The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada commends the Government of Canada for announcing in its 2023 budget several important investments in health human resources, better health care data and culturally safe health care services for Indigenous Peoples.

“We are pleased to see the federal government announce investments to enhance our health care system, including $198.3 billion over the next ten years to strengthen our public health care system, and improving access to dental care, which will benefit Canadian patients,” said Dr. Ian Bowmer, FRCPC, CEO of the Royal College. “We look forward to continued collaboration to see those commitments through.”

The Royal College has advocated for better data to inform health human resource planning and improve patient care, and so we welcome the creation of a center for excellence on health worker data, an interoperability roadmap, and support for provincial and territorial efforts to leverage data to improve health care quality and safety.

We applaud the federal government’s commitments to improving access to care, especially for those living in rural, remote and Indigenous communities. In particular, the budget highlights new and previous commitments through the Indigenous Health Equity Fund, fair and equitable access to quality and culturally safe health care services, and expanding the Canada Student Loan Forgiveness program to encourage more doctors and nurses to practise in rural and remote communities.

The Royal College remains dedicated to working collaboratively with our members, partners and patients to improve access to high-quality care for all people.