PolitiKit

Allow nurses to certify the Disability Tax Credit form

Create a pan-Canadian health human resources strategy

Federal Budget: Federal Tobacco Control Strategy; alcohol policy; getting cancer patients the information and support they need; the Employment Insurance Sickness Benefit; health research; access to palliative care; and other budgetary policy as it relates to cancer.

National Caregiving Strategy

Excise Act, 2001 and regulations, as it relates to contraband and the taxation of tobacco and vaping products.

Policies or programs related to access to care and potential treatments for the ALS Community.

Mrs. Cindy Gates-Dee, and the Dee family, seek to lobby public office holders to eliminate the use of ‘men who have sex with men’ and other criterion on the basis of gender or sexual orientation for donor risk assessments. Health Canada has indicated their intention to eliminate the ‘men who have sex with men’ criterion for donor risk assessments and are proposing moving toward gender neutral behavioral screening. A press release regarding this recent policy change was not found online; Public review period for comment was launched for the proposed amendments of CSA Z900.1 (General standard) and Z900.2.3 (Perfusable organs). The comment period will close on May 10th 2025.

Mrs. Cindy Gates-Dee, and the Dee family, seeks to lobby public office holders regarding Health Canada’s Guidance Document for Cell, Tissue, and Organ Establishments, Food and Drugs Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. F-27), and pp. 30-99, men who have sex with men (MSM), “exceptional distribution,” and the donor being flagged as “high risk,” Safety of Human Cells and Tissues and Organs for Transplantation Regulations (SOR/2007-118) and CSA Standards (e.g. Z900 CSA Standards).

Mrs. Cindy Gates-Dee, and the Dee family, seeks to lobby public office holders regarding Health Canada’s latest Guidance on the Safety of Human Cells, Tissues and Organs for Transplantation Regulations; Health Canada’s previous Guidance Document (i.e. the 2018 version in effect at the time) indicated that for deceased donors, the following evidence should be assessed in a physical examination: “for a male donor, physical evidence of anal intercourse including perianal condyloma”; After Mrs. Cindy Gates-Dee, and the Dee family, sought to lobby public office holders to have this removed from the Guidance the statement was subsequently removed by Health Canada. The statement does not exist in the updated version of the Guidance Document (updated 2024).

Mrs. Cindy Gates-Dee, and the Dee family, sought to lobby public office holders regarding Health Canada issuance of a Notice to industry requiring the use of universal Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) for all donations to reduce the risk of HIV, HBV, and HCV. A Notice was subsequently issued by Health Canada requiring the use of NAT to reduce the risk of HIV, HBV, and HCV on February 25, 2025; In 2013, Health Canada made it mandatory to use HIV-1 NAT and HCV NAT assays to test cord blood donors and deceased tissue donors. At the time, this requirement was not extended to other types of donations, such as organs and fresh lymphohematopoietic cells, due to concerns about the accessibility of NAT assays licensed by Health Canada, as well as concerns about the rates of false positive test results. Over the past decade, the accessibility of licensed donor screening NAT assays for HIV-1, HBV, and HCV has increased substantially and the false positivity rate of the current generation of these tests has dropped considerably.

Improved diagnosis and treatment options for women: Advocate for funding for evidence-based research and science to build capacity for diagnosis and treatment of women’s health conditions.

Sexual and reproductive health: Advocate for enhanced funding to national, independent, science-based professional organizations to educate Canadians on women's sexual and reproductive rights

Advocacy for universal, free coverage of a full range of contraceptives for all Canadian women, including urging the federal government to enter into funding agreements with all provinces and territories so all Canadian women can access free birth control, regardless of address.

Advocacy for the government to fulfil its 2025 election commitment to create a national IVF program that would provide up to $20,000 toward one IVF cycle per patient.

Sexual and reproductive health: Advocate for equitable access to reproductive health care services, including abortion services, for women in every part of Canada.

Surgical wait times: Advocate for dedicated funding to provinces and territories to reduce surgical wait times for obstetric and gynaecological procedures. Advocate for the federal government to work with provincial and territorial health leadership to address disparities in the prioritization of surgery time.

Improved diagnosis and treatment options for women: Advocate for expanded free access to virtual care consultations for women’s health conditions, especially in underserved communities including First Nations and rural and remote areas.

Women's health data: Advocate for the federal government to place a greater priority on addressing the women's health gap by taking leadership role in seeing provinces and territories collect and track key indicators of women's health.

Women's health data: Advocate for more dedicated financial resources for data collection focused on addressing the women's health gap.

Improved diagnosis and treatment options for women: Advocate for increased capacity for diagnosing and treating women’s health conditions and encourage the federal government to encourage provinces and territories (through funding streams, bilateral negotiations, FPT discussions) to eliminate current barriers to care.

Womena's health data: Advocate for greater priority to be placed on realities faced by under-represented groups such as Black women, Indigenous People, newcomers to Canada and those experiencing homelessness and substance-use disorders who are disproportionally impacted by the women’s health gap.

Health Canada and Public Services and Procurement Canada policies regarding the development, procurement, and distribution of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to various segments of the population, including future distribution models

Government policies regarding innovation, research and development, and messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) biotechnology

Health Canada, with respect to the role of wholesalers in the management of drug shortages

Discuss policy measures to protect Canada's drug supply, distribution, and pharmacy systems against the impact of US tariffs

TECHNOLOGY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: provide CMA’s perspective on the impact of technology and artificial intelligence on the health care sector and the means through which advancements can be foreseen and managed.

ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN: Advocate for measures to alleviate the administrative burden on physicians and support their professional wellbeing, including investment to facilitate the development of EHRs and EMRs in Canada, improved remuneration for the completion of federal health forms, the development of a Federal Disability Benefit, ensuring that physicians are not captured in the definition of "promoters" in the Disability Tax Credit Promoters Restrictions Regulations, providing clarity and guidance on federal forms, and advocacy on discontinuing the requirement that employees present sick notes to their employers.

BUDGET: Provide CMA’s perspective on the Government of Canada’s budget, particularly as it relates to modernizing Canada’s health care system by enhancing efficiency, driving innovation, and promoting equitable access to care.

DIGITAL HEALTH: Increased investment in providing digital, virtual and telehealth services.

FEDERAL HEALTH FUNDING FOR A NEW PRIMARY CARE ACCESS FUND: Recommendation for a funding commitment to ensure that every Canadian has access to a family doctor or primary care team.

INDIGENOUS HEALTH AND RECONCILIATION WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: Implementation of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including addressing the ongoing structural inequities that marginalize Indigenous Peoples, advancing the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in societal systems and sectors, including health systems, and committing to collaborative and respectful relationships with Indigenous patients and communities. The CMA is also advocating to increase trust between Indigenous patients and health care providers, and to eliminate racism, inequitable access to care, and the ongoing harm caused to those within Canada’s health care system.

DIGITAL HEALTH: Increased investment in providing digital, virtual and telehealth services.

INTEGRATED HEALTH HUMAN RESOURCES: Advocate for an Integrated Health Human Resources Strategy, including creating retention incentives and addressing administrative burden for health care professionals, increasing the number of doctors and nurses and ensuring that every Canadian has access to a family doctor or primary health team, increasing access to virtual care, creating an action plan to get internationally trained health care professionals to work, improving workforce data collection across health systems and investing in a supply needs-based planning tool, and facilitating team-based health care.

FEDERAL HEALTH FUNDING FOR A NEW PRIMARY CARE ACCESS FUND: Recommendation for a funding commitment to ensure that every Canadian has access to a family doctor or primary care team.

TECHNOLOGY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: provide CMA’s perspective on the impact of technology and artificial intelligence on the health care sector and the means through which advancements can be foreseen and managed.

INDIGENOUS HEALTH AND RECONCILIATION WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: Implementation of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including addressing the ongoing structural inequities that marginalize Indigenous Peoples, advancing the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in societal systems and sectors, including health systems, and committing to collaborative and respectful relationships with Indigenous patients and communities. The CMA is also advocating to increase trust between Indigenous patients and health care providers, and to eliminate racism, inequitable access to care, and the ongoing harm caused to those within Canada’s health care system.

ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN: Advocate for measures to alleviate the administrative burden on physicians and support their professional wellbeing, including investment to facilitate the development of EHRs and EMRs in Canada, improved remuneration for the completion of federal health forms, ensuring that physicians are not captured in the definition of "promoters" in the Disability Tax Credit Promoters Restrictions Regulations, and advocacy on discontinuing the requirement that employees present sick notes to their employers.

BUDGET: Provide CMA’s perspective on the Government of Canada’s budget, particularly as it relates to modernizing Canada’s health care system by enhancing efficiency, driving innovation, and promoting equitable access to care.

Data as it relates to all health and cancer data policy, planning and outcomes.

Federal Budget: Federal Tobacco Control Strategy; alcohol policy; getting cancer patients the information and support they need; the Employment Insurance Sickness Benefit; health research; access to palliative care; and other budgetary policy as it relates to cancer.

First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act and regulations, as it relates to the taxation of tobacco products.

Access to palliative care, as it relates to programs offered through Health Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, the Department of National Defence, and Employment and Social Development Canada.

National Caregiving Strategy

Canadian Institutes of Health Research as it relates to continued federal funding & long term investment in health research.

Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, as it relates to continued federal funding & long term investment in health research through Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Federal Budget: Allocate funding for the Canada Disability Benefit, the Employment Insurance Sickness Benefit; health research; access to treatment and care; and other budgetary policy as it relates to MS.

Fund CFPC efforts to streamline foreign credential recognition of internationally educated family physicians to bolster the health workforce.

Support family doctors with teams, as that is a key enabler to providing high quality primary care

Addressing administrative burden: Administrative burden consistently ranks as a top concern for family physicians. This time comes in the way of providing patient care. One of the significant sources of administrative burden for family physicians is filling out federal health forms.

Improve access to primary care, home care, and palliative and end-of-life care for all people in Canada.

Reinstate the position of a Chief Nursing Officer at the federal level, and support for CNO's in all provinces and territories.

Create a pan-Canadian health human resources strategy

Influencing the Canada Health Transfer and Health Bilateral Agreements between the federal government and provinces and territories to urge governments to increase healthcare investments and invest in priority areas such as the health workforce, primary care, long-term care, mental health, data and virtual care, and surgeries and backlogs.

Continue to act on Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations, including recommendation for new Indigenous healing centres, enhancing the education of health-care workers in culturally appropriate care, and increasing the diversity of the health workforce in Canada.

Strategies to address the health human resources crisis and nursing shortages across Canada, including providing funding to provinces and territories to help optimize workloads; financial supports for nurses and health-care workers such as loan forgiveness, tax incentives, retention bonuses for senior nurses; creating a mental health action plan for health-care workers; increasing training and education for health-care workers.