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Our fourth and final item for today is federal fiscal responsibility. Canadians legitimately expect to have access to comparable health services, regardless of the jurisdiction in which they reside, and the Canada Health Act commits to this. Since jurisdiction over health delivery is a provincial–territorial responsibility, some argue that the federal government should provide only the funding, without linking it to conditions or objectives. However, the federal government has a constitutional right, and some would say a duty, to use its spending power to achieve health objectives for the good of all Canadians. The people of this country rightfully expect pan-Canadian objectives to be developed and supported by all levels of government, and they are less concerned, frankly, about the ultimate source of the funding. Any move to minimize federal responsibility would have a negative impact on future pan-Canadian programs. These programs include a national pharmaceutical strategy, appropriate health human resources, and an EHR—all of which were identified in the accord. CHA would add home care to this list.
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