Government & Policy

TORONTO – The Public Health Agency of Canada is providing $21 million over five years to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) to implement and sustain a fully operational pan-Canadian suicide prevention service in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and Crisis Services Canada (CSC). Read More

TORONTO – The Ontario government announced that it will use integrated data and deep analytics to drive decision-making and inform planning related to pandemic response, leveraging DNAstack’s COVID Cloud platform. DNAstack is a Toronto-based software company that developed COVID Cloud, a cloud-based genomic database of SARS-CoV-2 genomes and bioinformatics tool. Read More

VICTORIA, BC – An $8.4-million investment in education and training programs will enable people to train for high-demand jobs as healthcare assistants caring for B.C.’s seniors. “We’re expanding the number of healthcare assistants working in B.C. to strengthen the level of care for people in long-term care homes and assisted-living residences,” said Adrian Dix, (pictured) minister of health. “The Health Career Access Program is underway and is already helping train workers for some of the most important jobs in B.C.” Read More

KITCHENER, Ont. – Raj Saini, Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, announced a FedDev Ontario investment of $500,000 for Cloud DX Inc. (Cloud DX), a medical technology company that delivers Remote Patient Monitoring solutions for global healthcare providers. Read More

TORONTO – The Ontario government has hired more case managers and contact tracers, building the provincial workforce to 1,600 by February 15, 2021. Along with staff who work in or have been redeployed within public health units, this support brings the total number of case and contact tracers in the province to nearly 5,600 staff. These people are vital in helping to isolate new cases of COVID-19 and stopping the spread of the virus in communities across Ontario. Read More

EDMONTON – Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), announced more than $5.5 million in federal support for Alberta-made medical advancements that keep Canadians healthy while contributing to a stronger, more diverse economy. Four Alberta-based organizations and companies are receiving WD support. Read More

OTTAWA – The federal government is searching for a national system to help manage the distribution and tracking of COVID-19 vaccinations. While hospitals and public health officials have started to administer the vaccines in Canada, Ottawa is anxious to be able to monitor the extent to which the population has been inoculated and to keep tabs on possible side-effects and reactions. Read More

VICTORIA, BC – The province of British Columbia is investigating irregularities in spending and management that have been reported at the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). The issue includes procurement of problematic respirators, along with spending on renovations and catering. Read More

OTTAWA – Navdeep Bains (pictured), minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced close to $28 million in research infrastructure support through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) Exceptional Opportunities Fund. The funding, which covers the urgent need for equipment for ongoing research related to COVID-19, will support 79 projects at 52 universities and research hospitals, colleges, polytechnics and Cégeps across Canada. Read More

TORONTO – Earlier this month, Mélanie Joly (pictured), federal Minister of Economic Development and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, announced a FedDev Ontario investment of $13.4 million for four Toronto-based organizations to advance healthcare innovation. Read More