携手合作为医疗及长者服务落实成果，长者事务部长与华文媒体会谈 Working together to deliver results in healthcare and seniors

🔊 朗读

 

2023 年 2 月 16 日，安大略渥太华——作为加拿大人，我们对我们的全民公共医疗护理系统感到 非常自豪，但现实是，它并没有达到我们的期望。我们已经看到全国各地的急诊室正经历着巨大 的压力。我们还听到加拿大人为重要的手术经历了不可接受的等待时间，也听到有加拿大人根本 无法看家庭医生，无法在需要时获得心理健康服务，也无法在网上轻松获取他们自己的健康信息。

 2 月 16 日，联邦长者事务部长卡玛尔•凯拉（Kamal Khera）阁下举办华文媒体视频圆桌会议，讨 论医疗护理及长者服务。当河谷北区国会议员 董晗鹏(Han Dong)、士嘉堡-爱静阁区国会议员 叶嘉丽（Jean Yip）、列治文山国会议员 马万里（Majid Jowhari）、史蒂夫斯顿-列治文东区国会议员 白恩斯（Parm Bains）、士嘉堡中区国会议员 张海盈（Salma Zahid）和万锦-于人村国会议员 蒋振宇（Paul Chiang）等一同出席。

加拿大人期望并应该得到改变。我们联邦政府提出的资金方案是一个巨大的投资，在未来10年内 投入1986亿加元，以修复疫情大流行造成的损害，并为我们医疗护理体系的未来做好准备。

凯拉部长表示联邦政府欢迎所有13个省和地区的省长周二宣布接受该资金方案。但是，在与每个 省和地区敲定双边协议方面，我们仍有许多工作要做。这将是我们联邦政府在未来几周的工作重 点。

这些历史性的投资将确保我们在一些共同优先事项上取得进步，这些优先事项基于加拿大人和医 护工作者告诉我们的重点。 这包括：

• 在他们需要的地方和时间，更好地获得家庭健康团队和心理健康服务；

• 老年人能够获得安全、优质的长期护理，并在自己的社区有尊严地养老；

• 加拿大人可以方便地在网上获取他们自己的健康信息；

• 医护人员得到他们所需的支持，在他们的工作中茁壮成长

更具体地说，这笔资金将确保我们现在提供对加拿大人真正重要的东西，同时确保我们在未来数 年继续担当一个可靠的合作伙伴。

为了应对短期的压力，联邦政府向前一步，向我们的医疗护理体系注入立即、无条件的 20 亿加 元资金，并将保证在未来五年内将加拿大医疗拨款增加 5%。我们还将在 10 年内投资 20 亿加元 以支持原住民的优先事项。

但是，我们知道各省和各地区有不同的需求，这就是为什么我们在 10 年内为双边协议投资 250 亿 加元，以确保各省和各地区有灵活性，根据他们的需求投资于我们共同的健康优先事项。

在从政之前，凯拉部长曾是多伦多一家医院的注册护士，在那里她对每天影响人们健康和福祉的 问题有了更深入的了解。她说，她特别高兴的是，联邦政府在未来 5 年内提供了17 亿元的重大资 金，让个人护理人员（PSW）的最低工资达到每小时25加元的水平。

 “个人护理员在疫情大流行期间一直是我们医疗护理系统的支柱，并将继续如此，我们需要像他 们照顾我们一样照顾他们，”凯拉部长表示。“在疫情大流行期间，我层再次穿上手术服，作为 注册护士在全国受影响最严重的长期护理院之一志愿工作。我亲眼目睹了一些病人、他们的家人 所经历的悲剧以及医护人员所经历的极端压力。这就是为什么我们采取行动，以确保保留和招聘 这些重要的工作人员，这是解决医疗护理危机的关键。”

“但我们知道，这不仅仅是钱的问题，”凯拉部长进一步说。“加拿大人期待看到结果，因为这 些钱如果不能产生更多的结果，就毫无意义。在接下来的几周里，我们将开始与各省和地区签署 协议，以便我们能够开始交付这笔资金，并兑现落实更好的医疗护理。”

联邦政府还要求各省和地区提交他们的行动计划，说明他们希望如何利用这些资金方案实现这些 成果。联邦还希望能够知道：有多少人能够获得家庭健康团队的服务，或者我们将以多快的速度 减少手术和诊断方面的积压，或者又有多少人能够获得心理健康护理服务。所有这些指标都将公 开产生，公开发布，以便让加拿大人能够了解这些指标在一段时间内的演变。

在回答有关帮助少数族裔社区老年人的问题时，凯拉部长提到了“新视界老年人计划”（New Horizon for Seniors Program, NHSP），这个计划资助支持健康养老、防止虐待老年人、庆祝多 元化、消除社会孤独并帮助老年人在自己家中和社区中养老的社区项目。 就在最近，凯拉部长与 Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill 区国会议员莉雅泰勒（Leah Taylor Roy）一起探访了获得 NHSP资助的列治文山孟尝阁。凯拉部长很高兴亲眼看到孟尝中心如何支持具有华人和其他不同 族裔的老年人。 她还谈到了 “居家健康养老” 计划（Age Well at Home），该计划支持社区组织为老年人提供 家政、送餐、交通或铲雪等服务。 她说，虽然大多数老年人都希望尽可能长时间地留在自己家中 养老，但有时他们所需要的只是一点点支持，以便在自己家中和社区内颐养天年。凯拉部长期待 在未来几个月内宣布资助的计划。 最后，凯拉部长还谈到了 7500 元的“多代同堂住房装修税务 抵免”（Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit），方便民众家庭在自己家中为年长或 残疾的家庭成员修造第二间居室。

凯拉部长重申，联邦政府将继续担当一个可靠的合作伙伴，确保各省和地区在继续提供医疗服务 的同时，有能力实现这些优先事项。长期以来，加拿大人一直为我们的公共和全民医疗护理系统 感到自豪。“我们有机会继续我们的合作，改善在这个系统中工作的人和他们所治疗照顾的人的 体验。”

Working together to deliver results in healthcare and seniors

February 16, 2023, Ottawa, Ontario — As Canadians, we take a lot of pride in our universal, public health care system, but the reality is, it has not been living up to our expectations. We have seen across the country how emergency rooms are experiencing a lot of pressure. We also hear about Canadians who go through unacceptable wait times for important surgeries, but also about Canadians simply not being able to see a family doctor, to access mental health services when they need it or to easily access their health information online.

On February 16, 2023, the Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Seniors, hosted a virtual round table with Chinese media, to discuss healthcare and seniors. Minister Khera was joined with Han Dong, MP for Don Valley North, Jean Yip, MP for Scarborough-Agincourt, Majid Jowhari, MP for Richmond Hill, Parm Bains, MP for Steveston—Richmond East, Salma Zahid, MP for Scarborough-Centre, and Paul Chiang, MP for Markham-Unionville.

Canadians expect and deserve changes to be made. The funding package that we put forward is a significant amount of $198.6 billion over the next 10 years to repair the damage caused by the pandemic, and prepare our healthcare system for the future. Minister Khera said the federal government welcomes Tuesday’s announcement that the Premiers of all thirteen provinces and territories are accepting the funding package. But there is still much more work ahead of us to finalize bilateral agreements with each province and territory. And that will be our government’s focus over the coming weeks.

These historic investments are going to ensure that we make progress on a number of shared priorities informed by what Canadians and health workers have told us are their priorities. This includes:

• Better access to family health teams & mental health services where and when they need it;

• That seniors can access to safe, quality long-term care and age with dignity in their communities;

• That Canadians can easily access their health information online;

• That healthcare workers receive the support they need to thrive in the work they do

More specifically, this funding will ensure we are delivering now on what really matters to Canadians while making sure we remain a reliable partner for the years ahead.

To address the short term pressure, the federal government is stepping up with an immediate and unconditional $2 billion injection into our healthcare system, and will also guarantee a 5% increase of the Canada Health Transfer over the next five years. We are also investing $2 billion over 10 years to support Indigenous priorities.

But we know provinces and territories have different needs, and that’s why the federal government is investing $25 billion over 10 years for bilateral agreements to ensure provinces and territories have the flexibility to invest in our joint health priorities according to their needs.

Prior to entering politics, Minister Khera worked as a registered nurse at a hospital in Toronto, where she gained a deeper understanding of the issues that impact people’s health and well-being every day. She said she is especially happy that our government put forward substantial funding worth $1.7 billion over the next 5 years for Personal Support Workers’ wage to reach a minimum of $25/hour.

“PSWs have been the pillar of our healthcare system during the pandemic and continue to be, and we need to take care of them like they take care of us,” said Minister Khera. “I put on my scrubs and volunteered as a registered nurse at one of the hardest hit long term care homes in the country during the pandemic. I have seen first-hand the tragedies lived by some patients, their families and the extreme pressure experienced by healthcare workers. And that is why we took action to ensure retention and recruitment of those essential workers which is key to addressing the healthcare crisis.”

“But we know it is not only about money,” Minister Khera added. “Canadians want to see outcomes, as these dollars will mean nothing if they don’t generate more results. During the next few weeks, we will start signing the agreements with provinces and territories so we can start delivering this funding and deliver on better healthcare.”

The government have also asked for provinces and territories to submit their action plans that will lay out how they want to achieve those results with that funding package. We want to be able to know how many more people have access to a family health team, or by how fast we will reduce the backlogs in surgeries and diagnostics, or how many more people have access to mental health care services. All of these indicators will be publicly generated, publicly published and so Canadians can follow their evolution over time.

In answering questions regarding helping seniors in racialized communities, Minister highlighted New Horizon for Seniors Program (NHSP), which funds community-based projects that support healthy aging, prevent senior abuse, celebrate diversity, fight social isolation and help seniors age in their own home and community. Just recently, Minister Khera visited Mon Sheong Court in Richmond Hill, alongside Leah Taylor Roy, Member of Parliament for Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill, which is an organization that have received NHSP funding. Minister Khera was happy to see first-hand how Mon Sheong Court supports seniors with Chinese and other diverse backgrounds.

She also talked about the Age Well at Home program, a program that supports organizations that offer services such as housekeeping, meal delivery, transportation, or snow shoveling. She said that while the majority of seniors want to stay in their homes for as long as possible, sometimes all they need is just a little bit of support to age within their homes and within their communities. Minister Khera looks forward to announcing the funded initiatives in the upcoming months. Finally, Minister Khera also talked about the $7500 Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit so families can build a secondary unit in their home for seniors or adults with disabilities.

Minister Khera reiterates that the federal government will continue to be a reliable partner in ensuring provinces and territories are equipped to deliver on health priorities as they continue delivering healthcare. “We have an opportunity to continue our collaboration and improve the experience of those working in the healthcare system, and those they care for.”