Written Submission for the Pre-Budget Consultations In Advance of the Upcoming Federal Budget

The Time Is Now: Prioritizing Children Under the New Canada Health Transfer

Children’s healthcare systems have been underfunded, under-resourced, and under-prioritized for decades. As a result, children now wait longer than adults for many essential and time sensitive healthcare interventions. The recent y renegotiated Canada Health Transfer, which included an immediate $2-billion top-up t o Canada Health Transfer payments for fiscal year 2022-23, pro vided a good first step toward right-sizing children’s health and creating much-needed systems capacity. But more is urgently needed.

Children's Healthcare Canada, the Pediatric Chairs of Canada, and the members we represent (healthcare delivery organizations serving children and youth across the continuum of care, and academic physician leaders) believe the federal government has a leadership role to play in measurably improving children’s health and well-being in Canada.

Improving health outcomes of Canada’s eight million children and youth is a matter of political will. The children’s health community (national organizations, physician leaders, executive leaders, and family partners) is well aligned. We have clearly defined the challenges our health systems face delivering care to a growing and increasingly complex population of kids, but we are also aligned regarding the systems-oriented solutions to improve access, address workforce shortages, and ultimately improve health outcomes.

Children’s Healthcare Canada and the Pediatric Chair s of Canada call on the federal government to take immediate action to make children’s health a priority. If we improve the health of children, we improve the health of Canada.

Recommendations:

1. Invest $2 million to immediately develop a strategy (including timelines and targets) to right-size children’s health systems in Canada.
2. Invest $8 million annually to establish an office for a Chief Children’s Health Officer.
3. Commit $10 billion over ten years to support provinces and territories in increasing access to children’s health services across the continuum of care, and to address lengthy backlogs for essential services (surgical, diagnostic, mental health, and children’s rehabilitation).
4. Invest $24 million to advance a robust maternal, child, and youth health research agenda.