Liberals Lose in Toronto – St. Paul’s

Conservatives pick up Toronto – St. Paul’s as federal ministers announce the continued roll out of the Canadian Dental Care Plan. On that, and more, here is your Syntax Weekly Health Round-Up.

Around the Hill

• In a stunning but not overly shocking result, the Conservative Party of Canada has wrestled the long-held Toronto – St. Paul’s riding away from the governing Liberals in the Conservative’s first electoral victory in Toronto since the 2011 general election. The loss of a reliably Liberal seat has only increased speculation on the future of the prime minister, whose party trails the Conservatives by as much 20 points in public opinion polls.
• The House of Commons and Senate are adjourned for the summer recess.

Around Government 

• Federal ministers fanned out across the country to make a series of announcements that eligible children under the age of 18 and adults with a valid Disability Tax Credit Certificate can now apply for the Canadian Dental Care Plan. Since its launch, more than 2 million seniors have been approved to receive coverage under the Plan.
• Health Minister Mark Holland announced the re-appointment of Ms. Debbie DeLancey and Dr. Shanthi Johnson to three-year terms on the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Governing Council.
• Health Canada published a plan called Building Resilience: Health Canada’s Plan to Address Health Product Shortages to help reduce, mitigate, and better prevent shortages of health products and their associated harms. Health Canada launched an online public consultation to obtain feedback on proposed amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations and the Medical Devices Regulations brought forward under the plan.

Around the Dominion

• Atlantic premiers met this week to continue discussions on shared priorities across government. On healthcare, the premiers committed to moving forward on the Atlantic Health Accord by collaborating to help alleviate healthcare worker shortages and improve healthcare access in underserved areas.
• In Ontario, the government announced the start of consultations with the College of Nurses of Ontario and other healthcare partners on expanding the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, allowing nurse practitioners to better use their training, skills, and education. The proposed changes include allowing nurse practitioners to: order and apply a defibrillator (to help those in cardiac arrest), order and apply cardiac pacemaker therapy, order and perform electrocoagulation (to help people with skin conditions and lesions), and complete and sign mandatory blood testing forms for specific infectious diseases.