Government & Policy

CHARLOTTETOWN – The P.E.I. government says all Islanders could have access to their medical records online by the end of this year or early in 2025. The provincewide patient portal is partially outlined in a digital health strategy for 2024-29 that was released in mid-July by Health P.E.I. and the Department of Health and Wellness. Read More

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The Ontario government is investing $5.5 million to help 11 companies in the life sciences sector develop and launch made-in-Ontario healthcare technologies and innovations. “These investments signal our government’s continued commitment to promoting the very best of Ontario’s life sciences sector,” said Vic Fedeli (pictured), minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Read More

WINNIPEG – Doctors in Portage la Prairie have called on the provincial government to purchase an MRI machine for the city’s new hospital, saying the lack of the high-tech diagnostic scanner is a “glaring omission” that will hurt patients. Read More

GRAND FALLS-WINDSOR, NL – The Provincial Government is supporting the EXCITE! Corporation as they establish a new simulation laboratory that will assist with recruitment, training and retention of qualified rural healthcare professionals. Read More

VICTORIA, BC – British Columbia’s government has amalgamated 11 health-professional colleges into two, setting the foundation for what it says is stronger oversight. Health Minister Adrian Dix says merging the colleges is part of the government’s plan to ensure health professionals are regulated more consistently and robustly. Read More

SASKATOON – The Saskatchewan Health Authority says it sent the wrong information to an independent agency studying hospital capacity that incorrectly showed nearly half of Saskatoon hospital beds were unoccupied. Read More

ST. JOHN’S – Newfoundland and Labrador will spend more than $450,000 to help bring state-of-the-art medical equipment to Memorial University. It will be used to buy an Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry system, allowing students to explore the potential causes of chronic diseases such as osteoarthritis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Alzheimer’s and Multiple Sclerosis. Read More

OTTAWA – Mark Holland (pictured), minister of Health, has introduced Bill C-72, the Connected Care for Canadians Act. This Act is about enabling Canadians to securely access their own health data, which will empower patient’s decision-making and improve the care they receive from health providers in Canada. Read More

EDMONTON – The Alberta government says it’s taking steps to improve the health of women and children by following through on a promise to spend $26 million on research and expanding a newborn screening program. In this year’s budget it earmarked $10 million over two years to create the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation Legacy Grant, to support research on health conditions such as cervical cancer, cardiovascular disease and other illnesses that disproportionately affect women. Read More

QUEBEC CITY – The head of Santé Québec will be Geneviève Biron (pictured), who led private provider Biron Health Group from 2014 to 2021, Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé announced this week. Dubé also announced that Frédéric Abergel, head of the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), will serve as executive vice-president of operations and transformation for the agency. Read More