access to medications for all.

That is why today, the Honourable Mark Holland, Canada's Minister of Health, and the Honourable Adrian Dix, British Columbia's (BC) Minister of Health, announced a $426 million federal investment as part of two bilateral agreements to support the health of people in BC.

Through the Aging with Dignity Agreement to support Personal Support Workers (PSW), or Health Care Assistants (HCAs) as they are known in BC, the Government of Canada will provide new funding of more than $232 million to be invested over the next five years to help BC support compensation for nearly 13,000 HCA full-time equivalents working in publicly-funded long-term care and assisted living facilities. This is an amendment to the Agreement, announced in February 2024. HCAs have long provided essential supports for Canadians to live and age with dignity. This was especially demonstrated through their dedication working on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this partnership, BC will be able to improve recruitment and retention, by ensuring these workers have better wages and benefits.

In addition, through the Agreement to support drugs for rare diseases (DRD), the Government of Canada will provide $194 million to improve access to drugs for rare diseases, early diagnosis, and screening, starting with the funding to support the province in providing access of two drugs under the National Strategy for Rare Diseases.

In Canada, 1 in 12 people live with a rare disease. While there are thousands of rare diseases, unfortunately treatments are only available for a small percentage of these conditions. And, for most people suffering, the cost of these treatments puts them out of reach.

Today, the Ministers announced that Poteligeo, for the treatment of mycosis fungoides or Sézary syndrome, and Oxlumo, for the treatment of hyperoxaluria type 1, will be made available to residents of BC. These two drugs are the first drugs to be announced from the common list of new drugs that has been in development over the last year with provinces and territories.

The names of other drugs on the common list will be published online on a drug-by-drug basis as the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance concludes its price negotiations for each drug. In addition, BC is committing through this agreement to work with Canada and other provinces and territories on developing and implementing a plan for improving screening and diagnostics for rare diseases.

The Government of Canada remains committed to working with provinces and territories to improve health care for all Canadians, including access to affordable prescription medications, and to achieve better health outcomes for everyone.

Quotes

"Reaching these agreements is another step in our collaborative efforts to build a stronger public health system for people in BC. Health Care Assistants play a key role in helping those who need long-term care to live and age with dignity, and they deserve to be compensated fairly. Additionally, this first ever agreement to support drugs for rare diseases will improve access to medications, early diagnosis, and screening, so that people in BC with rare diseases have the best health outcome possible."

The Honourable Mark Holland
Minister of Health

"We are committed to making our province the best place for people to work in the health-care sector and to receive care. Through these bilateral agreements we are raising the standard for wages and benefits for our health care assistants as they continue to provide vital care for seniors and making expensive medications more accessible for people with rare diseases. This is about investing in people and building a stronger, more equitable health-care system that works for everyone, patients and providers alike."

The Honourable Adrian Dix
British Columbia's Minister of Health

"Our government is committed to working with our provincial partners to solve the important issues Canadians tasked us with. Thanks to historic bilateral agreements like these, our governments are taking a further step on our shared path to ensure people in BC have a truly resilient and stronger public healthcare system. Through this newly signed agreement, we will empower healthcare workers to properly help those who need assisted living or long-term care to live and age with dignity because we know they are the backbone of our society and provide essential care to all of us. Additionally, thanks to this agreement, our governments are improving access to medications, early diagnosis, and screening for rare diseases so that everyone can have the best health outcome possible."

Taleeb Noormohamed
Member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage

"Health care assistants play an integral part in all care settings, especially by providing critically important care and services to seniors living in long-term care or assisted living. This investment will help attract and retain more people to this career and grow this workforce. It is another step we're taking towards bettering care for seniors, allowing them to age in dignity, near their loved ones, and I am grateful to the federal government for their support and partnership in this work."

Harwinder Sandhu
British Columbia's Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors' Services and Long-Term Care

Quick Facts

• Budget 2023 outlined the Working Together to Improve Health Care for Canadians plan, through which the Government of Canada is investing close to $200 billion over 10 years, including $46.2 billion in new funding for provinces and territories, to improve health care for Canadians. Within this funding, $25 billion is allocated through new tailored bilateral agreements to address the unique needs of their populations and geography in four shared health priorities:
  • expanding access to family health services, including in rural and remote areas;
  • supporting health workers and reducing backlogs;
  • increasing mental health and substance use support; and
    modernizing health care systems with health data and digital tools.
• The Working Together to Improve Health Care for Canadians plan also outlined an investment of $1.709 billion over five years to increase the wages of Personal Support Workers (PSWs) and related professions and support other recruitment and retention measures for PSWs.
• This funding will be accessible to provinces and territories through an amendment to their Aging with Dignity agreements and will extend their agreement by one year (until 2028-29). British Columbia's PSW amendment has been added to their Aging with Dignity Agreement and Action Plan posted online.
• The Aging with Dignity agreements also include $2.4 billion ($600 million per year for fiscal years 2023-24 to 2026-27) over four years to improve access to home and community care from Budget 2017; and $3 billion ($600 million per year for fiscal years 2023-24 to 2027-28) over five years for long-term care from Budget 2021 to apply standards of care in long-term care facilities and help support workforce stability.
• To support the four shared health priorities, Canada and British Columbia also signed a three-year Working Together Agreement and Action Plan, announced on October 10, 2023.
• In Canada, 1 out of 12 people has a rare disease. There are thousands of different rare diseases. Treatments are not always readily available, and even when they are, those treatments are often unaffordable or out of reach.
• Innovative treatments for rare diseases can cost anywhere from $100,000 to more than $4 million per year.
• In March 2023, the Government of Canada announced an investment of up to $1.5 billion over three years to support the National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases, including up to $1.4 billion for bilateral agreements with provinces and territories (PTs) to help patients with rare diseases have access to treatments as early as possible, for better quality of life.
• British Columbia's Drugs for Rare Diseases Agreement has been posted online.

Related Products

• Backgrounder: Personal Support Worker Amendment – British Columbia Agreement
• Backgrounder: Drugs for Rare Diseases – British Columbia Agreement

Associated Links

• Working Together to Improve Health Care in Canada
• National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases
• Budget 2023
• Implementation Advisory Group (IAG) for the National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases 

SOURCE Health Canada (HC)

Contacts: Matthew Kronberg, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, 343-552-5654; Media Relations, Health Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected]; Public Inquiries, 613-957-2991, 1-866-225-0709