The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Government of Canada are working closely with provincial and territorial governments to strengthen health care and adapt the system to the challenges of delivering health care during the COVID-19 pandemic and as we move into recovery.
Today, the Honourable John Haggie, provincial Minister of Health, and the Honourable Patty Hajdu, federal Minister of Health, announced the signature of a bilateral agreement to expand virtual health care services for residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. Under the agreement, the province will invest federal funding based on agreed-upon pan-Canadian priorities for accelerating virtual health care services, which have been instrumental for delivering care during the pandemic and which are helping to improve access to needed services.
Through this bilateral agreement, Newfoundland and Labrador is receiving over $4.5 million to expand efforts on virtual health services. More information on funding for these initiatives and more are provided in the Backgrounder below.
The Provincial Government is developing an action plan that outlines how it is investing the funding under the bilateral agreement to expand virtual health services for residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Quotes
“Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen the benefits of technology and virtual care for patients and health care providers alike. We have heard about the positive experiences from people and providers who have used these services. Virtual care offers the convenience of care from home, allowing people the ability to access care from wherever they are across the province.”
Honourable John Haggie
Minister of Health and Community Services, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
“Now more than ever, Canadians need access to virtual health care services. We are working with provinces and territories to support the deployment of such services for Canadians, to ensure they can access the care they need, whenever they need it. Today’s investment will provide Newfoundland and Labrador residents with expanded virtual health services.”
Honourable Patty Hajdu
Minister of Health, Government of Canada
“This is an important step to provide Newfoundland and Labrador residents with access to more virtual health care services. Supporting virtual services is one way our government is working with provinces and territories to improve health outcomes and access to services, while meeting patient needs during COVID.”
Honourable Seamus O’Regan
Minister of Natural Resources and MP for St. John’s South—Mount Pearl, Government of Canada
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Learn more
Bilateral Agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador
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Media contacts
Lesley Clarke
Health and Community Services
709-729-6986, 699-2910
lesleyclarke@gov.nl.ca
Thierry Bélair
Office of the Honourable Patty Hajdu
Minister of Health
613-957-0200
Media Relations
Health Canada
613-957-2983
hc.media.sc@canada.ca
Backgrounder
- On May 3, 2020, the Prime Minister announced an investment of $240.5 million to increase access to virtual services and digital tools to support Canadians’ health and well-being.
- $150 million of that funding will be provided to provinces and territories through targeted bilateral agreements aimed at expanding virtual health services in five priority areas for immediate action to support further embedding these services within Canadian health systems, namely:
- secure messaging and file transfer,
- secure video conferencing,
- remote patient monitoring technologies,
- patient access to their COVID-19 and other lab results, and
- back-end supports for integration and/or alignment of these new platforms or existing tools.
- This funding is also in addition to up to $50 million in incremental federal funding allocated to Canada Health Infoway to further support provincial and territorial efforts to rapidly implement new initiatives in keeping with the five priority areas.
- Bilateral agreements on virtual care are a time-limited initiative aimed at ensuring that Canadians can continue to access the health care services they need.
- Health Canada is building on this investment by working with provinces and territories on related policy issues. This will enable the longer-term adoption of high-quality and safe virtual health care services as a complement to in-person care.
- To date, funding agreements totalling over $116 million have been announced for 11 province and territories, including: Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edwards Island, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Manitoba, Nunavut, and Newfoundland and Labrador.