Health Canada Releases What We Heard Report from Engagement on the Safe Long-Term Care Act

OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 29, 2024 /CNW/ - Every person in Canada deserves to age with dignity, safety, and comfort, regardless of where they live. While many Canadians want to age in their own home, they also expect and deserve that high quality long-term care options are available. That is why the Government of Canada is developing a Safe Long-Term Care Act.

Today, Health Canada released the Safe Long-Term Care Act engagement: What we heard report, which summarizes what the department heard through in-person and virtual public consultations on proposed legislation to strengthen access to quality, safe, and equitable long-term care in Canada.

The consultations process garnered wide-ranging and highly informative perspectives from over 5,000 people in Canada, including health care organizations, academics, long-term care residents, staff and caregivers, provinces and territories, Indigenous partners, and other federal government departments.

During the consultation sessions, the Government of Canada heard that most people would prefer to age at home with necessary supports. When long-term care is needed, people want and deserve that care to be high-quality and safe. Participants spoke to priorities such as: treating long-term care as one component of the continuum of supportive care, which also includes home care and palliative care; inclusivity and responsiveness to diversity in long-term care; supporting the long-term care workforce; access to long-term care that is culturally-safe and trauma informed; and more transparency and accountability in long-term care. Health Canada will use this feedback to inform the Safe Long-Term Care Act.

The Government of Canada is committed to making sure every Canadian can age on their own terms, in their community. The federal government will continue to collaborate with provinces and territories, Indigenous partners, and all stakeholders to build a safe, equitable, and high-quality long-term care system that delivers for Canadian seniors and care workers.

Quotes

"The COVID-19 pandemic was another reminder of the need to work collectively to improve the quality, safety, and availability of long-term care services across Canada. That is why our government is developing a Safe Long-Term Care Act. I want to thank all of those who shared their experiences and provided their insights and perspectives. Your views are instrumental as we develop legislation that aims to improve long-term care across the country."

The Honourable Mark Holland
Minister of Health

"The Safe Long-Term Care Act is about making sure we do right by seniors, their families and care workers. What happened during the pandemic can't happen again. Delivering legislation informed by their experiences is the only way we'll get this right."

The Honourable Steven MacKinnon
Minister of Labour and Seniors

Quick Facts

• The Safe Long-Term Care Act will outline guiding principles, informed by the long-term care standards and the findings of the engagement process, to foster advancements in the quality and safety of the long-term care services across the country. The legislation will respect provincial and territorial jurisdiction over long-term care. As such, it will not mandate standards or regulate long-term care delivery.
• In the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, the federal government announced the creation of a Safe Long-Term Care Fund. This fund transferred $1 billion to the provinces and territories to protect people living and working in long-term care.
• In January 2023, the Government of Canada welcomed the release of long-term care standards developed independently by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA Group) and the Health Standards Organization. These standards focus on the delivery of safe, reliable, and high-quality long-term care services, safe operating practices, and infection prevention and control measures in long-term care homes.
• Budget 2023 announced close to $200 billion over ten years to support the Working Together to Improve Health Care for Canadians Plan. This includes $46.2 billion in support to provinces and territories through the Canada Health Transfer, tailored bilateral agreements with provinces and territories, funding for personal support workers, and a ten-year commitment on the Territorial Health Investment Fund. The plan emphasizes key federal health priorities, including helping Canadians age with dignity closer to home.
• In July 2023, the Government of Canada launched the online consultation for the Safe Long-Term Care Act, inviting people to share their perspectives and expertise on how to improve quality and safety, foster the implementation of standards, address human resources challenges, and strengthen accountability in the long-term care sector. The Government also hosted a series of roundtable discussions with experts and stakeholders, including two hosted by the Minister of Health and the Minister of Labour and Seniors in November 2023.
• As of March 2024, all provinces and territories have signed their Aging with Dignity bilateral agreements with the Government of Canada, further ensuring that Canadians receive the care they need and deserve while also supporting health care workers for their essential role in maintaining Canadians' health.

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; Hartley Witten, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Labour and Seniors, 343-575-1065, [email protected]; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]