Dear CALTC Members,

       I hope everyone has had a good start to the year! 2025 has begun with lots of political activity starting with the Prime Minister’s resignation announcement and the prorogation of Parliament, and now the Liberal leadership race. In spite of this activity, we are continuing to monitor developments of interest to long term care, including work to finalize the CALTC key messages for a federal election campaign. As part of the process, a final opportunity for feedback is open now and an e-vote will be conducted as early as next week as directed by the CALTC Board Chairperson. The updated key messages draft was sent in an email earlier this week and can be found here.

       We have sent correspondence to the new Federal Minister for Seniors,         Joanne Thompson, who was appointed on December 20th to welcome her to the role, introduce CALTC, and request a meeting. The Minister for Health, Mark Holland released the long-awaited interpretation letter regarding the Canada Health Act. This was to clarify the government’s interpretation of expanding scopes of practice for Nurse Practitioners, Midwives and Pharmacist and that their services must be publicly insured if the same service was delivered by  a Physician. The interpretation letter also noted virtual care, with limited impact. Santis reached out to Health Canada to further inquire if the role of Nurse Practitioner’s in LTC had been considered as part of this interpretation. The response was that it will be up to provinces and territories to determine how they will implement the change. To review the Santis memo regarding this interpretation letter, please see the memo here.

       With the consideration that provinces will need to decide on how to implement these changes, the First Health Minister’s meeting has now been rescheduled where this could be a topic of discussion. It was first scheduled for last November, but a snap election call by the host province postponed the meeting. It has now been rescheduled for January 29th and 30th in Halifax. CALTC will send a letter to the Minister of Health, and we encourage CALTC members to send a letter to their provincial Health Ministers and other applicable Ministers to encourage that LTC is on the FPT agenda. Here is a template letter that members can customize as needed.

       In other activities, I had an opportunity to meet last week with the new CEO of the Canadian Nurses Association, Valerie Grdisa. She is very interested in LTC and synergy opportunities with CALTC. I look forward to future discussions. I have also continued to work on grant opportunities and other business development initiatives for CALTC as discussed at the last quarterly meeting.
 

Sincerely,
Jodi

Dear CALTC Members,

This past week in Parliament has been eventful, filled with speculation about what might happen next. The latest today is the cabinet shuffle. Its noteworthy that a standalone Minister of Seniors, MP Joanne Thompson has appointed. MP Thompson is new to cabinet, but has served as a member of the finance committee. CALTC will engage with this new Minister in the near future.

While events continue to unfold in Ottawa, I want to highlight the recent pre-budget consultation report from the Parliamentary Finance Committee. Although it does not specifically reference long-term care, it addresses themes such as skilled workforce development and technology—areas consistent with the recommendations in CALTC’s pre-budget submission last August. You can read the report here.

Additionally, the Fall Economic Statement was released. While long-term care was not explicitly mentioned, there are noteworthy items, such as:

• A refundable tax credit for personal support workers,

• New directives for regulatory  colleges to support the integration of newcomers into regulated      professions, and

• Expansion of the Red Seal Trade framework to improve healthcare worker mobility across Canada.

Now that Parliament has risen for the Christmas break, speculation continues about potential changes in the new year, including a government prorogation, the Prime Minister’s resignation, and as of this morning, the NDP have just stated that they will introduce a motion of non-confidence when the house returns. Given this uncertainty, CALTC is preparing to ensure readiness in the event of an early election.

I also want to bring to your attention a public consultation currently being conducted by Health Canada on advance requests for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). I recognize this is a deeply sensitive topic with diverse perspectives, and it is crucial that CALTC members contribute to the consultation. Please also encourage long-term care homes within your jurisdictions to express their views. The consultation is open until February 14, 2025, and can be accessed here.

Also, this week CALTC was interviewed by CP Journalist Nicole Ireland about the use of technology in LTC. Interesting article featuring a variety of homes.

On a more personal note, I’d like to share that Melanie Eva, CALTC’s part-time Executive Assistant, will be moving on to a new opportunity in the New Year. Melanie has been an incredible support to CALTC and a valued colleague. Please join me in wishing her all the best in her future endeavours.

As we approach the holiday season and the end of 2024, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all CALTC members for your support and collaboration over the past year. There have been many highlights, and your contributions have been invaluable.

I will be taking some vacation time over the next week, returning to my desk on January 6th and the first 2025 edition of the CEO email will be sent on January 17th.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season and a very Happy New Year!

Sincerely,
Jodi

Dear CALTC Members,

As winter takes hold across the country and the holiday season approaches, we continue to monitor developments from the Federal government, particularly the fall economic statement anticipated before Parliament's winter break. Speculation suggests the government may prorogue following the statement, adding further uncertainty to the next steps.

At this time, it appears unlikely that a Safe LTC Act will be introduced in Parliament. Similarly, the risk of Bill C-295 advancing in the Senate remains low, but we will continue to keep a close watch.

Looking ahead, the meeting of provincial and territorial Health Ministers is expected to be rescheduled for early in the new year. Once confirmed, we will re-share the template letter circulated this fall when the November meeting was postponed. This letter encourages members to reach out to their provincial Health Ministers, and CALTC to the Federal Minister of Health, urging the inclusion of long-term care as a key item on the Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FTP) agenda. We remain committed to ensuring LTC advocacy stays at the forefront as these developments unfold.

The past few weeks have been eventful, highlighted by several key meetings, including the inaugural session of the Pan-Canadian Healthcare Cyber-Security Collaborative hosted by HealthCareCAN and the Digital Governance Council. This first meeting served as an introduction to the initiative, which aims to enhance cybersecurity and resilience across the healthcare system. Efforts will be aligned with the national standards released last fall. More details can be found here, and I will continue to provide updates as they become available.

Additionally, a reminder for CALTC members: There are two open surveys awaiting your input—one from the Policy and Knowledge Translation Committee and another from the Business Development Working Group. If you haven’t already participated, your feedback would be greatly appreciated. You can access the surveys here.

Your involvement is critical to shaping the direction of these initiatives. Thank you for your continued engagement!

I have taken some time to prepare for 2025 and consider what opportunities are available to CALTC based on our operational plan. I look forward to sharing more at our next quarterly meeting on December 19th and Santis will be sharing the next version of the election plan.

Sincerely,
Jodi